Construction is expected to begin in the next 60 days on the second and largest phase of Innovation Campus infrastructure.

The utilities and infrastructure project will include the bulk of the major utilities and roads required to support future development on Innovation Campus.

Included in this phase will be:

• Construction of a new north-south boulevard, to be called Innovation Way, between 17th Street and Mike Oatman Drive.
• Construction of an east-west street (19th Street) from Oliver to connect with Innovation Way.
• Construction of a north-south pedestrian mall that will serve as an organizational feature for future building development, accommodate emergency vehicles and be a shared easement for multiple utilities.
• Utility and site amenities such as pedestrian lighting, mass grading, landscaping, sidewalks, detention ponds and fiber optic cabling.

WSU President John Bardo said each day brings the promise of the Innovation Campus closer to reality.

“It’s exciting to see the pieces of Innovation Campus coming together,” Bardo said. “Our intention is that this 120-acre space becomes a stimulus for applied learning, a nurturing home for inventors and entrepreneurs, and an accelerator for economic growth for the people of Kansas. Innovation Campus construction itself is an important economic catalyst for Kansas, employing hundreds in the construction, engineering and design of the campus.”

General contractor Crossland Construction Co. was the lowest of three bidders at $6.1 million, selected through a process conducted by the Kansas Department of Administration’s Office of Procurement and Contracts.

Phase two infrastructure construction will be completed this fall, prior to the opening of the Experiential Engineering Building, GoCreate makerspace and Airbus Americas Engineering Center (Partnership Building 1).

The infrastructure is being financed by funds from a 2015 Sedgwick County Public Building Commission $45 million bond issue. The bonds are guaranteed by a 40-year Sedgwick County mill levy that supports community benefits provided by WSU.

Phase one of Innovation Campus infrastructure work is already underway. Nowak Construction Co. is the general contractor, working on a $1.1 million project to install sanitary sewer and water lines. That phase is scheduled for completion in March.

The WSU Office of Facilities Planning and MKEC Engineering developed the infrastructure plans for Innovation Campus.