City closes on land for YMCA

Another major hurdle has been cleared as the proposed Greencastle community center project gains momentum.

The City of Greencastle and its Redevelopment Commission closed earlier this week on the purchase of 73.26 acres of vacant property on the city’s East Side that is proposed as the location for the long-sought community center.

That comes less than a month after the Redevelopment Commission‘s March 20 approval of the purchase of that property, stretching from Ballard Lane on the east to the Walmart Distribution Center on the west, south of State Road 240 and north of the existing area homes.

The site has been acquired from the Ballard and Sturgeon families and their three trusts at the disclosed purchase price of $1.4 million. City officials note that is less than the average of the two appraisals done on the property as required when a municipality or its emissary is acquiring real estate.

Funding for the purchase comes from Redevelopment Commission dollars generated through the city’s East Side TIF district.

The site also includes frontage along State Road 240 from Calbert Way to the Farm Credit property at the corner of State Road 240 and Ballard Lane.

Closing on the property wasn’t the only good news on the community center project.

At the City Council’s recent April meeting, Mayor Bill Dory offered an update on where the project sits with the Wabash Valley YMCA organization.

“Since our last City Council meeting (in March), I have participated in two really good meetings with the YMCA folks,” Dory said. “We have reached a point in the negotiation terms of agreement where everyone feels comfortable with having (Indianapolis law firm) Ice Miller prepare the actual legal document.”

The mayor said City Attorney Laurie Hardwick is working on those arrangements.

“We also met with the architect,” Mayor Dory continued, “to discuss some refinements of the conceptual drawings.”

The project is expected to require 6-9 months of design and bidding, followed by 12-14 months of construction.

Size of the facility has been suggested as 30,000 to 35,000 square feet with enough room left for future growth and adequate parking.

At that size, with construction cost figures predicted at $200 per square foot, cost of the facility has been estimated at $8 million to $10 million.

The Ballard-Sturgeon property was one of at least three sites that had been under consideration as a possible community center location over the past 18 months.

It was reported during a 2017 meeting that sites being explored were Big Walnut Sport Park, the old Jones School property on the west side of Greencastle and a location “generally on the East Side.” Obviously, the latter was the choice.

Although no official action on YMCA involvement has been taken by the City of Greencastle or the Wabash Valley YMCA Board of Directors -- other than an earlier memorandum of understanding -- the proposal continues to point to a facility built by the city and staffed and operated by the YMCA.