Indianapolis, Indiana – The Illinois Fall Creek Center at Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis is once again open, welcoming students, faculty, staff, and visitors back into a completely transformed space as the spring 2026 semester gets underway. The reopening marks a major milestone in the multi-year campus capital project known as Ivy Tech Indy: Reimagined for the Future, an effort aimed at reshaping how the college serves students and meets Indiana’s evolving workforce needs.
After being closed for more than a year, the Illinois Fall Creek Center, often referred to as IFC, has reemerged following a comprehensive, phased renovation. Design planning for the project began in 2024, with construction continuing throughout 2025. The result is a modern, student-centered building built to support collaboration, hands-on learning, and expanded academic programming on Ivy Tech’s largest campus.
The Indianapolis campus serves more than 30,000 students each year through in-person, online, virtual, and hybrid formats. With more than 700 faculty and staff, it is the largest Ivy Tech campus in the state. As enrollment demand continues to grow in healthcare, nursing, manufacturing, and technology, campus leaders identified the need for updated lab space, improved instructional environments, and more accessible student services. The renovation of IFC was designed to meet those needs head-on.
A major driver of the project was the relocation of the School of Nursing and the School of Health Sciences from Ivy Tech’s former Lawrence site to the downtown Indianapolis campus. The Lawrence facility required extensive repairs and updates, making long-term reinvestment there less practical. Moving the programs downtown provided a more sustainable solution while placing students closer to hospitals, clinical partners, and major employers.
The renovated IFC now features advanced nursing and health sciences labs designed to replicate real-world healthcare environments. These spaces include hospital-style patient rooms, modern medical equipment, and simulation areas that support team-based, hands-on learning. The open lab layouts allow instructors to observe students in real time, provide immediate feedback, and guide instruction as students practice skills that closely mirror clinical settings they will encounter in their careers.
“This renovation allows us to put our resources where they matter most—creating specialized lab spaces for nursing and health sciences while bringing students into the center of campus, where services, support, and workforce connections already exist,” said Andy Cummings, chief operating officer at Ivy Tech Indianapolis. “It’s a better student experience and a smarter long-term investment for the campus.”
The reopening of IFC also brings back the School of Arts, Sciences, and Education, reuniting academic programs, faculty offices, and instructional spaces that had previously been spread across multiple locations. By consolidating these programs into a single, modern environment, the college aims to strengthen daily connections between students and faculty and encourage collaboration across disciplines.
The unified space also includes shared cultural venues, including the future home of the Ivy Indy Art Gallery. Once completed, the gallery will provide a dedicated location for showcasing student artwork, hosting exhibitions, and supporting creative expression across the campus community.
In addition to nursing and health sciences, IFC now houses the new Biopharma Science and Technology Lab. The lab was made possible with support from Eli Lilly and Company and supports students participating in the Lilly Scholars at Ivy Tech program. The space further aligns Ivy Tech with Indiana’s growing life sciences and biotechnology sectors, providing students with access to industry-relevant training and experiences.
Students returning to IFC will also find familiar spaces alongside new upgrades. Bowen Commons, a long-standing gathering place on campus, remains part of the building. The Bowen Commons Food Court has been retained, and a new food service vendor, AVI Food Systems, has been selected. Full dining service is scheduled to begin in April, restoring a central hub for meals, meetings, and informal student interaction.
Throughout the building, the renovation includes new furniture, updated layouts, and modernized instructional and study spaces designed to support evolving technology and learning needs. Student services have been centralized to make navigation easier and improve access to academic and support resources. The building also features upgraded, energy-efficient LED lighting, supporting long-term cost savings and environmental stewardship.
Campus leaders say the reopening of IFC reflects a broader investment in the future of Ivy Tech Indianapolis and the role it plays in preparing students for high-demand careers. By updating facilities and bringing programs together in one location, the college aims to create a more connected campus experience while strengthening ties between education and employment.
The Illinois Fall Creek Center reopening is just one phase of the larger Ivy Indy Reimagined project. In October, the Julia M. Carson Systems Administration Building, formerly known as the Learning Resource Center, reopened as the new home for the college’s parent-level operations, internally referred to as the Systems Office.
The Learning Resource Center had previously housed the Ivy Tech Indianapolis Library and Tutoring Services. Those services are now temporarily located on the fourth floor of the North Meridian Center while that building undergoes its own full renovation. The North Meridian Center renovation will include the permanent new home for the campus library.
Construction on the North Meridian Center is expected to be completed ahead of the start of the 2026–27 academic year. Renderings of the renewed space are available online, allowing students, faculty, and community members to preview what is coming next.
College officials say the multi-phase project reflects a long-term vision focused on student success, workforce alignment, and campus sustainability. Each renovation is designed to improve how students learn, how faculty teach, and how the campus supports the broader Indianapolis community.
More information about the Ivy Tech Indy: Reimagined for the Future project, including updates, renderings, and timelines, is available online. Community members can also stay informed by subscribing to the quarterly newsletter, the Ivy Indy Community Chronicle, which provides regular updates on campus improvements and milestones.
As students settle into the spring 2026 semester, the reopening of the Illinois Fall Creek Center stands as a visible sign of progress, signaling a renewed commitment to modern education, hands-on training, and the future workforce of Indiana’s capital city.
