ANDERSON — Purdue University and Anderson University soon won’t be the only educational tenants of the Flagship business park on Anderson’s south side.
Validus Academy School of Therapeutic Massage is set to open in the park in January, with classes scheduled starting Jan. 26. The school will be a training center for future massage therapists and will provide jobs for three to five new full-time workers, including two massage instructors, administrative counselors and anatomy instructors, according to Dean Stratman, administrative dean.
“I’ve always wanted to have a school for those who don’t go from high school to college,” said Stratman, whose family company, Stratfam I LLC, will open the school. “I feel like that area is lacking immensely.”
Stratman, a dentist with Comfort Dental on 53rd Street, will open the school in the building occupied by his medical spa, ModernSkin, at 2725 Enterprise Drive. The 10,000-square-foot building only has 25 percent being used, Stratman’s attorney, Mike Austin, said.
“There is a huge demand for this type of skill,” Austin said. “This would enable Dr. Stratman and his family LLC to better use this building.”
The Anderson Plan Commission approved a zoning change to Business 1 for the building at its meeting Tuesday, as a school is not allowed on property zoned Business 3. The zoning change and a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals are all that stand in the way of the school opening, on which Stratman already has been approved by the Indiana Commission on Proprietary Education.
“I would like Anderson to be a better place,” Stratman said. “We’re trying to make it the best (massage) school in Indiana.”
Validus’ Web site says the massage therapy field is rapidly growing and that the school will feature internships to help build students’ resumes.
“Our goal at Validus Academy is to set the highest standard for educational excellence in the massage therapy profession by providing the best instructors, training environment and curriculum,” the school’s mission statement says.
Stratman said the school likely would have a four-hour morning and afternoon class that would meet Monday through Friday with 20-24 students in each class. To apply, visit the school’s Web site at validusacademy.com.
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Mark your calendar
— Validus Academy Information Night: 7-9 p.m. Nov. 11
— Information Day: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Nov. 22
— Ribbon-cutting ceremony: 1-2 p.m. Jan. 19
— First day of classes: Jan. 26
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In other Plan Commission business:
— The commission approved a secondary plat for Bethany Pointe Memory Care and Villa Addition in the 1700-2100 blocks of Bethany Road.
—‚ The commission approved a secondary plat for a subdivision for a possible motel and commercial business at 5920 S. Scatterfield Road, at the site of the Clarion Hotel.
— The commission approved a zone map change from Residential 3 to Industrial 1 for a property in the 2300 block of Forkner Street.
— The commission approved a secondary plat for Celebration Station, a commercial business site in the 2700-2800 blocks of Nichol Avenue.
— The commission approved a primary plat for Hoosier Park Racing and Casino.
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