Community Center project reintroduced to public

Thursday, May 20, 2021
Artist's rendition of front elevation of proposed community center/YMCA facility
Courtesy photo

For the first time in almost two years, the public got a glimpse at the latest plans for the Community Center/YMCA project ticketed for Greencastle’s East Side.

Approximately 40 persons were in attendance Tuesday night, the majority of whom represented city governmental boards, project stakeholders and those associated with making the presentation at City Hall.

In reintroducing the project, Mayor Bill Dory reiterated that the city will own the facility and lease spaces to the Wabash Valley YMCA and Putnam County Hospital.

The city has already acquired the site -- 72.3 acres in all, east of the Walmart Superstore on the south side of State Road 240 -- from the Ballard Family.

The Greencastle Redevelopment Commission will fund building of the facility, using tax-increment financing funds set aside for several years as well as a possible bond issue, Dory said.

Although a community center/YMCA has been a hot-button issue for more than 30 years, the project really began in earnest in 2015 under then-Mayor Sue Murray. That’s when 647 community residents responded to a survey, twice as many as organizers had expected.

That led to site exploration, in which three locations were seriously considered -- the Jones School property, Big Walnut Sports Park and the Ballard farm.

“One of the reason this site works better than some of the others,” the mayor said, “is because we have a traffic light (at Calbert Way and SR 240) Yes, we do have our ‘rush 15 minutes.’”

The mayor added that the intent is to bring the People Pathways “down from 240 so people can bike there. “

It hasn’t been done yet, Dory said, to avoid it being torn up during the construction.

Mayor Dory noted that a few delays have occurred along the way, including a change in YMCA leadership and the inescapable lull caused by Covid.

However, not only has the site been acquired but an access road (Calbert Way extended) built and utilities put in place. In addition, the city has sold off 20 acres of the Ballard site to Duke Energy for a new facility.

Architect Tom Salzer of Bona Vita Architecture, who has previously served on YMCA boards, brings a “dual aspect” to the Greencastle project and its design, the mayor said.

Salzer told the audience that he is about halfway through the design process.

Artist's rendition of rear elevation, facing north, of proposed community center/YMCA project off State Road 240
Courtesy photo

Some of the highlights he pointed out were the front canopy entrance, which will face the south and overlook the main parking area. The rear, or north side of the facility, will face State Road 240 and include a bank of glass panels to brighten up the interior space allocated to the wellness center and workout areas.

The main entry will include a lounge area and registration desk with the west side of the main level, immediately inside the front door, allocated to Putnam County Hospital for potential services such as urgent care and occupational medicine and outpatient therapy due to the close proximity to industrial facilities.

The northwest corner of the main floor will feature a gymnasium with two basketball courts that can accommodate volleyball courts and six pickleball courts as well. There has been a push for a third basketball court to provide more flexibility and possibly attract tournaments that could generate income for the facility.

The first floor is also likely to house a child watch area, private locker area, mechanical and receiving areas and an elevator to the second floor. The second level is expected to include three group exercise rooms, a spin class room and an elevated running track (13 laps per mile).

Audience members also asked about some outdoor activity areas, such as playground, basketball court and water feature.

None of those is planned, especially with Big Walnut Sports Park in close proximity, Councilor Veronica Pejril said.

“We don’t want to compete with ourselves,” the councilor said, suggesting that activity at the community center should “supplement and complement” other local recreational opportunities.

Overall, Salzer estimated the square footage at 60,000 square feet, which is an increase from the 51,000 square feet shown at the May 2019 community meeting.

“So when do we press ‘go’?” asked Scott Monnett from the audience.

Technically, Mayor Dory replied, “we’ve already started,” noting the land purchase and the request for proposals issued for a construction management firm.

Proposals for that position were due today. City officials will scrutinize them, narrow the candidates to a couple and question them at a public meeting.

Once there is a construction manager in place, Salzer said, an engineer’s estimate on the cost of the project should evolve quickly.

Back at the May 2019 meeting, construction costs were estimated at $8 million to $10 million, but that was for a 51,000-square-foot building. And since then there has been a significant increase in the cost of building materials.

“We feel they (building costs) have to come down at some point,” Salzer said. “We’ve seen a few things come down.

“As a city,” the project architect continued, “if you put this out to bid and don’t like the results, you can pull it back. So you hold all the cards.”

Timing was still everything to most of the audience.

“What is the minimum amount of time we’re looking at?” Councilman Murray asked.

Salzer was quick to respond with “15 months for design to construction ... once it gets to that point.” He added, however, that construction alone could take 12-18 months.

Membership costs spawned another query.

Penrod suggested the costs would be similar to those paid at the Brazil site, also operated by the Wabash Valley YMCÅ. Mainly, $50-$60 a month for a family membership and $14 for a youth membership.

Greencastle “would probably need 1,500 to 2,000 memberships” to operate effectively. The facility could easily handle 3,000 to 5,000 members, Salzer said.

Meanwhile, even though Greencastle is spearheading the project, Mayor Dory said he wants to “make it clear we want lots and lots of members from across the county to help support it.”

Comments
View 1 comment
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • We were on a committee for a community center/YMCA project back in the late 90's. We had about 4 or 5 well attended meetings! Nothing ever happened. I couldn't figure out why it took so long for this project to get off the ground? It wasn't for lack of interest. I sure hope they have better success this time around! We wish them well!

    -- Posted by jake71 on Fri, May 21, 2021, at 3:28 PM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: