Lincoln College celebrates the official opening of Lynx Village with a Chamber ribbon cut
 

[September 30, 2017] 

LINCOLN

On Friday morning, the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber Ambassadors, joined a large crowd on the campus of Lincoln College to celebrate the official opening of Lynx Village.

The Village is a set of multiplex apartments located at the junction of North Ottawa Street and Nicholson Road on the north side of the LC campus. The college purchased the buildings last fall and have done extensive work gutting the interiors, and re-designing the units into living spaces for students.

During the ribbon cut, Chamber President Cathy Wilhite congratulated the college on the excellent outcome, and praised the college for its value to the community.

College President Dr. David Gerlach addressed the crowd, first giving praise to the Chamber for its sponsorship of ribbon cuts in the community along with other work the organization does to promote its membership.

He then turned to offering many thank yous for those who had invested time, talent, and money into the project. He noted that when the units were purchased, there was a lot to be done before even beginning the work on the interiors. He praised the college maintenance crew who worked to clean up the apartments, and even fought off massive numbers of bugs in some of the units.

Gerlach also thanked the construction firm who did all the work bringing the apartments up to a standard that was far and above what many had expected. Gerlach noted that in the spring, when students were searching out their living assignments for the coming school year, they had been told that the village would be ready for the fall. However, in their condition at that time, most students were not interested in speaking for space in the new Lynx Village.

Gerlach added that now that the village is open and filled, he has had students scold him for not doing a better job of selling the place, because they could not imagine the living accommodations would be so very nice.

Gerlach praised the Lincoln College Board of Trustees for their vision for the college, and their forward thinking. He said that for 152 years the college has relied on the board of directors for leadership and has benefited from the board members drive to move the college forward.

Gerlach also made mention of the Woods Foundation that offered tremendous financial support to the project. He said that the foundation knew the vision and goals of the college and supported the college’s effort to push back to a four-year institution.

In a separate press release issued by the college, Bill Bates, President of the Woods Foundation offered the following quote: “The Woods Foundation is very aware of the positive impact that Lincoln College has on Lincoln and the Logan County area. We are committed to the success of the college and also recognize the significant benefit that this project brings to the community by taking property that was blighted and repurposing that property for student housing.”

At the ribbon cut, Blinn Bates addressed the audience in Bill’s absence, again reinforcing the quote from his father, and praising Robert and Joan Woods for their vision, and their philanthropic nature that continued to give the foundation the ability today to support such worthy projects.

At the end of the talks, Gerlach and Wilhite were joined by Bates and David Clapp, Chair of the Lincoln College Board of Trustees, to do the official ribbon cut. After the ribbon cut, the entire crowd was invited to join Gerlach and others for a group photo to mark the occasion. Those in attendance included staff from the college, members of the community and many students.

After the ceremony was concluded, tours were offered of the new residences for students.

Additional text provided by Mark Gordon, Public Relations and Media Manager, Lincoln College:

A new apartment suite option for students has been officially opened at Lincoln College with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 29.

The newly renovated “Lynx Village” offers suite-style living for Lincoln College’s growing student population, with first preference given to upperclassmen.

“We are pleased to expand the range of living options available to our students and are deeply appreciative of the strong support of The Woods Foundation, which has awarded Lincoln College a grant of $500,000 to offset the costs of renovating the apartments,” said Dr. David Gerlach, President of Lincoln College.

“The Woods Foundation is very aware of the positive impact that Lincoln College has on Lincoln and the Logan County area. We are committed to the success of the College and also recognize the significant benefit that this project brings to the community by taking property that was blighted and repurposing that property for student housing,” said William Bates, President of the Woods Foundation.

Grants from the Woods Foundation are made possible through the generosity of Robert J. Woods and Joan Jarrett Woods, by the creation of The Woods Foundation.

The apartment-style suites are located at the north edge of the Lincoln College campus. Over the summer, the interiors of the units were completely gutted and rebuilt, including new flooring, walls, ceilings, heating, air conditioning and plumbing. In addition, new exterior siding and windows were installed.

Makayla Suelter, Peoria, Student Body President in her Lynx Village Room

The renovated units can accommodate up to 39 students in 2 buildings with 10 total units, in either a four-plex or a six-plex configuration. Each student has a private bedroom, averaging 11’ x 11’. All units have a common living room area for the students, as well as shared bathroom space. The four-plex units have had carports converted to outdoor space and the six-plex units have access to rear courtyard space for students to use for socializing. There are no kitchen facilities, as students will continue to have access to the college’s dining hall for meals. The property also includes a laundry facility supporting the 39 students.

[Nila Smith, with text from Lincoln College, with photos by Smith and Mark Gordon]