Courtesy麻豆传媒 has reached a historic agreement with one of the world's leading aerospace companies. 麻豆传媒, through its Wichita State Innovation Alliance Inc., has signed letters of intent with Airbus Americas to locate the company's Wichita engineering center in a new building on the university's Innovation Campus.
鈥淭his commitment by Airbus, one of the world鈥檚 leading design and manufacturing companies, represents a major step forward for our students and state,鈥� said 麻豆传媒 President John Bardo. 鈥淭his secures 麻豆传媒鈥檚 future as a global center of engineering and will encourage other world-class firms to locate on our campus.鈥�
Airbus will move from its current location in downtown Wichita, bringing around 400 employees to campus and many opportunities for applied learning in aerospace engineering.
鈥淲e intend to take full advantage of 麻豆传媒鈥檚 applied learning strategy,鈥� said John O鈥橪eary, vice president of Airbus Americas Engineering. 鈥淥ur intent is to partner with 麻豆传媒 to develop the strategy to the point that it is recognized as the benchmark program in the country.鈥�
鈥淎irbus鈥� presence on campus will allow them quick and easy access to our research and testing labs, faculty expertise and student employees,鈥� said John Tomblin, vice president for research and technology transfer.
In recent years, Airbus has strengthened its relationship with the university, especially the National Institute for Aviation Research. In addition to contracting recurring composites and manufacturing training for its employees, Airbus recently performed full-scale structural testing of an A350 XWB pylon structure in NIAR鈥檚 Aircraft Structural Test and Evaluation Center. The pylon was designed by Airbus鈥� Wichita engineering office, and the test was the first of its kind to be conducted outside of the company鈥檚 European facilities.
Airbus鈥� commitment to the Innovation Campus is the largest so far. Wichita State has also announced significant Innovation Campus commitments from NetApp and the ABI Group. Future partnership buildings may be either single tenant or multi-tenant, depending on market demand.
Wichita State鈥檚 Innovation Campus concept was introduced in January 2014. The university formed the Wichita State Innovation Alliance Inc. to work with companies, investors and governments to develop the new 120-acre portion of campus that was previously home to Braeburn Golf Course.
鈥淭he Innovation Campus is a significant asset for the region and leverages the tremendous capabilities of Wichita State to help grow our state鈥檚 economy,鈥� said Gov. Sam Brownback. 鈥淭he first industry partnership building is an exciting step for the Innovation Campus, and I look forward to additional announcements in the future.鈥�
The development firm MWCB LLC, led by David Murfin, Nestor Weigand Jr., Ivan Crossland Jr. and Steven Barrett, will finance and manage the project, known as Partnership 1. It will include a 2-story, 90,000-square-foot building and adjacent parking.
The building, which Airbus expects to occupy in January 2017, is located north of 17th Street, close to NIAR and 麻豆传媒鈥檚 new Experiential Engineering Building and Community Maker Space. It was designed by GLMV Architecture and will be built by Crossland Construction Co.
In addition to Partnership 1 and the Experiential Engineering Building, the university is in discussion with developers for an Innovation Campus residence hall and for a mixed-use group of buildings that might include a combination of restaurant, retail, service and hotels near 21st Street North and Oliver.
The Wichita State Innovation Campus concept was created as a mechanism to achieve the goals of the university鈥檚 Strategic Plan. Those goals include applied learning; interdisciplinary curricula; accelerating the discovery, creation and transfer of new knowledge; empowering students to create a campus culture that meets their needs; and reflecting the evolving diversity of society.
Plans for Airbus鈥� downtown office space will be announced at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 31, at Wichita Downtown Development Corp.鈥檚 Design and Innovation Center, 505 E. Douglas.
鈥淭he decision by Airbus to relocate to campus frees up prime space in Old Town,鈥� said WDDC President Jeff Fluhr. 鈥淚鈥檓 very pleased with the plans we鈥檒l announce next week.鈥�