City officials and community leaders broke ground Friday on the Regional Wellness Center, located along 15th Street, between The Parklands and the Jasper High School property.
The city owns the facility, which will be managed through a partnership with the YMCA. The project has secured $14.1 million in private donations from more than 90 individuals, families, businesses and foundations through the Better Together capital campaign. It also received a $5 million READi 2.0 grant, with the city contributing the remaining funds.
“This project is a unique partnership,” Mayor Ryan Craig said at the groundbreaking ceremony after thanking the city employees and former Mayor Dean Vonderheide for all the work they put into the project. “It will be a city-owned facility managed by the YMCA. Together we are building a healthier future for Jasper and the region.”
The large group waited to turn the ceremonial shovels on the project.
Tri-County YMCA Executive Director Mike Steffe said the project addresses community needs identified through the Impact Jasper Comprehensive Plan.
“Through the Impact Jasper Comprehensive Plan, residents told us what they wanted. A healthier community, more opportunities for families and youth. Stronger support for seniors. Spaces that bring people together year-round,” Steffe said. “And today, we are turning these priorities into reality.”
While the idea began about a decade ago, the project took shape in fall 2023, when then-Mayor Dean Vonderheide and Steffe met with more than 100 community leaders and visited YMCAs across the state to study similar partnerships.
As momentum for the project grew, with support from the Jasper Common Council, Krempp Construction was selected as the design-build contractor following an extensive selection process. Bill Krempp of Krempp Construction said the working group brought the project in under budget through careful planning and value engineering.
“This isn’t just about Jasper. This is about our region,” Vonderheide said. “I’m just really tickled with where we are today, and I’m really looking forward to seeing this thing get done.”
Gov. Braun.
Gov. Mike Braun spoke briefly about how proud he was of his hometown.
“When I travel around the state, there are a few things that stand out,” Braun said about Dubois County. “It is a place based on faith, family and mostly that sense of community.”
Annie Krempp played in the dirt pile after the groundbreaking ceremony.
Roger Seger, president of the Jasper Park Board, said the facility is another amenity that strengthens the region’s ability to attract and retain young professionals and families.
“If you look around Jasper today, what we have is amazing,” Seger said before outlining several major projects the city has accomplished over the last decade.
He pointed to the Sports Complex under Mayor Bill Schmitt, The Parklands under Mayor Terry Seitz, and the Thyen Clark Cultural Center, which Mayor Dean Vonderheide worked on as a library board member and then christened as mayor when it was finished.
The facility is scheduled to open in December 2027. The 66,000-square-foot facility will include a large fitness center, three full-court gymnasiums, an indoor elevated walking track, multiple group exercise studios and community rooms, including a community kitchen.
