Survey results positive for Tolleston Opportunity Campus

Contributed By: The 411 News

“It’s a project we’ve dreamed about over a number of years,” Methodist Hospitals’ CEO Matt Doyle told the audience gathered in the hospital’s auditorium Wednesday morning. The project – the Tolleston Opportunity Campus – is a collaboration of the hospital, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, and Crossroads Y to turn the Tolleston Boys & Girls Club into a community center for all ages.

Crossroads Y is the umbrella organization for all YMCAs in Lake County.

Currently, the Tolleston Club provides activities for children after school and on Saturdays.

The vision of the partners is to provide childcare, exercise classes, community programming, and a health care clinic.

Wednesday’s gathering was the third this week of face-to-face meetings, presenting results from online and phone surveys that went out in April to measure the community’s interest in the project. Methodist Hospitals also wanted to know what types of health services people wanted to see offered.

The survey and Methodist Hospitals’ community meeting were targeted to people who live or work in Gary.

Ellis Dumas, Boys & Girls Club Vice President, Programs and Outcomes said, “We wanted to know what you want to have at the community center.”

Dumas said another meeting that same day would take place with Gary’s school students to learn what they would like to have in the community center. Later in the evening, the partners would meet with 3rd District City Councilwoman Mary Brown and her constituents. Tolleston is in Brown’s district.

Looking at community ‘needs, interests, and wants’, survey respondents were asked “how often today, are you participating in programs.” Results showed that nearly 58 percent never or rarely participated in community events. When presented with areas of interest and possible activities for the respondents themselves or someone in their household, 86% were willing to participate.

Survey results showed a strong interest in a place that would attract families with activities that adults and children could do together. Areas of interest were health and fitness, healthy cooking and nutrition, community gardening, indoor and outdoor recreation.

Ranking high were youth development, workforce development, and job training.

The survey asked those 55 and older about healthy aging and in addition to physical fitness, what they would like to see. They responded with trips and excursions.

In addition to a place for community gathering, nearly 4 out of ten surveyed were interested in the site having primary health care, urgent care, and a pharmacy.

Opinions of attendees at the Methodist Hospitals’ meeting matched the survey responses. Some used the Crown Point/Southlake Y as a model for what they would like to see in Gary. Having those programs and services in Gary, they said, would mean they wouldn’t have to travel so far to Crown Point.

Crossroads Y will do the community programming activities and they want a new building. Their plan is to demolish a wing of the current Tolleston Club.

The in-person meetings allowed the partners to answer questions and concerns that were not presented in the online and phone surveys.

Atty. Tracy Coleman said the community needs to know the full ramifications of the project. She asked, “How much will this cost the community to sustain it? As a citizen, I'm very concerned. Don't just give us the bells and whistles, but also the financial piece to it. Our community has seen many beautiful projects that have fallen apart and have become a financial albatross to Gary residents.”

The partners want sustainability too, Doyle said. “At Methodist Hospitals, we’re serving our 100th year and we want to see this project carry on for the next 100 years. We want to hear from the community what those plans should be.”

“The work we’re doing now is putting all that together. The point of the survey is to understand the interest of the community so that we can make the type of financial decisions around this,” Doyle said. “It’s unfair for us to put plans together first, and then sell those to you as what you need in the community.”

And the public will see it all, Doyle said.

Natalie Ammons, WLTH Radio station manager, had concerns about the impacts the Tolleston Campus would have on the YWCA and Hudson Campbell Fitness Center. “We want to know what the coordination is between what they're doing and what's happening at Tolleston.”

“We’ve allowed the city to guide those conversations with both Hudson Campbell and the YWCA,” Dumas answered.

Renovations to Hudson Campbell started in the Freeman-Wilson administration and have continued under Mayor Prince. The city recently gave $1.5 million of its ARPA funds to the YWCA. The city also contributed $10 million in ARPA funds for the Tolleston Campus, matched by the Dean & Barbara White Family Foundation and an Indiana READI grant for $30 million in total funding.

“We’re really trying to create a community center whatever your needs happen to be; that the three of us can link arms and partner together to meet those needs,” Todd Sevenz-Coleman, Chief Operating Officer for the Crossroads Y said. “I think part of these sessions is really your wisdom. You’re telling us what you need. We're working collaboratively.”

Facility design plans for the Tolleston Campus is expected to start in Fall 2023. “Our plan is to give Gary a Christmas present in December 2025,” Dumas said.

Story Posted:05/27/2023