Princeton City Council members Sheri Greene and William Tuley take a selfie in front of the new 2021 Toyota Sienna vehicle, which was unveiled during a Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana news event held at the former Princeton Community Primary School building in Princeton, Ind., Wednesday afternoon, March 31, 2021.
Sam Owens/ Courier & Press
PRINCETON — Toyota Indiana officials celebrated the 2021 Sienna minivan on Wednesday while also making another major announcement.
The company has donated more than $33 million to regional philanthropic efforts since breaking ground in Princeton 25 years ago. On Wednesday, Toyota committed $1 million to establish a YMCA facility at the former Lowell Elementary School, just off the town square.
The North Gibson School Corp. recently said it would donate the property to the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana. Completion of the transaction is pending an environmental review.
If everything goes as planned, Princeton's YMCA is likely to open in early 2022. It will have a wellness center, a STEM lab, childcare area and teaching kitchen, among other things.
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"We have been trying to build this project out for many years, but without Toyota, we would not have been able to cross the finish line," said Jonathan Pope, CEO of the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana.
"We are creating something that will last way beyond us," added Princeton Mayor Greg Wright.
Toyota Indiana President Leah Curry, who grew up in the area, said the YMCA "is an amazing project for an amazing community. With Jonathan, the mayor and all the community members were behind it, it was a no-brainer."
During Wednesday's celebration on the gym floor at the old Lowell school, Curry also beamed with pride over the Princeton-made all-hybrid 2021 Sienna.
The 2021 Sienna represents "the biggest update since the model launched," Curry said. "Our team members put in thousands of hours of training to be ready for the start of production."
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