Stellar Project slowly winding down in city

Where once it seemed like all four sides of the courthouse square were under construction at once and major Greencastle streets were under constant restoration, there's now a light at the end of the tunnel for the city's $19 million Stellar Communities Grant project.

"It's basically winding down," Mayor Sue Murray smiled and told the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission Wednesday evening.

Sure, there's extensive work on South Vine Street that is scheduled for completion by Labor Day. And the second round of facade improvements in the downtown will have a bid opening in June. July, meanwhile, will see bids solicited on the second-floor loft portion of the project.

"So we're talking Vine Street, some facades, 11 lofts and a ribbon," Mayor Murray said, the last item, of course, alluding to a big bow to tie on the whole thing that began with Greencastle being awarded one of two inaugural Stellar Grants (North Vernon was the other community) in March 2011.

Along the way, we've seen fire and we've seen rain. Not to mention cold and snow and unforeseen gremlins in the ground that have done their share of extending the timeline.

But word that the Stellar Project is nearing its end, brought a chorus of contented sighs from members of the Redevelopment group, meeting at City Hall.

The mayor noted that work on Vine Street commenced May 18, focusing initially on the 10-foot alley south of the post office and the utilities that lie beneath it.

That alley work should be done in the coming week, allowing the contractor, Schutt-Lookabill Co., Indianapolis, to move on to the Seminary Street side of the Vine Street streetscape operation.

Current cost projection on the Vine Street work is listed at $1,980,525.

Meanwhile, a report circulated by the mayor showed that the city is finishing the last project on Phase II of the owner-occupied rehabilitation work. That grant will close out on June 30.

And with the permanent asphalt coat applied and everything but the restriping done on the South Court (Indiana-Walnut-Jackson streets) and Market Street parking lots, that project -- which began as a proposed parking garage solution for downtown parking issues -- is essentially complete.

However, the multi-use trail project -- basically designed to connect community schools and industries via the DePauw Nature Park and existing People Pathways corridors through Greencastle -- has been pushed back a year at the request of the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The bid date has been extended out, Mayor Murray said, resulting in a year's delay in letting.

City officials are fine with that, however, since INDOT has now pledged to pick up what would have been the city's 20 percent matching portion on a $1,097,260 project.

That change and the timetable delay effectively take that project out from under the Stellar umbrella.

"So we can decouple the trail discussion from Stellar," Mayor Murray noted.

With Phase I of the facade project now complete, Phase II will focus on bidding and construction this year. Fewer facades are included in the second phase with a current cost projection of $1.67 million.

That leaves the key upcoming steps in the overall Stellar picture as:

-- Facades: Selecting contractor, finalizing contract and beginning construction.

-- Owner-Occupied Housing: Closing out the grant.

-- Streetscapes: Continuing Vine Street construction.

-- Second-Floor Lofts: Procuring a contractor and finalizing the contract with Putnam County Housing Authority for project management.

City officials will host a meeting with property owners of the 11 loft projects within the next two weeks, the mayor told Redevelopment Commission members Erika Gilmore, Gwen Morris, Gary Lemon and Tanis Monday (Drew Brattain was absent).

The next Redevelopment Commission meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24 at City Hall.