Mrs. Curl Ice Cream Shop, a longtime staple of Greenwood summers, is planning to build a larger, year-round shop just north of the store it first opened on Meridian Street more than half a century ago.
City officials have requested 1 and 21 E. Main Street, at the southeast corner of Main and Meridian streets, to be rezoned for commercial use by Mrs. Curl owner John Cassin. Those homes were purchased and demolished by the city last year, and Cassin is negotiating with the city to either purchase or lease the property.
The new Mrs. Curl location will have a second outdoor sales window, year-round indoor seating and an outdoor kids playground. Lengthy lines are commonplace at the current location, especially during the summer months, Cassin said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“It has gotten to be almost impossible to keep up with the people anymore,” he said. “We can’t make our building any bigger.”
The expansion project is in the planning phase, and no timetable for construction has been set, Cassin said.
He did offer one reassurance to longtime customers fearful of change: The much-loved ice cream will be the same.
Greenwood city officials had been making plans to improve the area by purchasing and demolishing three homes to add a trail along Pleasant Creek and extra public parking and make improvements to the intersection of Meridian and Main streets.
Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers called the Mrs. Curl proposal exciting, saying it fits with the city’s plans for the area.
“It is all going to work out really, really well,” he said.
When the city initially bought the two homes on Main Street, the plan was to use the land to widen the sidewalks and the intersection, including adding a right-turn lane from Meridian Street to Main Street, as well as add public parking, Myers said.
The Greenwood Redevelopment Commission spent $185,000 to purchase and demolish the houses on Main Street last year. The city board approved buying the property at 1 E. Main Street in January 2016 for $65,000.
The commission approved purchasing the property at 21 E. Main St. for $98,500 in a September meeting. The previous owner was Scott Cassin, who is the son of John Cassin.
After the city board began negotiations to purchase 21 E. Main St. last summer, John Cassin asked the city about moving the ice cream shop to that street corner, Myers said.
The city doesn’t expect to recoup the full cost of buying and demolishing the homes through the lease or sale of the property to John Cassin, Myers said. Instead, using the property for commercial use will give it a much higher assessment than the homes that were previously there, and the increased property taxes will bring in more money long-term, Myers said.
A sale or lease of the two properties, which cover about 3.5 acres, hasn’t been finalized yet.
The planned improvements to the sidewalk and intersection will take place regardless of whether the 55-year-old ice cream shop moves locations, Myers said.
However, the city had planned to add a public parking lot on those properties. If the Mrs. Curl project goes through, the city will instead negotiate with Archer’s Meat Packing, which also owns the current Mrs. Curl property, to set up an agreement for using and repairing the parking lot in between the current Mrs. Curl building and Archer’s, he said.
The current Mrs. Curl building will not be torn down and will remain, Myers said.
The rezoning request for the two properties will go before the Greenwood Board of Zoning appeals Feb. 27. If the board approves the change, the city council then will need to give its approval as well.
South of Pleasant Creek, the redevelopment commission also spent $102,000 to purchase and demolish a home at 301 S. Meridian St. to make room for a trail. Construction on the trail, which will go along the south side of Pleasant Creek to link Craig Park, the Greenwood Community Center and the Greenwood Amphitheater with Old City Park, will begin this spring, Myers said.
The redevelopment commission paid a consultant $48,700 to develop plans for the trail. The city board is paying for the projects with money from the city’s tax-increment financing, or TIF, districts, which set aside property taxes from certain businesses for economic development.
Myers said he expect to have the trail plans and a cost estimate soon.
