Construction is expected to start this fall on the main phase of the Duneland YMCA’s Healthy Living Campus project, which is gradually transforming the old Chesterton Middle School site.
Jeff Berglund with Berglund Construction gave an update on the long-term project during the Y’s Community Breakfast held Tuesday morning at the Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton. He said the goal is for the $30 million project to be finished by January 2028.
Berglund, who was once a student at the old middle school, is now the construction manager of the project. He is also chairman of the Duneland Family YMCA Board of Directors.
The Duneland Family YMCA this year is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Chesterton. They are operating out of their old facility at 215 Roosevelt St., with some programs already migrating over to the Healthy Living Campus.
Berglund said the Roosevelt Street facilities are “substandard for what people expect out of a Y today.”
“I am very excited to talk about how we are going to fix that. We want to deliver a Y that meets the expectations of what this community deserves,” Berglund said.
It was “an incredible gift” to the community when Duneland School Corporation agreed to a $1 per year long-term lease, so the YMCA could redevelop parts of the middle school building and 20 acres of prime land.
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“The future of this site could have been in question. But with our partnership with the schools and the Y, what a perfect solution,” Berglund said.
The Duneland YMCA Healthy Living Campus has several community partners, including Duneland Schools, which has retained its administrative offices and some programs on-site.
Large sections of the middle school building were demolished, but other parts will be renovated, including the auditorium. Construction has started on the 13,000-square-foot Dr. John and Linnea Forchetti Wellness Center, which will house the exercise facilities.
So far, the Duneland YMCA has invested $7 million, which is “one of the largest investments by a non-profit organization in the history of the town,” Berglund said.
And the investment is growing, as the last construction phase will include a new main entrance and a fieldhouse with multiple basketball courts.
Berglund said that the Y is working toward raising the last $7 million needed for the project; the Y has proceeded with the project as it has raised money, he added.
During Tuesday’s breakfast, James Kielman of Urschel Laboratories announced that the employee-owned company is donating $1 million toward the YMCA project.
The breakfast ended with a surprise, as Dave Kasarda, the CEO of the Duneland Family YMCA, was presented with a plaque honoring his 40 years with the YMCA.
Kasarda recalled how he grew up in Gary and how the Y membership fees for him and his siblings were covered by a generous benefactor.
“Gary was a tough place in the early ’70s,” Kasarda said. “But we would go to the Y, and none of that mattered.”
Kasarda said that he is happy to hear the Gary YMCA will soon reopen. He said the Duneland YMCA Healthy Living Campus is important to Chesterton and the surrounding area.
“It’s more than a building, it’s about expanding our impact and providing for many generations to come,” Kasarda said.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.