Menu
County to learn value of Jones School property
In light of the recently announced news of a former Greencastle school building possibly converted into senior housing, county officials have expressed interest in learning the value of Jones School.
City of Greencastle officials announced earlier this week they are examining a proposal from Milestone Ventures of Indianapolis to convert the city-owned Miller School building at 522 Anderson Street into senior housing units.
During the review process, one of the five firms submitting proposals expressed interest in having a second such location in Greencastle.
Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Bill Dory immediately thought of Jones School, and shared the information with the Putnam County Commissioners earlier this month.
While commissioners Don Walton and David Berry did not immediately express interest in selling the land, they seemed to agree it was worth having the building and property appraised.
Berry said he would like to know the building's value in order to make more informed decisions about the property's future.
The commissioners approved moving forward with an appraisal.
The school served as the Putnam County Annex between 2002 and 2011, during which time it housed a number of county offices, as well as the commissioners courtroom.
The expense of upkeep forced the county to move the offices and close the building in November 2011. Since then, the county has used only the gymnasium area for storage.
The building served as an elementary school for the Greencastle Community School Corporation until the 2001 opening of Deer Meadow Primary School.
The county purchased the building and land from GCSC for $1 and began moving offices into the building in 2002.
The firm interested in a second location was not Milestone Ventures, which already has a Greencastle location, Milestone Point between Martinsville and South streets.
In spite of this, county officials are moving forward, at least learning the project's value.