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Facade project coming to an end
The facade portion of the Greencastle Stellar Communities Grant project, which has helped put a new face on the downtown, is slowly coming to an end.
The rehanging of the Moore's Bar sign, accomplished earlier this week, was one of the last remaining major elements of the facade project that had been left undone.
The Game Warehouse on the south side of the square still needs its sign put up and several spots are in need of painting or at least final touch-up painting.
Where scissor lifts were once visible on all sides of the square as well as along South Indiana and South Jackson streets, the to-do list is dwindling.
But that doesn't mean the facade project is over just yet. In fact, the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission, during its June meeting, has granted another 30-day extension until July 29 for 3-D Professional Contracting Inc., the Lebanon company completing the second round of the city's facade work.
"This should be the last extension," City Attorney Laurie Hardwick said.
She reiterated that painting, the Moore's Bar and Game Warehouse signs and revised lighting outside Moore's "are the big items, the rest are pretty small."
Back in the spring 3-D needed to request a two-month extension after the Phase II facade project got off to a late start due to a delay in the state finalizing the contract and then encountered cool temperatures and rainy conditions that prohibited the exterior painting portion of the work.
While waiting on proper weather conditions to paint, 3-D nonetheless kept busy installing windows and doing other detail work.
The City of Greencastle was awarded the $19 million Stellar Communities Grant in March 2011. That included funds for a downtown parking garage at Walnut and Indiana streets that became a surface lot after bids on the project twice exceeded engineering estimates on the garage by $750,000-$1 milFacade project coming to an end
By ERIC BERNSEE
Editor
The facade portion of the Greencastle Stellar Communities Grant project, which has helped put a new face on the downtown, is slowly coming to an end.
The rehanging of the Moore's Bar sign, accomplished earlier this week, was one of the last remaining major elements of the facade project that had been left undone.
The Game Warehouse on the south side of the square still needs its sign put up and several spots are in need of painting or at least final touch-up painting.
Where scissor lifts were once visible on all sides of the square as well as along South Indiana and South Jackson streets, the to-do list is dwindling.
But that doesn't mean the facade project is over just yet. In fact, the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission, during its June meeting, has granted another 30-day extension until July 29 for 3-D Professional Contracting Inc., the Lebanon company completing the second round of the city's facade work.
"This should be the last extension," City Attorney Laurie Hardwick said.
She reiterated that painting, the Moore's Bar and Game Warehouse signs and revised lighting outside Moore's "are the big items, the rest are pretty small."
Back in the spring 3-D needed to request a two-month extension after the Phase II facade project got off to a late start due to a delay in the state finalizing the contract and then encountered cool temperatures and rainy conditions that prohibited the exterior painting portion of the work.
While waiting on proper weather conditions to paint, 3-D nonetheless kept busy installing windows and doing other detail work.
The City of Greencastle was awarded the $19 million Stellar Communities Grant in March 2011. That included funds for a downtown parking garage at Walnut and Indiana streets that became a surface lot after bids on the project twice exceeded engineering estimates on the garage by $750,000-$1 million. Also, a downtown loft apartment project was ultimately scuttled by lack of interest after property owners were faced with costly elevator issues.
One of the Stellar pieces yet to reach fruition is an additional portion of the People Pathways project designed to connect community schools and industries with the city's existing trail system.
Originally it was scheduled for property acquisition in 2015 and then bid letting and construction this year. However, INDOT has pushed the project back.
Proposed in 2011 as a $2.37 million undertaking, it since has been pared to a $1,097,260 project.
The Redevelopment Commission heard City Attorney Hardwick reported on several property acquisition developments relative to the pathway project.
Walmart, she said, has accepted the city's offer of $25,275 for acquisition of the right-of-way in front of the distribution center property along Veterans Memorial Highway. The commission approved acquisition as a perpetual easement, which will save the city $8,000 and won't require maintenance and mowing of property adjacent to the pathway.
Heartland Automotive and Ivy Tech have both donated their individual right-of-way sections as perpetual easements.
That could still be the case with the Walmart property, the city attorney suggested, but the overall process of right-of-way acquisition still needs to play itself out first, she said.