YMCA construction completion forecast for Jan. 24

The Putnam County YMCA is reaching what the contractors termed “a big milestone” in the construction effort.

But before you run out and buy yourself a new swimsuit, we’re not quite there yet.

It’s “a big milestone” that paving is finally going to be done at the construction site east of the Walmart Supercenter on State Road 240, Ross Warner of Tonn and Blank Construction, Indianapolis, told the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission (RDC) Wednesday evening.

After delays with excess water on the site and steel acquisition and more, the fact that Warner could release a construction completion date of Jan. 24 for the wellness center was music to the ears of the RDC.

Paving of the western portion of the south parking lot has been completed, Warner said, noting that all paving work was set to be done Friday. But with a possibility of rain developing, Monday may actually be a better assessment.

Following the completion of paving, attention will turn to putting down the flooring for the three gyms in the 70,995-square-foot facility being built on former Ballard family acreage off South Calbert Way on the city’s East Side.

In forecasting the late January construction completion of the project, Warner said a month-long move-in period is expected to follow before the YMCA opens to the public.

While the Putnam County YMCA is slated to open in February, the big splash will come later when the indoor pool — an idea that became a realistic possibility when the Lilly Foundation awarded a $32 million grant to DePauw University for campus and community improvements — is anticipated to be done in 2026, the RDC was advised at an earlier meeting.

“By the end of 2026” was City Attorney Laurie Hardwick’s assessment at the time, although city officials are “hoping for earlier” for the pool opening.

In other business, the RDC:

• Approved $43,100 in additional engineering fees for Align Civil Engineering on the western extension of the Campus Link Trail as part of the Next Level Trails project. The trail will be redesigned to swing uphill west of the city lift station along Veterans Memorial Highway and State Road 240.

According to information from Jeff Mahan of Align, who also serves as city engineer, “placement of the new pathway as originally scoped across the Buzzi parcel has proved to be problematic.”

Duke Energy has provided easement documents with specific restrictions on construction. While a pathway is allowable, changes in elevation required on either side of the Buzzi drive are not acceptable within the limits of the existing power lines due to a reduction in clearance from the power lines to the ground, Mahan noted.

City Attorney Hardwick noted that it was cheaper to redesign than relocate the power lines.

Mahan advised it was “half the cost” to redesign rather than relocate.

“To modify the power lines to be higher and/or relocated, Duke has indicated a cost of $80,000-$90,000 per pole impacted,” Mahan’s report stated. “Therefore, it seems more reasonable to investigate path modifications to reduce/eliminate the unacceptable impacts to the power line corridor.”

The realignment requires redesign of approximately 1,000 feet of pathway with the redesign alone necessitating an additional $28,200 in engineering costs.

• Heard Mayor Lynda Dunbar report that the state has put a new requirement to put together a TIF plan for 2025 as “more of a TIF budget for next year.” She said the RDC will need to meet and go over those figures the first week of November in order to comply with state requirements. No date was set.

Joining Mayor Dunbar and City Attorney Hardwick for the half-hour meeting were RDC members Stacie Langdon, Chris Flegal, Eric Birt, Brice LeBlanc and Erika Gilmore, along with ex-officio member Megan Inman form the Greencastle School Board.