$330k state grant to enhance ColumBUS stops

The city of Columbus will be receiving almost $330,000 in state grant funds to help add sculptural bus shelters in several areas.

State officials announced the next round of funding through the READI 2.0 Arts and Culture Initiative earlier this week. Statewide the program announced $62.3 million in grants across 49 projects, with the grants unlocking almost $370 million dollars in investments.

In addition to a $6 million grant to fund the Crump Center for the Performing Arts, the state also announced a grant to the city of Columbus for a bus shelter sculpture project. The project is a partnership between the city, Indiana University’s J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program and Ignition Arts. A prototype has already been created at Nexus Park and a second protype is scheduled near the Visitors Center.

The state grant will help fund the creation of three more of the shelters along the public transit routes. The state officials wrote that the shelters will support “the unique identity for the ColumBus transit system and enhancing the city’s reputation for architectural innovation.”

The total project expenses are expected to be just over $740,000.

Photo courtesy of Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI)