Greencastle continues work on housing study

While a date has not been set yet for the housing symposium, Dunbar said she is fully aware of the fact that in order to continue to move forward, Greencastle and the county have to have growth

Over the last few months, Greencastle Mayor Lynda Dunbar has taken a deep dive into the housing situation facing Greencastle and Putnam County. 

As a result, a housing symposium will be held soon, according to Dunbar.

"We will be having a housing symposium soon, where folks will be able to come out and see different statistics and a lot of information about where we need housing, what types of housing we have, what our breakdown of population is and where we might have some potential housing going up. The housing symposium will be really interesting. We are going to talk about the mix of rentals and homes and over 55 housing. There are a lot of moving parts and I think people will be surprised with what the potential needs are for the entire county," Dunbar told The Putnam County Post.

While a date has not been set yet for the housing symposium, Dunbar said she is fully aware of the fact that in order to continue to move forward, Greencastle and the county have to have growth. However, she said she believes in "smart growth." 

"We are trying to have smart growth. Growth is coming to Putnam County, but it is better that we get to decide how and where. We are trying at both the county and city level. Everyone loves the small town feel, and we are going to maintain that, however, we do need some growth. We have some key employers on the east side of town that are growing and need employees and they have needs. We have to have this smart growth to allow them to have the employees or else they are going to say Greencastle isn't getting it done and they go somewhere else. There's a lot of high paying jobs that our industries have but folks are moving to Hendricks County. We are going to work really hard. I grew up in Greencastle and moved back because I wanted to live in a small town, but it is coming. We are going to have smart growth and put housing additions where they need to be," Dunbar said. 

Green and Gold Initiative with DePauw moving forward

While some may not see immediate results from the City of Greencastle and DePauw University's Green and Gold Initiative, there is plenty of work happening behind the scenes, according to Greencastle Mayor Lynda Dunbar.

"We continue working on that. DePauw is getting ready to issue a Request for Proposal for the new apartment complex on Seminary Square. We are working on sending out a Proposal for Request for the new pool. We are taking a look at different options for streetscapes downtown and the University is working on the location of the new cinema. There is a lot going on with that, and it is moving forward. Here in a few weeks and months, you will see the public have an opportunity to hear details about some of these things," Dunbar said. 

Dunbar reminded residents that while the city and DePauw got the grant from the Lilly Foundation, it is a five year project.

"It is a five year project. At the end of the five years, we should be able to look back after a lot of construction and see a lot of changes," Dunbar said.