Developer of downtown Muncie homes wins contingent YMCA redevelopment bid

In a short special meeting, the Muncie Redevelopment Commission approved the sale of the former YMCA building and development plan to the same developer building homes in downtown Muncie.  IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann explains.

The Monday morning special meeting ran less than 10 minutes in a city hall conference room.

Muncie Redevelopment Commission members approved a bid for True Development Solutions to buy and redevelop the former YMCA building on Mulberry Street.  The purchase price is $770,000 and one penny.

President Jeff Howe says the city will get back what it spent to purchase the non-profit building and pay its utilities after the YMCA moved out earlier than expected.

“We’ll recover the cost of what we invested, and then some.  And then, of course, the property will probably go from an assessed value of zero – paid zero taxes on that property for the last 50 years that it’s been there.”

Read More: YMCA Of Muncie To Build Facility At Muncie Central High School

The company proposes turning it into a mixed-use space of apartments and retail.  By adding on several stories, it plans for 59 apartments with indoor parking, a small grocery store, and a rooftop restaurant.

Howe also said the TDS bid was the only proposal submitted for the YMCA lot.

Last month, the MRC approved a TDS plan to put about a dozen single-family homes on a lot at Gilbert and Washington streets currently owned by the city.  But that deal was contingent on TDS also getting the YMCA contract.

As of Monday afternoon, the MRC website did not include TDS bid packets for either the Gilbert and Washington lots or the YMCA lot.  It did not include a notice or agenda for Monday’s special meeting.  Video of TDS first presenting its plan for the YMCA is available on the city’s Facebook page.

Stephanie Wiechmann is our Managing Editor and “All Things Considered” Host.  Contact her at slwiechmann@bsu.edu.