Committee Starting for South Madison Community Center Replacement; City's Commitment Has Been in Limbo for Decades
5.2.2026 / News / Daisy Dale
On Monday, May 4, Muncie City Council will be voting to add one of their own members to the Community Center Advisory Committee. The committee was established last July and will be responsible for making recommendations for an upcoming replacement for the South Madison Community Center that was demolished in 2006.
Ever since a 2002 Hope VI Grant had homes in the area demolished, including the original 900 S. Madison St. location, the long-awaited promise of bringing a new community center to Industry neighborhood has been stalled repeatedly, put on the back burner by mayoral administrations, and has brought dread to the public.
Earlier this year $500k was appropriated for the community center through EDIT (Economic Development Income Tax) funding, however many are skeptical of whether a new center will come to fruition.
Timeline of the South Madison Community Center
The original building first opened as a YMCA location on November 8, 1964, and carries a rich history. Roy C. Buley, famous for his role in the desegregation of Tuhey Pool, had served as an executive director early on.1 In 1975 the downtown “Y” building, 500 S Mulberry St, was built, and the following year the Madison Street location became a city owned community center.2 Over the years it was referred to as “the Multi,” but officially got the name “Multi-Service Center” in 1982.3
The Multi aided many local leaders in Muncie’s Black community, including Alice McIntosh, former Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission (1978-1980) and a council member (1984-1988) among other jobs. She had an instrumental role in helping many youth programs where she mentored many, and was also responsible for the INCLUDE (Industry Neighborhood Council’s Laboratory for Urban Development Enterprises) program that secured $225k to build homes in Industry.4
In 1996, then-Mayor Dan Canan discontinued city ownership of community centers, and the Multi had to rely on non-governmental organizations to remain standing.5 Demetrius Dee Harris served as an executive director starting in 1997, and by many accounts he brought the center to a new level in its last decade. Jasmine Taylor, one of the members of the new advisory committee, called the center “an asset to all the youth in the area, to families, to seniors. It was the only thing the Industry neighbors had that was really something positive and a safe haven and place for kids to go.”6
In 2002 a Hope VI Grant awarded $12.3 million to revitalize Munsyana Homes, and the City of Muncie and Muncie Housing Authority decided to have the structures demolished.7 Following this, the grant was later amended to no longer require a new community center be built.8 Developer Flaherty & Collins effectively had permission to destroy the center, though efforts to get a new building have been in the works since the end of Dan Canan’s mayoral years.
Dorothy Harris (left) and Demetrius Dee Harris (right). From Muncie Times, April 20, 2006. p. 13.
In the building’s last few years, the “Save the Multi” committee had petitions circulating to keep the center open. Proponent Judy Mays wrote in a guest column for the Star Press: “The fight that we fight is about standing for truth and fairness in the midst of great division, opposition and misunderstanding. It is about ensuring and sustaining a legacy of truth for our children and their children.”9
Then there was the Unity Center, opened in 2014 after long awaited talks starting just after the Multi’s demolition, that was intended to combine programming for the former Multi and Muncie Boys & Girls Club. The Unity Center lost its building on June 15, 2017, yet the financial reasons are unclear. Advocate for the center Carl Malone told the Star Press in 2017 that $365k was previously earmarked, yet nobody knew where the funding went.
Both mayors and mayoral candidates since the Canan administration had repeatedly promised a new center, only to put the idea on the back burner with seemingly no explanation as to where allocated funding went. Longtime advocate for the new center Wayne Scaife told the Post-Democrat that the cultural integrity of the original building needs to be assured if a new center is going to be built, and that Industry neighborhood should be prioritized.
While the history of the building itself spans just over 40 years, its story carries history stretching even further back. Efforts to build a YMCA building for Muncie’s Black community go back to September 5, 1921 when the first known branch meeting was held at the Antioch Baptist Church to establish an organization.10 While close to opening a formal building on a couple of instances, various meetings had to be held at homes, churches, and sometimes a central downtown “Y” that once a week allowed African Americans to use the space, for decades until the ’60s.11
South Madison Community Center circa 2006. From Muncie Times, April 20, 2006.
Single home on 900 S. Madison St. today. Image from Google Maps.
The advisory committee as it stands includes Tammy Harris (Morningside Neighborhood), Keeta Edsell (Blaine Neighborhood), Lezlie McCrory (South Central Neighborhood) Jasmine Taylor (East Industrial Neighborhood), Courtney Marsh (Southside Neighborhood), Maurice Richardson and Mayor Ridenour.
The resolution establishing the committee was amended by councilor Jeff Green to include Southside neighborhood and amended again by Ro Selvey to include Morningside neighborhood. Morningside, located further away from the rest of the neighborhoods involved, created confusion for councilor Harold Mason, though council unanimously adopted the change.
Since July, a portion of Heekin Park has been considered for a new location, though it’s recently been rumored that the former Industry Methodist church that the City of Muncie will soon be obtaining, 1910 S. Mock Ave, will be used for the center. A cancelled meeting for the committee, that was supposed to take place March 19, was planned to be held at the same location.
While $500k has currently been allocated for the new center, the advisory committee has had hiccups in recent months. After names were announced for members, Industry Neighborhood Association President and Parks Superintendent Carl Malone proclaimed at the February council meeting that he was not informed that Jasmine Taylor would be representing Industry, though according to multiple accounts Malone himself voted for Taylor to join the committee at an Industry Neighborhood Association meeting. Mayor Dan Ridenour soon after the meeting took initiative to remove Taylor from the committee, though Taylor was eventually put back on.
Malone did not respond to a request for comment.
At April’s council meeting, Wayne Scaife approached the podium to ask council whether Mayor Ridenour had the authority to remove a member. At which point councilors confirmed that Ridenour had no authority to remove Taylor. Another conflict came up when it was automatically assumed that Council President Jeff Green would be added to the committee, despite Res. 15-25 stating that council would vote on a member.
Daisy Dale
Notes:
1. Goodall, Hurley C. “Those Who Made a Difference Volume 1.” Muncie Public Library. 2003.
2. Lake, Jeannine Lee. “Welcome to ‘The Multi.'” Star Press. May 16, 2000. http://www.newspapers.com/image/249162298/. p. 7; “Muncie Parks and Recreation Master Plan, December 1998.” The City of Muncie. 1998. p. 72.
3. Lake, “Welcome to ‘The Multi,'” p. 7.
4. “Industry Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan.” 2020. https://muncieneighborhoods.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Industry-Neighborhood-Redevelopment-Plan-2020.pdf. p. 24.
5. Lake, “Welcome to ‘The Multi,'” p. 7.
6. Interview with Jasmine Taylor. April 26, 2026.
7. “Industry Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan.” 2020. https://muncieneighborhoods.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Industry-Neighborhood-Redevelopment-Plan-2020.pdf. p. 24.
8. Wayne Scaife interview, April 17, 2026; Harold Mason and William “Billy” McIntosh interview, April 24, 2026; Resolution 15-25. Common Council of The City of Muncie. June 23, 2025. https://www.muncie.in.gov/egov/documents/1752516232_78775.pdf9.
9. Mays, Judy. “‘Save the Multi’ group – what we believe.” Star Press. February 6, 2006. https://www.newspapers.com/image/253971690/. p. 6.
10. Goodall, Hurley C. “South Madison’s future tied to its history, fight for a nonracial Muncie.” Muncie Times. December 9, 2004. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=BALLMT20041209-01.1.9&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN——-. p. 9.
11. ibid, p. 9; Goodall, Hurley. Mitchell, Paul J. “A History of Negroes in Muncie.” Ball State University. 1976. p. 21.
Other Sources:
“Contracts Let for New Branch ‘Y’ Work. Muncie Star. February 16, 1964. http://www.newspapers.com/image/251992483/. p. 1.
“Demetrius Dee Harris.” Star Press. July 17, 2024. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1097190927. p. 6.
Bigger, Roy. “Open House Activities Set At Newly Opened Branch ‘Y.'” Muncie Evening Press. November 9, 1964. http://www.newspapers.com/image/249690219/. p. 2.
Gibson, Robin. “Unity Center Moves Ahead.” Star Press. June 10, 2013. https://www.newspapers.com/image/109347893/. pp. 1, 2.
Green, Dick. “Our Neighborhood.” Muncie Star. December 3, 1964. http://www.newspapers.com/image/252302979/. p. 6.
Yencer, Rick. “Mayor says new community center on way.” The Star Press. November 25, 2005. www.newspapers.com/image/253953607/. p. 1.
Yencer, Rick. “Millennium, community center move forward.” Star Press. March 1, 2006. http://www.newspapers.com/image/253971380/. p. 3.
Yencer, Rick. “Study looks at combining youth, inner city programs.” Star Press. December 14, 2004. www.newspapers.com/image/253873837. pp. 1, 7.