The City of Waverly and Wartburg College are discussing a collaboration to create a 30-million dollar wellness center. Council members got their first look at the plans this week. Wartburg vice president and city councilmember Gary Grace says it’s a 200-thousand square foot facility.
He says the college’s board of regents approved the dollar estimate for the facility earlier this month contingent on the partnership between the college and the city. Grace says this center is a little different from the normal “Town and Gown” sharing agreements between cities and colleges.
He says what happens a lot of times is colleges have additional space at times during the year that they offer to communities to use. He says this project is being designed from the beginning to be used by the city and the college.
Grace says the council should make a decision on the partnership soon.
He says they hope to get an agreement to move ahead by late November or early December. He says if that goes well, then they could break ground in March and open the facility in the fall of 2007. Wartburg College is expected to pick up most of the costs of the new facility.