MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University Foundation, collaborators and partner-tenants celebrated the grand opening of 1880 Kimball Avenue, formerly known as Phase II, at the K-State Office Park on Oct. 12 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and fireworks.
Nine partner-tenants from a variety of fields such as precision agriculture, construction, regional gig-capable digital telecom services and interior design have already moved into 1880 Kimball Avenue’s flexible office and laboratory space. Partner-tenants’ missions align with the university’s strengths and enhance the world-class study and research developing adjacent to Kansas State University in the office and research park, which includes the North Campus Corridor. The North Campus Corridor boundaries include North Manhattan Avenue on the east, Claflin Road on the south, College Avenue on the west and north of Kimball Avenue.
“To meet our land-grant mission and further prepare the university for the future, we must continue to build partnerships that have a profound impact on the health and prosperity of Kansas State University,” said Richard Myers, Kansas State University president, before the ceremony. “Innovations like the K-State Office Park in the North Campus Corridor enable us to attract partnerships that are expected to bring 5,000 jobs to the area — jobs that will range from administrative to service to research and will contribute to the economy and quality of life in the community. The KSU Foundation is developing the K-State Office Park to help meet the facility needs of these partner-tenants.”
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, Kansas, attended the ribbon-cutting celebration. Moran is co-author of a recent Senate bill introduced to further fund the Regional Innovation Program and Startup Act. The Startup Act is designed to ensure rural regions across the country, like Manhattan, have the tools that they need to help drive job and business growth in local economies — tools such as the K-State Office Park.
Completion of 1880 Kimball Avenue at the K-State Office Park added 59,000 square feet of on-campus, flexible, move-in ready lease space to accommodate up to 35 tenants, intentional co-working areas and the Bluestem Grill. Financing of this phase included a $13.7 million private investment by the KSU Foundation. No donor funds were used to build 1880 Kimball Avenue. In addition to the KSU Foundation commitment, which includes Federal New Markets Tax Credits, the Manhattan City Commission unanimously approved $800,000 in economic development loans and incentives toward the expansion. The investment is projected to deliver $93 million in economic impact over 20 years according to data provided by city staff.
“The economic prosperity of the city of Manhattan is connected to K-State’s successes and innovations,” said Manhattan Mayor Linda Morse. “The K-State Office Park is one of those innovations that brings strategic partners and investment to both the university and the city. Without a facility like this, it would be difficult to attract industry leaders like the recently announced Topcon Agriculture to establish a home in Manhattan.”
Construction of 1880 Kimball Avenue began July 2017 and the building was move-in ready in August 2018.
As Kansas State University’s strategic partner for philanthropy, the KSU Foundation inspires and guides philanthropy toward university priorities to boldly advance K-State family. The foundation is leading Innovation and Inspiration: The Campaign for Kansas State University to raise $1.4 billion for student success, faculty development, facility enhancement and programmatic success. Visitwww.ksufoundation.org
for more information.
