Purdue raising money for equine surgical center

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Purdue University is raising money to build a $12 million veterinary care facility near the Indiana Downs racetrack where horses could receive advanced treatment and students would receive training.

Dr. Willie Reed, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue, tells The Shelbyville News (http://bit.ly/N5W0Y4) the university is focusing on fundraising now that the land has been secured and preliminary architect's plans have been completed.

"If the funds come in, we will send the project out for bid, which will take some time. We could start building in early spring, and we would love that," Reed said.

The plans call for a 23,000-square-foot facility on 20 acres. The facility will have emergency veterinary care, specialized equine surgery capability and advanced medical imaging.

Former state Sen. Robert Jackman of Milroy, Reed and a group of city and county officials have been promoting the equine diagnostic and surgical center for the past four years. The project would involve a partnership between Shelbyville, Shelby County, Purdue, local veterinarians and the local and state horse racing industry.

The city and county each have agreed to pay $1.15 million — bringing Shelby County's total contributions to $2.3 million. Purdue chipped in $1.5 million from a college endowment.

There is, however, a stipulation that if the foundation buys the land and fails to build by the June 30, 2014 deadline, the city and county can opt out of the agreement and take ownership of the land.

Reed said the local government was one reason why Purdue chose to build the center in Shelbyville.

"The local government was easy to work with. There is a lot of development centered around agriculture and the equine industry. It was just a natural fit for us, it was close to Indianapolis and I was impressed with the local government," Reed said.

Reed said he doesn't know when ground will be broken on the facility, saying it all depends on how quickly the money can be raised.