Ivy Tech Community College of Muncie will be expanding to another building this fall to accommodate the anticipated number of 5,000 students enrolled at the school.
The Patterson Block, located downtown on the corner of Walnut and Main streets, will be used by about 125 students in the hospitality program.
Faculty member Heather Pier will be working at the new location as a teacher and a chef. She said because of the economy, Ivy Tech's hospitality department has grown in size during the past three semesters.
"We're using existing buildings to help revitalize downtown," Pier said. "There's a lot of excitement; we're excited about space to grow the culinary department."
The culinary program at the downtown location will be "lab intensive" and include a large commercial kitchen, which Pier said she helped to design.
Classes in the new building will begin in August, although no deadline has been set for opening, Gail Chesterfield, chancellor for the Ivy Tech East Central Region, said.
Planning for this expansion began last fall, Pier said.
But because the project is still in the planning stage, Chesterfield said she couldn't release too many details about the building.
Ivy Tech also rents space for classes from the Cornerstone Center for the Arts, she said.
"We've been asked by people in the community to have a presence in the downtown community for some time," Chesterfield said. "And this fit with the culinary program and what the faculty was looking for. It will also give the students an opportunity to experience and get involved in downtown restaurants."
Stephanie Swendsen contributed to this story.
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