Plans by the Crown Point Community Foundation to build a new 4,600-square-foot office building will go forward following action taken Monday.
The Crown Point City Council suspended the rules, upon the initial reading, and gave final approval for a zone change from residential to office services for 6.2 acres at 12410 Marshall Street, property owned by the Crossroads YMCA.
Foundation spokesman Jeff Ban said the organization, which was founded in 1990, has outgrown its location at 115 S. Court St. and needs to expand.
Ban said the present location is “woefully small” and offers only two small office rooms for a staff of six.
In addition, there are no provisions for much-needed private meeting rooms.
According to the foundation’s website, its mission is to enrich the quality of life in South Lake County by:
*Providing financial assistance to fund a broad range of community needs.
*Maximizing charitable gifts by utilizing current tax law.
*Directing resources in a manner tailored to meet donors’ specific needs, managing endowment assets that will meet philanthropic needs.
Ban said the zoning change had been previously approved by the Crown Point Plan Commission.
He deemed the site not appropriate for a residential area but a good fit for their project.
Ban said now that zoning was approved, the construction could begin later this year.
City Councilman Scott Evorik questioned whether land to the south, now owned and used by the Crossroads YMCA, could still be used for outdoor sports play as it is presently.
Ban said there is an agreement with Crossroads YMCA that the parcel will be left alone.
“Our property won’t prevent that from happening,” Ban said.
In other business, the council:
*Unanimously named Joe Sanders, R-5, as the new council president for 2026.
*Named the Guzman family, 210 Northwest St., as the first-place winner of the 2025 Tour of Lights decorations.
*Named the three finalists of the tree decorating, called Christmas on the Square, as: Royal Pools and G2 Landscaping, third place; Cedarhurst Senior Living, second place; and Karing for Kennedy, in memory of Kennedy DiMarco, first place. Some 119 participants took part in the tree decorating, city officials said.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
