FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Inside Indiana Business): Manchester University is investing more than $20 million in its health science hub in Fort Wayne, the university announced Monday. President Dave McFadden said the 32,000-square-foot expansion will meet demand for more space for its healthcare offerings in the city.
The current 80,000-square-foot Manchester University Fort Wayne building houses the university’s graduate, professional and adult programs in the health sciences.
As part of the project, the university plans to replace the existing façade facing Diebold Road to include a new entrance and two-story addition. The existing nursing suite will get an expansion, and the facility will also get a new café and patio.
The expansion will include a pro bono physical therapy clinic that will have a focus on amputees. Manchester says students and faculty will receive practical experience to serve what it calls a high-need population in northeast Indiana.
The project will also add a state-of-the-art lab, research and classroom spaces, a nursing simulation and skills lab, along with several collaboration areas for students.
“We are designing Manchester University Fort Wayne for those who will practice well into the 21st century,” Thomas Smith, dean of health sciences and pharmacy, said in written remarks. “We are maximizing our space to accommodate today’s learners.”
The Fort Wayne hub will be home to the university’s new Doctor of Physical Therapy and Master of Science in Nutrition and Nutrigenomics programs, which begin next spring and fall, respectively. Students in the university’s traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing program will complete their final two years in Fort Wayne after completing their initial two years on the North Manchester campus.
The university plans to break ground on the expansion next spring with completion slated for the fall of 2024.
