Terra State receives $1.5 million donation

FREMONT — Terra State's student housing initiative recently received some financial aid.Interim president Ron Schumacher announced Thursday the college received a $1.5 million gift from University Housing Solutions. University Housing Solutions is a Columbus-based developer working on The Landings at Terra Village, an on-campus housing project. The gift was assurance so if the project doesn't reach its goals during the first year, Terra State would help offset the costs up to $1.5 million."This is going to be very good for Terra Village Holdings," Terra Village Holdings board member Tom Kern said of the donation. "It allows us to continue to work on the project without the short-term concerns of the guarantee."Additionally, University Housing Solutions will cover any deficit involved, a significant boost since the deficit could be up to $750,000.Terra Village is expected to be a 94,000-square-foot housing facility with more than 200 beds. The cost is expected to remain at $19.6 million.Schumacher said the college now needs to focus on filling the residence halls. Capstone On-Campus Management and the admissions office will be in charge of marketing the student housing.When will Terra Village open?University Housing Solutions president Jim Schmidt said construction on Terra Village is behind schedule, which officials have known for a few months, due to weather, bad soil and losing a contractor. With significant time lost, officials decided to open the housing in phases.Phase one calls for opening Building B by Aug. 13. It will be able to accommodate about 60 to 70 students. As of Thursday, 32 leases have been signed for on-campus housing, officials said. "Our intent is to be able to house those students, have the exterior of the building done and the site cleaned up so those students can do that," Schmidt said. "We feel confident that we can do that. If something happens between now and then, we have a contingency plan of maybe where we can temporarily house those students for a couple weeks until that point is needed. But that's our plan right now."A connector between the housing facilities should be completed by mid-October while Building A will likely be completed next year. Students will be updated this fall on delays in the construction of Terra Village, Schumacher said.Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com, follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood and on Facebook.com/CaitliNearhoodConstruction crews work on The Landings at Terra Village, Terra State Community College's student housing, on Thursday, July 5, 2018. Terra State Community College interim president Ron Schumacher speaks during a press conference about a college's $1.5 million gift from University Housing Solutions on Thursday, July 5, 2018.