MUNCIE, INDIANA (excerpts from thestarpress.com) – As officials gathered to break ground for a new riverfront redevelopment in Muncie’s Canal District, COVID-19 masks could not conceal shared pride in what strong partnership can accomplish. “This is a collaboration of monumental importance for the downtown area,” Mayor Dan Ridenour told the crowd gathered for the groundbreaking. Groups such as the Muncie Downtown Development Partnership and NEXT Muncie have been working with Vandewalle & Associates and WS Property to make the project happen.
Downtown Development held multiple community meetings; and the NEXT Muncie group had leadership working to gain public support for the bold project vision from the onset. The NEXT Muncie team includes Jeff Bird, president of IU Health’s East Central Region, and Geoffrey S. Mearns, president of Ball State University, among others.
“Some of the things you’ll see in the downtown will be amazing,” Stolberg told the crowd. After the building is completed by next year, a subsequent phase calls for another building with additional housing. Ridenour said that there is a real market for the apartments–a need strongly supported by Muncie’s major employers.
