‘People buy in and they believe in this community’

In Chesterton, Healthy Living Campus takes big step forward

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Trojan Learning Center preschoolers stand on the former Chesterton Middle School track to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Duneland YMCA Healthy Living Campus on Tuesday. Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune

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Duneland Family YMCA CEO Dave Kasarda speaks.

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By Shelley Jones

The Duneland Family YMCA broke ground on its new Healthy Living Campus and received the announcement of a $1 million Ready 2.0 grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to sweeten the festivities Tuesday morning.

“It’s mornings like this you just hope you don’t cry,” said Dave Kasarda, CEO of the Duneland Y. “People buy in and they believe in this community.”

The site of the former Chesterton Middle School at 651 W. Morgan Ave. in Chesterton will take the Y’s current space from around 40,000 square feet to around 105,000. Duneland Family YMCA board chair Jim Trout said the Y hopes to be fully operational in the building by the middle of next year.

The Ready 2.0 Grant is the first for the region and part of a second round of $500 million the state is investing in projects that focus on child care, healthy living and public/private partnerships.

“This project will be an economic development engine,” said Jeff Berglund of Berglund Construction, which is managing the renovation.

Abatement of the property has already begun and physical demolition is expected to begin in two weeks. Two iconic Y programs, the preschool and swimming classes, have already moved in.

Eleven preschoolers made the short walk across the track from their classroom to lead the crowd of hundreds in the Pledge of Allegiance. The preschoolers won’t be the only ones sharing the space with members.

Co-located partners such as Jacob’s Ladder Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, Chesterton Youth Collective, Next Level Infant Aquatics, Front Porch Music, Porter-Starke Services, Make Make Pop Up Art and NorthShore Health Center aim to bring a host of services to the campus.

The Duneland School Corporation will continue operating its Early Learning Hub and administrative offices out of the east end of the campus as well as hold board meetings there.

“This site has provided so many memories for the residents of this community,” said DSC Superintendent Chip Pettit of the campus that has been host to different schools over the generations. “That will continue. There is real transformative change happening right here.”

An adjoining 20-acre park to be called Cleveland-Cliffs Community Park will offer walking paths and gardens with the help of co-partners Dunes Learning Center and the Shirley Heinze Land Trust. Melissa Benedict, of the Cleveland-Cliffs Foundation, said most of the company’s 9,000 employees in the state reside in the region.

“As we looked for a signature project we were drawn to the Duneland Y,” she said.

The new space is expected to increase daily usability by about 300% and will allow for the expansion of teen, senior and swim programming. “It’s now incumbent upon all of us to take full advantage of this resource,” Maura Mundell, president of the Duneland Chamber of Commerce, told the crowd.

The Duneland Y currently has around 1,600 members at its current location at 215 Roosevelt St. Current Duneland Y memberships range from $19 per month for a single child up to 14 years of age to $79 per month for four adults and their dependent children living in the same household.

“Our mission dictates that we’re open to all,” Kasarda said. The Y’s annual support campaign supports the costs of membership and childcare for families who qualify.

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.