In 2019, HVNA engaged with students enrolled in the Parks and Open Spaces Design Studio from the Landscape Architecture Department in the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University to redevelop a site which served as a private neighborhood swim club for the better part of fifty years. After many years struggling to remain open, and faced with the burdensome costs associated with maintenance of aging equipment, Halteman pool closed its doors for good in 2017. The property went into foreclosure for unpaid property taxes, and the site was purchased by a local buyer through the county's tax sale in 2018. After much hard work from local residents and HVNA, the city agreed to regain ownership of the site in the fall of 2019, when it formally became a public city park. During that time, the site became blighted and posed a health and safety issue to the surrounding community.

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The Studio reconvened during the spring 2020 semester to continue formulating a plan with HVNA and the City of Muncie to redevelop the former private neighborhood swim club. Students engaged with the community at large to strategize, vision, and plan for necessary future improvements at Halteman Park. Many great ideas were generated from their design concepts. This exercise provided students with valuable hands-on experiential learning experiences, while providing the neighborhood association with a marketable design concept, which could be carried forward for both fundraising and implementation purposes. Funding for this immersive learning project was made possible by a grant from the Building Better Neighborhoods program at Ball State. Thank you to all of our community partners who assisted in this effort.