MUNCIE — The principals behind Muncie's new downtown hotel are hoping to raise matching funds in an effort to secure millions of dollars in additional funding for the project.
The Arc of Indiana Foundation, which is overseeing construction of the Courtyard hotel at the end of High Street on the southern edge of downtown Muncie, is trying to raise money through a GoFundMe online page.
The goal of the GoFundMe page is to raise $300,000 by Nov. 15 in matching funds "to receive a gift of $4.2 million" for the hotel, which will include the Erskine Green Training Center, a school for people with disabilities to receive training in the hospitality and health care industries.
The Arc is aiming to raise $300,000 toward $8.9 million in equity in order to win federal new market tax credits.
"We've been approached to receive an allocation in new market tax credits," Jill Vaught, The Arc's director of advancement, told The Star Press. "Our project meets all the criteria. The sooner we get the building paid for, the more money that can go toward employment training and opportunities."
While the hotel — the first in downtown Muncie since the Roberts closed in October 2006 — has been cited for its capacity to serve the adjacent Horizon Convention Center, the training center is what officials point to as new and different about the project.