Ready for spring semester
(l-r) Adrienne Gennett and Allison Sheridan, University Museums, hang photography by artist Will Wilson Tuesday in the Brunnier Art Museum, Scheman Building. The exhibition, and new exhibitions in the museums' other campus galleries, open Tuesday with the first day of spring semester. Photo by Christopher Gannon.
Regents approve CyTown master services agreement
Map depicts the general layout of the proposed buildings in the CyTown development. Updated renderings will be released at a later date. Image courtesy of Goldenrod Companies. Larger image.
At its Jan. 15 meeting, the Iowa Board of Regents approved a 30-year development agreement that allows Iowa State University, Goldenrod Companies and the ISU Research Park to move forward with the CyTown multi-use district.
The board's decision comes after months of due diligence and negotiations and following the completion of infrastructure and long-overdue upgrades to the parking lots between Jack Trice Stadium and the Iowa State Center.
"The CyTown project would not be possible without the tremendous collaboration from many partners including the Board of Regents, the City of Ames and McFarland Clinic," said President Wendy Wintersteen. "We look forward to the ongoing partnerships as the CyTown development begins to take shape."
The agreement will create a CyTown Management Committee to provide direction on all aspects of the development. Members of the committee will include the university's senior vice president for operations and finance, general counsel, research park president, director of athletics and a member of the board of regents.
An eight-building development plan
Goldenrod will arrange financing for building construction and common area infrastructure. The development is anticipated to include eight buildings with space for retail, food and beverage, office space, an outdoor music venue, concierge suites and a 215-key conference center hotel. The estimated cost for construction of the facilities is $175 million-$225 million.
The university will have no debt obligation regarding any aspect of the development. Goldenrod will manage operations of the development including securing and addressing the needs of tenants. The ISU Research Park will oversee Goldenrod's construction and operation of the development as part of a master lease agreement.
"CyTown will bring new opportunities and excitement to central Iowa, Ames and Iowa State," said director of athletics Jamie Pollard. "Additionally, revenue from the development will allow the university to continue its ongoing investment in the revitalization of the Iowa State Center, which includes the vastly improved parking lots, renovations to the Scheman Building and improvements to Stephens Auditorium."
Zach Wiegert, managing principal for Goldenrod, said the partnership with the university and research park will have a positive community impact.
"More than building a space, this is about creating a place that brings together students, businesses and the community. CyTown will foster innovation, drive collaboration and most importantly encourage meaningful interactions," Wiegert said. "We're proud to be part of this transformative initiative and look forward to the opportunities it will bring to the university and Ames."
Businesses interested in learning more about CyTown opportunities may contact Cassie Paben, cpaben@goldenrodcompanies.com, Goldenrod Companies vice president of strategies and operations.
Project timeline
- September 2019: Iowa State announced intent to study multi-use development district.
- June 2022: The Iowa Board of Regents authorized planning for parking and infrastructure improvements needed for the CyTown development.
- September 2022: Iowa State announced plans for CyTown.
- February 2023: Iowa State began working on improvements to parking lots between Jack Trice Stadium and the Iowa State Center along with infrastructure construction.
- September 2023: McFarland Clinic announced as CyTown anchor tenant.
- November 2023: The regents approved schematic designs, project descriptions and budgets. Funding for the infrastructure and parking lot upgrades came from the athletics department, private giving and university investment income, which will be repaid with revenues from the development.
- February 2024: Iowa State selected Goldenrod Companies as the master developer for CyTown, following an extensive request for proposals process.
- June 2024: The regents approved a lease agreement with McFarland Clinic and a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) arrangement with the City of Ames. The PILOT will be equivalent to the amount commercial tenants pay for property taxes in other areas of the city. Iowa State will dedicate one-third of PILOT funds to renovations and repairs for the Iowa State Center.
- Fall 2024: The majority of the infrastructure project was completed. The McFarland Clinic lease was finalized.
- Spring 2025: Preliminary construction for development scheduled to begin.
Faculty, staff can assist students by supporting student clubs
Students benefit during their time at Iowa State when they join any of the nearly 800 student organizations. Faculty and staff can help students get the most out of the experience by serving as an advisor for an organization.
Questions?
For more information about becoming an advisor to a student organization, email studentengage@iastate.edu.
"Our data shows that student organization officers have better retention than the average student from the first to second and second to third year," said Memorial Union associate director for student engagement Kristine Heflin. "We also know that students in student organizations feel like they are part of the Iowa State community, and if they feel that way they are more likely to persist and graduate. It gives them a connection to people outside of the classroom that can be very important."
Any faculty or professional and scientific staff member employed at least half time on a continuous basis can serve as an advisor. Organizations can have more than one advisor. Advisors must complete Canvas training required by student engagement and handle the online compliance agreement form every time there is a change in an organization's president, treasurer or advisor.
Typical duties of a student organization advisor include:
- Assist in planning, evaluating and providing oversight of group activities and events.
- Provide mentoring and support to members and officers.
- Communicate Iowa State policies and procedures.
- Encourage compliance with policy and completion of trainings.
- Approve financial expenditures and guide fundraising and budget planning.
- Be a cheerleader and recognize outstanding achievement.
Faculty and staff can search the student organization database to connect with groups they want to support. They also might be approached by students looking for an advisor. Heflin recommends employees discuss a potential advisor role with their supervisor before agreeing to serve.
"For 90% of our organizations, it's not very time consuming for the advisor," Heflin said. "They can be as involved as they want to be. It's a chance for the advisor to make connections in an area they have expertise in, outside of the classroom."
She said faculty and staff also can support student organizations by:
- Using the student organization database to connect students to existing clubs and organizations.
- Sharing their relevant experiences with organizations as a speaker or presenter.
An update on a few campus projects
Water damage repairs in the Warren Madden Building (formerly Administrative Services Building) necessary from a burst interior pipe a year ago this week are nearly complete, senior vice president for operations and finance Sean Reeder told members of the Professional and Scientific Council at their Jan. 9 meeting. This work included replacing drywall as needed, new paint and carpeting and a new electric-powered panel and furniture system.
Due to the building's age (25 years) and the fact it's been vacant because of extensive damage, he said similar upgrades will be done in other areas not damaged by water and not covered by the insurance claim. He said the goal is to have both projects completed and the building occupied before fall semester.
A third project at the building, a new heating/cooling system, new roof membrane and a west addition to move the system's air handlers from the roof to an internal space, also is complete.
In a quick tour of other campus locations, Reeder said on the north side of central campus demolition of the old LeBaron Hall and excavation for its replacement are complete. The new foundation is poured, and construction will continue through 2026, he said.
Reeder also shared that Veenker golf course is adding a technology to its driving range, Toptracer, which uses sensor-equipped cameras to track how and how far range balls are hit. It helps golfers improved their game -- or simply have more fun, merging golf and video games.
He said a reorganization in facilities planning and management to create cross-functional service teams is in its second phase: posting and filling senior manager, manager and coordinator positions by the end of February. During phase 3 (March and April), the remaining team positions will be filled, with teams and their assigned areas announced in May. As envisioned, each team will feature employee expertise from all areas -- project services, facilities services, trades and building systems -- assigned to a campus service area.
"We hope to maximize what that team customer service orientation can be for our customers and improve communication with all service areas and FPM accountability for all the services we provide," he said.
He said Workday adaptive planning tools are being used this winter and spring to develop the university's next budget (fiscal year 2026).
2022-31 strategic plan update
Sophia Magill, who serves as senior advisor to the president and coordinates work on the university's 2022-31 strategic plan, told council members the strategic plan is a shared responsibility. Its structure encourages "grass root" participation, and all members of the university community may propose projects and seek funding. Interdisciplinary proposals are one of the strengths of that process, she said.
Magill encouraged employees to connect their own work and their departmental efforts to the strategic plan goals.
"We're one university, and that alignment is important. That's what will help us be successful," she said.
Following an initial investment (2022) in nine projects, 19 projects received funding for fiscal year 2024, 12 of which were renewed for the current fiscal year. She said the next call for proposals will be shared this semester for FY2026 implementation. The intent of strategic plan funds is to help launch new initiatives, not support them long-term, she said. Funded teams should expect to identify sustainable revenue streams for their projects.
She noted that communicators across campus are sharing the impact and outcomes of those investments. Her team also is working with staff from institutional research and information technology services to build a metrics dashboard of real-time project data.
Magill said the three regent universities have reviewed the language of their respective strategic plans for compliance with the new state law (taking effect July 1) that restricts programming and positions that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Proposed changes will be on the regents' February meeting agenda. Regents approved changes to the board's strategic plan this week.
Announcements
In other council business:
- Council president Jason Follett said council member Paul Easker has been representing the council on a work group about P&S term appointments. The council's perspective is that P&S term appointments should have parameters and departments need guidelines on appropriate uses of term positions for consistency across the university. He said an explanation and formal process, applied consistently, for how and why to convert a P&S term position to a continuous position also would be useful.
- The council-hosted annual professional development conference is Thursday, Feb. 27 (7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Gateway Hotel and Conference Center). Early registration ($130) ends Feb. 2, and regular registration ($150) closes Feb. 19.
- The council's awards committee has selected recipients of this year's P&S CYtation Awards, who will be notified by next week. They'll be honored at a breakfast celebration in March.
- The next council meeting is Thursday, Feb. 6 (2:10 p.m., 4250 Student Innovation Center and via Microsoft Teams).
Community celebration of King's life is at city hall
The city of Ames is joining the Ames/Story County MLK Celebration Committee to honor the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr. with a celebration on Monday, Jan. 20 (6:30 p.m., Ames City Auditorium, 520 Sixth St.). Toyia Younger, senior vice president for student affairs, will be the keynote speaker.
The winner of the fourth annual essay contest for Story County high school students will read their winning essay at the celebration. Students were asked to share how King impacted their life or the lives of family, friends and community. Additionally, this year's recipient of the Ames Human Relations Commission's Humanitarian Award will be honored. The award is presented to an Ames resident whose contributions to the community demonstrate an effort to promote diversity, fairness and equality.
Come early for birthday cookies, served at 6 p.m. in the adjacent city gymnasium.
The celebration will be available virtually via Facebook Live or YouTube.
On campus that day, the Workspace in the Memorial Union will host a free drop-in crafts session from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Options include mountain paintings and Martin Luther King Jr. coloring pages. Everyone who stops in will receive an MLK Day button.
The federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday (Jan. 20) is a university holiday, with offices closed and spring semester's first day pushed back to Tuesday. King's birth day was Jan. 15, 1929. The civil rights leader and 1964 Nobel Peace Prize recipient was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
