The Social of Greenwood completed more than $600,000 worth of renovations to its facility last year, but wants to continue making improvements by doubling its parking space.
The Social, a nonprofit that offers social activities to people ages 50 and older, has a membership of about 1,300, residents of Johnson County and the surrounding areas.
The parking spaces outside the building, located near downtown Greenwood, hold 40 vehicles and aren’t always full. During some of its most popular programs, such as Rock Steady Boxing which is geared toward people with Parkinson’s Disease, people often need to park on the street due to lack of space in the lot, said Andrea Sutherland, executive director.
“We have over 1,000 members and, thankfully, they don’t come all at once. But when there are more popular programs, like Rock Steady in conjunction with other programs, we’re running out of parking,” Sutherland said. “The goal is to extend parking on the west side of the building where we own property.”
The renovations will likely cost about $85,000 and will involve rearranging some of the landscaping, but will not happen until the Social receives a grant, making a timeline for construction uncertain, Sutherland said.
The Social is working with Northpointe Engineering and Surveying, Inc., of Indianapolis, on the design, she said.
“The goal would definitely be to get it done before late fall, before we go into another winter,” Sutherland said. “It is our property and the land back there could be put to other use.”
During its renovations, The Social continued to run programs at off-site locations, and its membership continued to grow. There are now 132 boxers in the Rock Steady Boxing program, including seven people who joined, Sutherland said.
The Social also hosts bingo, wood carving, ballroom dancing, line dancing, samba, mahjong and euchre programs, among others, all of which have helped membership rise. Membership for Johnson County residents is $20 per year, $25 for outside residents.
The renovations to the building that houses The Social, on Polk Street near downtown Greenwood, were paid for with the help of a $500,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The Social also put $163,000 of its own money toward the project, which started in April and wrapped up in November, Sutherland said.
With the renovations, the space The Social uses for its Rock Steady Boxing classes is two-and-a-half times larger. The renovations added 500 square-feet to the food pantry’s space, creating extra storage for canned and non-perishable food items. The renovations also reduced unused office space by 50% to increase space for The Social’s programs, she said.
