Greencastle Councilman explains no vote on Seminary Square Project

While he calls himself "one of the biggest supporters of the Seminary Square Project," Greencastle City Councilman Vincent Aguirre was the lone no vote recently regarding the project. 

The Democrat, who represents the 4th Ward, initially asked his fellow council members to table a request by general contractor Buckingham Construction to close several streets and limit parking opportunities around DePauw University. The motion died for lack of a second, prompting Councilman David Mastin to move to approve the request. Following a second, Council members Mark Hammer, Kathy Asbell, John Hennette, Tina Nicholson and Stacie Langdon all joined Mastin in favor of the request, while Aguirre was the lone no vote. 

"I'm one of the biggest supporters of the Seminary Square Project, but someone dropped the ball by planning for three years without bringing in the council as key decision makers," Aguirre told The Putnam County Post. 

Under the proposal, several streets around DePauw's campus, as well as parking spaces will be closed and restricted for up to 24 months as the Seminary Street Project gets underway. Streets impacted include: Seminary Street, Indiana Street, Poplar Street and College Ave. 

The Seminary Street project calls for 120 apartments and the construction of a 235-space parking garage, situated between DePauw University and downtown Greencastle. 

Aguirre said he voted no because he did not believe the council should have agreed to "half-baked plans because of someone else's timeline.""

"I am grateful for the positive discussion that led to a more favorable closure for residents, but we still did not flush out additional parking changes that the council will have to decide on. There's more work to be done, and I am disappointed that we didn't take the appropriate amount of time needed to do so," Aguirre admitted. 

Street closures and parking restrictions include the following: 
South College Ave. — Driving lane closure for eight months

Poplar Street -- Parking lane closure for 24 months

South Indiana Street -- Parking lane closure for 24 months west of Vine Street and 21 months east of Vine Street

Seminary Street -- 24 foot driving lane maintained 24 months; Barricades eight feet off the curb for 24 months

Talk of the Seminary Square Project originated several years ago when Greencastle officials learned about the project's impact on city streets and parking areas during a meeting at Tzouanakis Intermediate School. 

At that meeting, attendees asked questions about parking, especially around Marvin's at 202 S. College Ave., Greencastle. 

Aguirre said his understanding during all the discussions was that the city would lose the parking on the DePauw property in which they are building on. 

"That was a situation we would simply have to deal with as it is their own parking lot and they are going to add public parking to the new project once completed. I am not aware of any discussion prior to receiving this closure in our inbox regarding losing public parking for any period of time. That was a surprise. During the public meeting, they shared that they had "already dialed back" the ask after conversations with the city. Those conversations were not with the city council or at least not with me or publicly. I cannot speak for anyone else," Aguirre said.