ABC
The SEGway News
Serving South East Grant County
Volume 1 , Number 16 A Good News Ventures publication January 26 , 2017
Second historic building demolished as town moves on long-term plan
By Cathy Kerton-Johnson The building that housed the General Electronics Factory until 1991 was demolished on Tuesday by Sullivan Excavating . The Upland Town Council , which owned the property , had come to a decision that the building was dangerous , as it had fallen into disrepair over many years of disuse .
As it would have been impossible to repair the building because of insurmountable costs , the Town made plans to tear the building down , and in fact the demolition was part of a greater plan which began with a charrette in 2010 working with Ball State University , to look to Upland ’ s long term growth as a town .
From 2010 to 2014 , Taylor University and Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf , a Civic Planning Firm , worked together with the Town of Upland to help brand the planning process of the Town ’ s vision for its future . This was in order to present it to the community in a way that would help them engage with the process and communicate their needs to the Town leaders effectively .
Together , all these players put together a Master Plan to help put goals in place for the Town to move forward in this vision for the future .
In 2015 the Taylor University newspaper , the Echo , reported on some of the steps the Town was taking , inspired by the Master Plan .
After an interview with Warren Ross ( who is still on the Town Council ), on October 23 , 2015 the Echo reported , “ The council is considering purchasing a new fire truck as well as adding a playground for children ages two to four and a gazebo in a town park . According to Ross , long-term plans include knocking down several old buildings on Main Street and constructing a threestory , multi-purpose building downtown by the bridge .”
The SEGway reported recently on those very additions to the children ’ s playground in the summer of 2016 , after the Parks Committee secured a sizeable grant for the purchase of new equipment and new surfacing for the playground .
When you talk to Warren Ross , he often emphasises how important it is to remove the buildings that are condemned in order to create the space for new buildings . After all , the condemned buildings are completely useless and continue to become more derelict . If they are left where they are , the town stands still and becomes more stagnant .
It is a positive sign that the Town leadership is moving rapidly on the plans it has committed itself to . In order to build a town , it is imperative that the parts of the old town that are not salvageable are removed first .
>> Building page 4
G R O C E R Y A N D V A R I E T Y S T O R E
C A L L : 7 6 5 - 9 9 8 - 1 1 1 1
$
O P E N 7 D A Y S M O N - S U N 8 - 9
8 0 E B E R R Y A V E I N U P L A N D P L A Z A