Construction begins on Anderson Street

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The Anderson Street project launches on Monday, March 26.  Our first order of business is to prepare the street for construction, which involves relocating and replacing water and sanitary lines.  During construction, the street will be closed to most vehicular traffic.

We also expect parking and sidewalk restrictions throughout this process.  The parallel parking spaces will be eliminated beginning on March 26, and angular parking may be allowed for a bit longer depending on construction.  The City will be marking the road and indicating closures.  We encourage pedestrians to avoid the area and utilize Hanna Street or Seminary Street as alternate routes.

We greatly appreciate your patience as we transform Anderson Street into a new gateway to DePauw University.  We look forward to updating you on our progress as we move forward.

Downtown Facade Grants – Upcoming Public Meeting

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Are you interested in learning more about the Downtown facade grants?  Then join us on Monday, February 6 at 4 p.m. for a public meeting at City Hall.   There will be an update on the process and timeline.  The project architect also will be on hand to answer questions.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments about a project that promises to truly transform our downtown.

The progress continues

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Indiana Public Media featured Greencastle today in a story about the Stellar Communities initiative.  Currently, the State of Indiana is seeking new communities to participate in the initiative’s second round of funding.  Greencastle and North Vernon are original Stellar pilot communities.

Here’s what Mayor Sue Murray had to say on Greencastle’s progress:

“The first things that we are going to be seeing are downtown facade construction- the first phase of that,” Murray says. “We will be infusing about $1 million in downtown facade. We‘re also working on a new entrance to DePauw University– rebuilding off one of the streets that lead right into the historic East College area of DePauw.”

Click here to read the full story.

 

The Wait for Free Downtown Wi-Fi Is Over

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Ever wanted to check movie times online while you’re walking around downtown?  Wanted to find a phone number for a local business?  Or, have you ever thought, wouldn’t it be great if I could use my laptop or iPad, for free, to see what the latest news is, or search for job openings?

All of these things are now possible, thanks to Greencastle’s newly-launched Wi-Fi bubble, dubbed “GCFree.”  GCFree is accessible to anyone within two to three blocks of the Courthouse square, and it allows Internet users to connect to the Web for two hours every 24-hour period, after accepting the terms and conditions of the network.

If you’ve been following our updates, you know that the downtown Wi-Fi bubble was made possible by the Stellar Communities Grant awarded to the City of Greencastle by the State of Indiana. Hardware for the project was funded by the Greencastle Redevelopment Commission, with local business airHOP Communications handling the installation and initial hosting of the network.  Network hosting will be transferred over to Cinergy MetroNet now that the project is functional.

This project will truly enhance our community and reinvigorate our downtown. It will also allow visitors to stay more connected while in the square and could lead to increased downtown traffic.

The completion of this project is the first of many steps towards developing a downtown district that reflects the great city in which we live.  It is also the first of many Stellar Communities success stories!

 

More Parking for Greencastle

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While the “year two” projects are still very much in the early stages, we have some news to share on a new parking structure that’s in the works.

Kristy Jerrell from the West Central Indiana Economic Development District has been chosen as the grant administrator for this project and Ratio will be designing it.   The new parking structure will definitely be downtown, but no exact location has been selected just yet.

Revitalizing the Main Street Program

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The City has been meeting with community members who are interested in revitalizing the Main Street Program.  We’ve developed an ad-hoc committee to help move these efforts forward.  Among the topics on the agenda of these meetings:  a potential Main Street summit next spring.    Our hope is that these efforts from the Main Street organization and from other groups will be the catalyst for new investment and opportunities.

So Much Interest in the Program, So Much to Look Forward To

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We have been truly surprised and excited by the huge amount of interest in upgrading the façades of our beautiful downtown buildings.

With both the grant administrator and architect in place – the West Central Indiana Economic Development District and Brenner Design, respectively – the next steps are to revise the City’s TIF districts so that we can accommodate all of the property owners who want to participate in this Stellar Communities project.

Expect construction on our historic downtown structures to begin in the spring of 2012.

Housing Rehab Just Around the Corner

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While researching the South Court Neighborhood, we learned that it would be wise to expand the eligible housing area to include several more blocks.  We want to make sure that as many folks as possible are able to participate in this housing rehab opportunity.

With the help of Star Development, our grant administrator for this project, we have held two public meetings to introduce this program to the community.  We’ve met with local contractors to educate them, as well.

All applications for housing improvements are expected to be received by the end of 2011.  And, believe it or not, you should be seeing some significant construction taking place in the neighborhood starting this spring!