A new event and banquet center is coming to western Pulaski County. Meadow Springs held a groundbreaking Friday for a new facility at the corner of U.S. 421 and State Road 114 south of Francesville.
Pulaski County Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer says it developed from Sandy Saltsman’s catering and events planning business, “She got to the point where she saw an opening in the market where she could expand into having a venue of her own, so still continue to cater events elsewhere, but thought that given some of the limitations of other venues available in the area, she could fill a certain niche. And so she started looking into that, found a property where she could build, she could use an existing building. It also could incorporate a bed and breakfast.”
He says the Saltsmans have already been operating the bed and breakfast portion of the business on a smaller scale for a few months, but now they’re working on getting the business fully up and running. Friday’s groundbreaking marked the start of construction of the new banquet and events building, which will most likely open sometime by next spring. That will let Meadow Springs hold wedding receptions, as well as a variety of other events.
Origer says Pulaski County will see several benefits from the new center, saying the bed and breakfast is something the community needs, “The bed and breakfast is tremendous because we have no hotel in the community, and the other bed and breakfasts that we have are here in Winamac. And so this really comes in handy – obviously you can only have a small number of guests that can be in there at any one time – but this weekend, the team that came with the Lincoln Funeral Train to the Francesville Fall Festival, they were put up there for the week. It’s just fantastic that we can offer that in the western part of the county now.”
He also says the events side of the business brings its own benefits, “It means that, in addition to the increased property tax base, that we’re going to have more options for one of our local business to do business and to be able to keep more of that money here by doing the full service supply here instead of taking her team down to Logansport or Monticello or over to Rensselaer or down to Lafayette.”
The project’s being financed in part by the Pulaski County Revolving Loan Fund and the Regional Development Company in Valparaiso, which specializes in lending to small businesses.
