Official: Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri May 26, 2006 11:17 am

This would be a great addition to the community and rid the community of a couple eyesores to boot:

The Daily Nonpariel, on 5-23-06 wrote:During the meeting, the council set a public hearing for late June on some property along North 16th Street that could some day be a campus for various social service agencies.

"It's a very good project," said Don Gross, director of the Community Development Department. "It will allow agencies to expand and offer improved services to the community."

The hearing on June 26 will involve whether the city should acquire all the property between North 15th and 16th streets between Avenues G to J. Some properties have already been acquired because of the Avenue G viaduct project.

With council approval, the city would then deed the land over to the Pottawattamie County Development Corp. which would then sell or lease the land to non-profit social service agencies for a campus that would house a site for the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, Family Services, the Boys and Girls Club of Omaha, and maybe another agency, Gross said.

The site could be ready for development by next spring.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri May 26, 2006 11:22 am

This was originally announced last year and slated (potentially) for the redevelopment area on the south side of downtown, but apparently there are some unresolved problems with that site, so they are moving forward in this direction:

Lakin campus has its planners

The five agencies involved with the proposed seven-acre Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus in Council Buffs announced another significant step forward in their planning progress.

The five agencies have selected master site planners and a civil engineer firm to complete the planning for the campus site. They have selected Bahr Vermeer Haecker Architects of Omaha to be the lead firm. They are also utilizing studioINSITE of Denver and HGM Associates Inc. of Council Bluffs for their special areas of expertise.

Currently, the land, site development and build-out are expected to cost $24.7 million. The campus planners have secured approximately $16 million from private sources in recent months and are jointly soliciting another $9 million in construction funding and $6 million in endowment. The City is creating an urban renewal zone and assembling the land.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:28 pm

It's official: Lakin campus will land at Chalet site

The Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus is slated for construction on the former Chalet Motor Lodge property, officials confirmed Wednesday.

A wrecking crew has been working to level the motel for the past two days. The city acquired the property earlier this year through eminent domain to allow Avenue G to be widened.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Sat Jul 29, 2006 2:44 pm

Some more good news for this development:

$2.5 million gift buoys Lakin Campus drive

The Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus campaign was buoyed this week by a $2.5 million pledge from an anonymous donor from outside the metro area, officials said Friday.

The donor liked the collaborative nature of the project, O'Donnell said.

"They heard about the project; and they feel like it will be of national interest, because they have not heard of a similar arrangement where five agencies worked together" to build a joint campus, she said. "They think it's such a good and cost-effective way to do it."

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:34 am

A couple of recent articles on this project:

From Monday:
Officials unveil site plan for new services campus

The Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus project has been boosted recently by new pledges of more than $4.5 million and another 6.6 acres of land, officials announced today.
...
Gifts of $1 million each came from the Peter Kiewit Foundation, Lozier Foundation, Mary E. Howlett-Nichols and an anonymous donor. A gift of $500,000 came from the William and Ruth Scott Foundation, increasing the Scott Foundation's total gift for the project to $1 million.
...
Also, Charles E. Lakin announced plans to donate an additional 6.6 acres of land to the campus site, expanding the boundaries three additional blocks to a total of 14.35 acres.

and Tuesday:
Lakin services center promises many benefits for area residents

Planners are expecting many economic benefits from the complex:

- Building facilities on a five-agency campus will save more than $11 million in costs, compared to building stand-alone facilities for each nonprofit, campus materials state.

- The project will create a high-quality, commercial-grade anchor development in a neighborhood that has long suffered from low expectations, leading to future development opportunities for the city of Council Bluffs.

- The project will produce more than $24 million in capital improvements in a major traffic corridor to the city of Council Bluffs.

- There will be an estimated $2.8 million in combined annual agency operating expenditures.

- Boys & Girls Club anticipates saving more than $100,000 annually in expenses by sharing a building and gymnasium with The Salvation Army.

The five nonprofit organizations, by being part of something greater than any one agency alone, will experience dramatic increases in visibility, public awareness and fundraising potential.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Wed Apr 18, 2007 12:30 pm

Human services project needs $3.7M in 'final stretch'

Planners have already raised $30.6 million of the $34.3 million needed for land acquisition, construction and an endowment fund. The campaign committee hopes to raise the final $3.7 million in time for a July 1 groundbreaking on the 14.35-acre building site at North 16th Street and Avenue G. . .

More than $1.5 million has been pledged for the project in recent weeks, officials said. That includes a grant from the State Housing Trust Fund and donations from People National/American National Bank, HGM Associates, Tom and Kathy Whitson, Dr. Ted and Polly Hoff, Echo Electric/Mitch Lane, Council Bluffs Savings Bank, John Kotouc, Union Pacific Railroad and Peter Kiewit Construction.

Previously announced contributions included gifts of $1 million each from the Peter Kiewit Foundation, Lozier Foundation, Mary E. Howlett-Nichols, the Scott Foundation and an anonymous donor.

The project was launched with a gift of $10 million from the Charles E. Lakin Family Foundation and fueled in its early stages with pledges of $6 million from the Iowa West Foundation $2.5 million from an anonymous donor, a $1 million endowment gift from the H.H. "Red" and Ruth Nelson Foundation and $250,000 from the Hawks Family Foundation.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri May 18, 2007 1:03 pm

Human service campus vote on Monday

The much-publicized plan to build a campus for human service agencies in northern Council Bluffs could take a big step toward reality Monday night at the City Council meeting.

The council will be asked to approve the preliminary plans for the proposed campus that would be situated on 17 acres between North 14th and 16th streets from avenues G to J. Five human service agencies would be located there. They are the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, MICAH House and Heartland Family Service. . .

If the council approves this preliminary plan Monday and the final plan at a later date, construction of the six-building campus could start this summer with completion in the fall of 2008.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:37 am

Council OKs Lakin Campus land rezoning

The human service agency campus in north Council Bluffs is getting closer to construction.
The City Council Monday night approved the rezoning of land that will allow for construction of the Charles E. Lakin Human Service campus proposed for 17 acres between North 14th and 16th streets from Avenues G to J.

Nobody spoke against the rezoning during a public hearing. The council unanimously approved the second reading of this issue and waived the third and final reading, making it official.

"It was what we needed to have happened," said Jack Ruesch, an attorney for the project. "They've already started grading."

Drawing of the planned Lakin campus.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:19 pm

Council OKs Lakin's Phase I plan

The City Council Monday night approved the final plans of Phase 1 of a human service campus to be located on North 16th Street between avenues G and J.

The phase will create seven lots on 7.6 acres. Human service agencies like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Heartland Family Services and several others plan to build new offices there.

"This is the first time something like this has been done," said Mark Norman, business development director for the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce. "Doing a human services campus like this is a new concept as far as I know. It's another trendsetting project that Council Bluffs is undertaking." . . .

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:29 pm

Mutual of Omaha Foundation gift boosts Lakin campaign

A $200,000 gift from the Mutual of Omaha Foundation has added fuel to the campaign for the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus, the five participating agencies announced Thursday.

As of Friday, the campaign needed $3.04 million to reach its goal of $34.3 million. The total includes $29.3 million for construction and $5 million for an endowment fund to help with future maintenance costs.

Foundation representatives will be among the donors and dignitaries at the campus groundbreaking ceremony Thursday at 8 a.m. at 16th Street and Avenue I. . .

Foundation officials are happy to support the campaign, said Christine Johnson, president of the Mutual of Omaha Foundation.

"It is our pleasure to support this very unique collaboration that will greatly benefit those in need in our community," she said. "We appreciate that the agencies will be able to improve and expand on the services." . . .

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:52 am

Campus to bring army of services

The Salvation Army-Council Bluffs Corps plans to muster new and expanded programming after completion of its new quarters on the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus.

A groundbreaking for the campus will be held Thursday at 8 a.m. at North 16th Street and Avenue I. . .

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:17 pm

Lakin center construction to begin

After more than two years of planning and $31.6 million in donations, officials broke ground this morning for construction of the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus.

When the dust settles at North 16th Street and Avenue G, the 14.35-acre campus will have facilities for the American Red Cross-Loess Hills Chapter, Boys & Girls Club of Council Bluffs, Heartland Family Service, MICAH House Emergency Family Shelter and The Salvation Army-Council Bluffs Corps., all of which are United Way agencies. . . .

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 11:40 am

Mistaken, my lwa....

Dirt mistakenly left at Lakin campus

Anderson Excavating hauled what was believed to be "lead-contaminated" dirt into the Charles E. Lakin campus construction site in Council Bluffs - more than a thousand truckloads of it.

Now the excavator is being forced by Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc. of Omaha to haul it away.

Don Goers, president of Anderson Excavating, is furious. . . .

The dirt was supposed to come from Anderson's fill source in a licensed pit in the Loess Hills. Instead, 15,000 cubic yards of dirt came from the excavation for underground parking at the Mutual of Omaha Midtown Crossing project in Omaha. . . .

Post by **Brad** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 4:10 am

Update:

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:35 am

Lakin Campus takes shape

The doors will swing open on the first building on the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus in just a couple of weeks.
Heartland Homes, a Heartland Family Service permanent supportive housing facility, is expected to open by the last week of August, followed by the MICAH House emergency family shelter and the Heartland Family Service office building in early September, said Nancy Schulze, vice president of Iowa professional services for HFS.

An official ribbon cutting will be held Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. at the complex at North 16th Street and Avenue G.

"At that time, we won't have all the buildings open yet," she said.

The American Red Cross-Loess Hills Chapter's building is expected to open by the end of September, and the facility to be shared by The Salvation Army and Boys & Girls Club, the campus's largest structure, is to come online by the end of October. . . .

EastCB · Post by **EastCB** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:33 am

This has really changed the look of this area of town. Â Went by there yesterday and was amazed. Â Hopefully it will lead to other developments and more cleanup of that area.

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 4:34 pm

Lakin Campus to be dedicated Wednesday

The vision of a generous philanthropist, expertise of local foundation officials and synergy built among five nonprofit organizations have come to fruition.

On Wednesday at 1 p.m., the five agencies will host a special dedication ceremony to recognize and honor the campus founders and dedicate the Donor Circle and the new Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus at North 16th Street and Avenue G. . . .

All of the buildings on the Lakin Campus will be open to the public following the ceremony. Guests will also be invited to participate in Ollie the Trolley tours of the campus. The Offutt Air Force Base Color Guard will be present to raise the first flag to fly on the Lakin Campus. . . .

Clients began receiving services through the MICAH House and Heartland Family Service at the end of August. Heartland Homes, a permanent supportive housing facility operated by Heartland Family Service, the MICAH House and the Heartland Family Service office building have already opened, and Red Cross building is expected to open by the end of the month.

The campus's largest structure, which will be shared by The Salvation Army and Boys & Girls Clubs, is to come online by late fall or winter.

thenewguy · Post by **thenewguy** » Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:37 am

you know, it's really impressive and incredible how a project can uplift a formerly blighted area. Â I drove down there the other day and it's nice looking and helped clean things up a lot. Â As happy as i am that this campus is good for the community in terms of its services, I'm happy that it cleaned up that area of town. Â Now, if Council Bluffs would just enact a set of design standards like Omaha did for future projects...

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:49 pm

Lakin Campus dedicated

"Isn't it beautiful?" Charles Lakin asked a crowd of hundreds during a dedication ceremony Wednesday as he surveyed the campus he founded. . . .

icejammer · Post by **icejammer** » Fri Oct 17, 2008 12:32 pm

New blood center opens

For the first time ever, American Red Cross blood drives now have a permanent home in Council Bluffs.

On Tuesday, the organization's Midwest Region Blood Services put the Loess Hills Chapter's new, 3,000-square-foot blood center into operation. The center is in the chapter's new facility at 705 N. 16th St. on the Charles E. Lakin Human Services Campus.

Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan was the honorary first donor at the new center. . . .

Regular hours for the Loess Hills Chapter's blood center will start Monday, Oct. 20. Beginning that day, the center will be open Mondays from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the fourth Saturday of each month from 7 to 11 a.m. . . .