YMCA center idea still in ‘infancy stage’

The proposed YMCA community center idea has an architect and a little bit of momentum but still no definitive site or agreement.

Greencastle Mayor Bill Dory updated the Redevelopment Commission (RDC) on the status of the proposed project at its March meeting Wednesday evening.

Bona Vita Architecture of Roanoke (near Fort Wayne), the recently approved architect on the project, is busy reviewing materials, developing programming ideas and generally creating “the footprint to be used as part of the site selection process that will determine we have room to do what we want to do there,” Dory told the commission.

Basically Bona Vita has just begun working on the project that has been a community dream for decades and a proposed possibility at least since the fall of 2014.

“We’re under way,” Mayor Dory told the Banner Graphic after the RDC meeting. “But we’re at the infancy stage. There will be more forthcoming.”

Although no official action has been taken by the City of Greencastle or the YMCA Board of Directors -- other than a memorandum of understanding -- the proposal continues to be for a facility built by the city and staffed and operated by the YMCA.

Several stopping points are built into that memorandum of understanding, Dory said, including potential issues of size, financing and utility costs.

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

That could mean the start of 2019 for occupancy if all goes well and an agreement is finalized with the YMCA.

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.

Construction cost figures -- predicted at $200 per square foot -- have been estimated at $8-$10 million on such a facility.

Last December, the RDC and the Greencastle City Council heard a presentation by Loren Matthes of H. J. Umbaugh & Associates, Indianapolis, who did a preliminary analysis of the city’s financing capabilities for such an endeavor.

“The take-away,” she said, “is that you have the ability to finance $14.5 million if you wanted to.”

While no one is suggesting the project go to that extent, the maximum $14.5 million figure remains a positive sign for local hopes of financing the project.

Meanwhile, no location has been selected for the facility. At least three sites are being considered for the possible community center location, although the mayor stopped short of disclosing them during a December public meeting.

“Big Walnut Sports Park is one,” Dory said, adding that he would rather not talk about the others at a public meeting “because we don’t control those properties.”

However, at another meeting last spring, it was reported that three sites explored have been Big Walnut Sport Park, the old Jones School property on the west side of Greencastle and a location “generally on the East Side.”

While a full go-ahead on the project has yet to be given, positive signs do persist.

Individual memberships are considered reasonable, and could cost as little as $30-35 a month with family memberships as low as $60 a month, YMCA officials have said. Approximately 1,000 memberships will be needed to make the project successful.

Meanwhile, the possible involvement of Putnam County Hospital (PCH) could “increase the footprint of the building and expand the project,” Mayor Dory has said.

The desire of PCH to be a key partner in development of the YMCA is driven by many factors, CEO Dennis Weatherford has previously explained recently for the BannerGraphic.

“Our goal, along with the City of Greencastle and the Wabash Valley YMCA, is to provide high-quality, affordable services to the community to promote a healthier Putnam County,” he said. “Doing this will fulfill the hospital’s strategic goal of managing population health in Putnam County.”

The PCH administrator cited urgent care and occupational health as examples of service lines that would benefit the area in a space such as a community center.