Muncie, IN—Ball State University has agreed to purchase Northside Middle School from Muncie Community Schools (MCS) as part of a strategic investment in the campus and the community.
Under a contract executed by Ball State and the emergency managers for MCS, the university will pay $1,270,000 for Northside Middle School.
As part of an option in the purchase agreement, MCS could lease the 26-acre Northside property from BSU for $1 annually for up to five years. Ball State will pay the school district $60,000 annually for each of the five years as part of an agreed upon maintenance plan for the school.
Ball State is expected to close on the purchase by December 15, 2017.
Ball State President Geoffrey S. Mearns said the purchase is a good investment for the university.
“The purchase is consistent with the university’s long-term plan to strategically acquire property adjacent to campus.” he said.
Mearns said, “We believe that Ball State has an opportunity to be a good neighbor and a solid contributor to this community by purchasing this property. In the end, this is a strategic investment for the university and a benefit to the community.”
About Ball State University
Founded in 1918 and located in Muncie, Ball State is one of Indiana’s signature universities and an economic driver for the state. The university’s 2017-18 enrollment – 22,513 – is the largest in school history and its freshman class of 4,002 is just three students shy of a school record. Every Indianacounty is represented among Ball State’s student body, as are all 50 states and 68 countries. Ball State’s 731-acre campus is large enough to accommodate premier facilities and 19 NCAA Division I sports, but small enough to ensure the friendliness, personal attention and access that are the hallmarks of the university, where 90 percent of classes are taught by faculty. Ball State had its smallest tuition increase in 41 years for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
