For Immediate Release - May 28, 2026

Contact: Julie Meares, Executive Director

       765-289-0844, muncieseniorcenter@gmail.com 

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Muncie, Indiana — Muncie/Delaware County Senior Center’s Board of Directors (the Senior Center) is pleased to announce the sale of the former Forest Park Elementary School to DCRT, LLC. The sale delivers three key benefits. It strengthens the Senior Center, preserves its historic building, and brings new programming to Muncie.

The sale allows the Senior Center to sustainably grow its programming within the building — reducing capital costs (upkeep, repairs, utilities, insurance) and reducing demands on staff and volunteer time. This will allow the Center to focus more on serving the community with new activities and programming.

“The Senior Center is a much-needed resource in Muncie and Delaware County that reaches more than 400 older adults a month. The sale of the property and the transfer of building upkeep to DCRT, LLC, opens the door for the Senior Center to offer many more opportunities and programs to engage seniors aged 55 and older — combating boredom and isolation for an active and vibrant life. This is a tremendous gift for the Senior Center and for the community,” says Julie Meares, Executive Director of the Muncie/Delaware County Senior Center. 

It preserves the Forest Park Elementary School as a treasured community landmark for future generations. The School is aging, and maintenance, repair, and renovation costs have risen beyond the Senior Center’s capacity to properly steward the property. The oldest part of the building has needed significant renovation since before the Senior Center took ownership. This sale provides a solution without risking the building or the Center’s programming. DCRT will renovate the oldest part of the building, enhance the exterior — beautifying the neighborhood, and upgrade the landscaping to showcase the Veterans Memorial Garden and the grounds. 

It brings new programming to Muncie. An exciting addition to the newly renovated building will be on-site licensed counseling and behavioral health services tailored specifically for veterans, seniors, and their families, offered through a partnership with Freedom Behavioral Health Centers. This new collaboration complements Muncie’s mental health offerings with on-site, integrated, clinical behavioral health services.

Following an agreement to sell signed earlier this year, the Senior Center anticipates finalizing the sale this summer. The Senior Center and DCRT, LLC are working together to provide clear communication with all patrons, tenants, and community partners, and to ensure a smooth transition of ownership and uninterrupted service to the community during renovations.

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About

For more information about The Muncie Delaware County Senior Center, please visit www.muncieseniorcenter.com or email Julie Meares at muncieseniorcenter@gmail.com.

For more information about DCRT, LLC., please contact dcrts.info@gmail.com.

For more information about Freedom Behavioral Health Centers, please contact seanfreedom@gmail.com.

As a result of state and federal government funding cuts and policy changes, more community members will look to nonprofits, like ours, to help them meet their basic needs. That’s why our partners at Cambridge Square Muncie nominated the Muncie Delaware County Senior Center for a grant from Glick Philanthropies – a family of charitable initiatives dedicated to building community and creating opportunity – through the Glick Community Relief Fund. This program helps nonprofit organizations provide individuals, families, and communities with access to basic needs, such as food access, transportation, utility assistance, and mental health support.

We were selected to receive a $5,000 Glick Community Relief Fund grant. We will use this additional support to offer a welcoming location for weekday lunchtime meals for senior citizens who are 60 and above .

For more information about our work, please visit www.muncieseniorcenter.com. For more information about Glick Philanthropies, please visit glickphilanthropies.org.