Building Greencastle’s Next Chapter

Housing, small-business investment and a deepening partnership with DePauw University are reshaping the city’s economic development strategy.

GREENCASTLE, Ind. — On Seminary Street, Greencastle’s next economic chapter is moving from planning into construction. DePauw University, the City of Greencastle and Indianapolis-based Buckingham Companies have broken ground on Seminary Square, a development that will add 120 apartments, retail space and a permanent home for the university bookstore. Scheduled for completion in 2028, the project will turn two blocks near campus into a pedestrian-oriented connection between the university and the surrounding community. [1] [2]

The project captures a broader shift in how Greencastle is pursuing growth. Alongside its long history of industrial recruitment, the city is investing in the everyday conditions that help a local economy function: places to live, viable storefronts, connected public spaces and recreational amenities. Those priorities come together in Growing Green and Gold Together, a city-university partnership supported by a $32 million Lilly Endowment grant announced in 2024. At that announcement, the overall initiative was estimated to cost more than $109 million, with funding expected from developers, private donors and city support as well as the grant. [4]

Its central idea is connection: linking campus and downtown, entrepreneurs and resources, and new housing with the businesses and institutions that need people nearby.

From Economic Recovery to Community Investment

Greencastle has confronted the risks of economic dependence before.

Greencastle’s 2001 comprehensive plan records the loss of 985 jobs at IBM’s local distribution center in the 1980s and the subsequent growth of other manufacturing, distribution and transportation employment. [3]

That history helps explain why development involves more than replacing a job count. Housing costs, wages and the strength of existing local businesses also shape what new investment means for residents.

The 2026 downtown investments address a different, complementary challenge. Recruiting an employer is one part of development; creating a community where employees can find housing, entrepreneurs can operate and residents want to spend time is another. Greencastle’s current partnership explicitly brings housing, business assistance, public spaces and recreation into the same development framework. [5]

Housing Moves to the Foreground

Seminary Square is the most substantial physical expression of that approach.

The development will include two multifamily buildings with a combined 120 apartments. Located across from the Inn at DePauw, it will convert the intervening portion of Vine Street to pedestrian-only use and incorporate retail space for the university bookstore. DePauw’s October 30, 2026, groundbreaking announcement described the apartments as additional housing options for university employees and community residents alike. [2] [1]

The need extends beyond campus. In August 2025, Greencastle/Putnam County Economic Development Center director Kristin Clary told the City Council that a county housing study was underway. Local reporting also identified 94 units of duplexes and triplexes underway on South Street, alongside the then-planned Seminary Square development. [6]

Together, those projects illustrate why housing has become an economic development issue rather than simply a real estate concern. DePauw’s project materials identify workforce housing as a critical need raised through community engagement. Seminary Square is designed to address that need while placing more residents within walking distance of downtown businesses and university facilities. [5]

The distinction between construction and results remains important. Groundbreaking marks progress, but Seminary Square’s apartments are not yet available. Its eventual contribution will depend on completion, occupancy and how well the housing serves local demand.

Giving Local Businesses Room to Grow

Greencastle’s strategy also reaches businesses already operating downtown.

The Green and Gold Business Accelerator connects entrepreneurs with training, mentorship and financial support through partnerships involving DePauw, Main Street Greencastle and the Indiana Small Business Development Center. At its 2025 launch, the associated grant program offered awards of up to $25,000 for new businesses and up to $50,000 for existing businesses. [7]

By December 2025, the first announced grant round had awarded $193,000 to five downtown businesses: Shuee’s Furniture & Appliance, Lost Hollow Beer Co., The Whisk, Moore’s Bar & Grill and The Dandelion Inn. Supported projects included building improvements, equipment purchases and operational enhancements. [8]

Those are practical investments rather than abstract promises of revitalization. An equipment purchase can help a business expand its capacity; a building improvement can make an existing location work better. The program combines that financial assistance with business education, making the effort about strengthening operators as well as improving properties. [7] [8]

It also responds to concerns residents had already identified. According to DePauw’s initiative materials, a 2023 Main Street community survey highlighted vacant storefronts and a lack of consistently open businesses. The accelerator was developed in part to address those weaknesses. [5]

Making Downtown a Destination

Housing and business assistance form only part of the picture. Greencastle is also adding reasons for people to visit downtown—and remain there longer.

Cinema on the Square celebrated its ribbon cutting on September 30, 2026, completing one of Growing Green and Gold Together’s signature projects. The broader initiative also calls for streetscape improvements, stronger pedestrian connections between Courthouse Square and Seminary Square, and enhanced public gathering spaces. [5]

The economic logic is straightforward: housing brings potential customers closer, businesses give them places to spend, and entertainment and public spaces give them reasons to make a trip. That relationship is the intended mechanism behind the investment, not yet a demonstrated measure of increased sales.

Recreation fits the same community-building strategy. As of DePauw’s October 2026 Seminary Square announcement, construction was continuing on a new aquatics center at the Putnam County YMCA. The initiative describes year-round aquatic access as an investment in residents’ health and well-being, with facilities intended to serve a broad range of ages and abilities. [4] [1]

These projects broaden the definition of economic infrastructure. In Greencastle’s plan, infrastructure includes not only development sites and buildings, but also the amenities and connections that make daily life more attractive.

The Next Test: Turning Projects Into Lasting Opportunity

As of November 5, 2026, Greencastle has visible evidence of momentum: a completed downtown cinema, a major housing development that has broken ground, grants awarded to existing businesses and an aquatics project under construction. Each represents a different stage of delivery, and none alone establishes the overall economic return. [1] [8] [5]

The meaningful tests will come as those investments mature. Can new housing meet residents’ needs? Will supported businesses become more durable? Will improved connections translate into more consistent downtown activity? Those are the outcomes that will distinguish a successful development strategy from a collection of completed projects.

Greencastle’s experience after IBM’s departure shows why new employment and investment must be considered alongside residents’ daily needs. Its current effort brings those concerns together through housing, business assistance and community amenities. With Seminary Square underway and other downtown projects advancing, the city is putting that proposition into practice—one apartment, storefront and public space at a time. [1] [3] [5]

Sources

1. DePauw University, October 30, 2026 — Seminary Square groundbreaking

https://www.depauw.edu/stories/details/seminary-square-groundbreaking-advances-campus-and-community-growth/

2. DePauw University — Seminary Square development partner

https://www.depauw.edu/stories/details/depauw-university-selects-partner-for-seminary-square-development/

3. City of Greencastle — 2001 Comprehensive Plan history excerpt, reproduced by Living Places

https://www.livingplaces.com/IN/Putnam_County/Greencastle_City.html

4. DePauw University, August 4, 2024 — Lilly Endowment community development grant

https://www.depauw.edu/stories/details/depauw-university-and-city-of-greencastle-receive-grant-for-community-development/

5. DePauw University — Growing Green and Gold Together project components

https://www.depauw.edu/about/initiatives/growing-green-and-gold-together/project-components/

6. GIANT fm, August 21, 2025 — Housing additions and study

https://www.giant.fm/putnam-county/news/local-news/greencastle-officials-learn-of-potential-housing-additions/

7. DePauw University, April 10, 2025 — Business cohort and grant program launch

https://www.depauw.edu/stories/details/greencastle-celebrates-national-main-street-day-with-small-business-breakfast-new-program-launch-and-spring-pitch-competition/

8. GIANT fm, December 15, 2025 — First business development grant recipients

https://www.giant.fm/putnam-county/news/local-news/main-street-greencastle-announces-business-development-grant-recipients/

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