The Triangle Business Journal is reporting that The Art Institutes -- a for-profit chain of 'education centers' offering associates and bachelors degrees in "the creative and applied arts" -- is negotiating to lease 40,000 sq. ft. of space in the American Tobacco complex for a Triangle area outpost.
According to the TBJ, the private career education center would offer programs in design, multimedia, culinary arts, and marketing. Education Management Corp. offers Art Institute-branded schools in many major American cities and is one of the largest operators in the private educational space; the company is applying to the UNC System for degree-granting permission, and has posted a number of career opportunities on its web site, listing a Blackwell St. address.
I find this blogworthy not necessarily on the merits of the programs themselves, but for the fact that the presence of such a tenant would be a real boon for Ambacco specifically, and downtown generally, from a demographic perspective. Expect a program like AI to draw hundreds of twenty-something students to the district each day, bringing a demand for restaurants, shopping, and residential options.
The current employment mix downtown does a great job of drawing adults -- but largely in the daytime, boosting lunch business but often leaving the crickets chirping at other times of the day. A larger young-adult presence could change the demand profile for bars, convenience shopping, and restaurants.
No word on timing for the school's intended opening date.
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