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The organization that oversees most of central Indiana’s youth Scouting America programs plans to sell its Indianapolis headquarters and sprawling camp near Terre Haute.
The Crossroads of America Council on Tuesday confirmed its plans to list the Golden-Burke Scout Center at 7125 Fall Creek Road North, near Lawrence, as well as Camp Krietenstein, a 175-acre facility northwest of Poland, Indiana.
The council is selling the properties in hopes of securing financial stability after several years of losses tied to declining participation and higher programming fees.
The Scout Center is the administrative home for the council, which oversees hundreds of individual groups across 26 counties in the central part of the state, from Sullivan to Randolph counties. Krietenstein is the westernmost of the council’s four campgrounds and home to a five-acre lake, year-round dining hall and multiple program shelters.
The Council shared its plans to list both properties with local Scouting leaders and volunteers in an email last week.
“We regularly evaluate our assets, operations and programs to ensure that we’re meeting industry standards and using resources effectively,” Ryan Kitchell, the council’s interim CEO, told IBJ in an email. “Selling these properties allows us to focus our resources on delivering high-quality programs and supporting youth leadership and character development.”
Opened in May 2010, the 25,000-square-foot building is being listed by the Indianapolis office of Colliers International for $3.88 million. Rich Forslund and Colliers’ Office Indy team, also consisting of Matt Langfeldt, Nick Trimpe and Christa Calderone, are representing the council on procuring a buyer.
“In a time when people are looking for experiential offerings, this opportunity will prove to be a very intriguing proposition,” Forslund told IBJ in an email. “I can envision another office use, an event center, a religious congregation building and even a small school.”
Kitchell, who has led the Crossroads of America Council since October 2024, said the Golden-Burke center has become an antiquated part of the council’s operation, as Scouting groups tend to rely on mobile technologies to operate their programs. The council has less need for office space, as it has reduced its office staff by 40%—down to 31 full-time employees—since October.
The organization has lost $3 million over the past three years and plans to use the proceeds from both sales to pay off debt and address deferred maintenance at its other camps.
“We will invest in our remaining three camps to ensure future generations of scouts will have the same life changing camp experiences that our scouts always have,” Kitchell said.
Certain elements of the headquarters’ operations, such as the Scouting Store, are expected to move to Camp Belzer, another council-owned property located a half-mile away from the headquarters facility. The council might also look for a sublease in Lawrence or eastern Indianapolis to accommodate a limited number of office staff.
The 175-acre Camp Krietenstein is the council’s least-used camp, Kitchell said. The property is being listed by Dave Harstad, a Terre Haute-based broker with Colliers. The asking price for the property has not been finalized, and Kitchell said some additional legwork must be done to prepare the site for listing.
The council will retain Belzer, as well as Camp Kikthawenund in Madison County and Ransburg Scouting Reservation near Bloomington.
“Today’s young people are facing immense pressures,” Deana Haworth, board chair of the Crossroads of America Council, said in a written statement. “The decision to sell a few of our properties wasn’t made lightly, but it’s a necessary step to ensure that Scouting continues to grow and thrive for families across central Indiana. By focusing our resources, we can provide even more life-changing experiences for all youth—preparing them to make ethical decisions and become the leaders our communities need.”
Kitchell said cutting expenses could also result in savings for families interested in enrolling or keeping their children in Scouting programs.
Over the past few years, costs to join any of the several branches of Scouting America have increased at the national, regional and local levels. That money is used to cover the costs of camping, uniforms, programming and more, but drops in membership led councils around the country to raise their fees to stay on budget. Some, including Crossroads, continued to absorb revenue losses even with the price hikes.
“With these property sales, our annual cost to operate and insure our facilities falls significantly,” Kitchell said. “This is an important part of our 2025 balanced budget that strengthens the organization and positions us for success going forward. We are now on a path to lower the cost to participate in scouting which is a critical component of our membership growth plan.”
Since 2018, girls have been permitted to participate fully in Scouting programs, a marked shift in the organization’s longstanding differentiation from the Girl Scouts of America program, which operates separately.
Currently, about 20% of all Scouts are female, with some having already achieved Scouting’s highest rank of Eagle. The Crossroads Council is also part of a pilot program to have hybrid Scouting troops that include both boys and girls. Current Scouting America rules currently don’t permit co-ed troops, but some operate collaboratively or coordinate their schedules.
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Sad
This is sad but understandable. Scout Camps are in many ways, money pits, that have little use other than for the few weeks of summer camp and perhaps a fall or spring camporee. I grew up in the old Wabash Valley Council which was absorbed several years ago by Crossroads Council. Camp Krietenstein holds many memories for me. For the camping committee in the council that have put their heart and soul into the maintenance and upkeep of scout camps it will be an emotional loss. A difficult decision but one many scout councils are facing.
Very disappointing to see the standards lowered, the values changed and the mass migration away from scouting that has crippled the BSA, in addition to all of the lawsuits that were filed against BSA, forcing it into bankruptcy. Just a darn shame that this long-standing organization that did so much for boys has been destroyed.
Thank God, Jim Morris and Jerry Semler, who dedicated their lives to this organization, did not have to witness its collapse. They would have been heartbroken.
Used to direct all of my United Way to Boy Scouts…until they went coed. Why can’t boys have anything of their own? No boys in Girl Scouts, and there shouldn’t be.
I’ve been involved with a local scout troop for 45 years now. The biggest hit scouting took was COVID. Zoom will suck the soul out of anyone.
As for going co-ed, our troop went more than 100 years with out even having a female leader, and when we discussed creating a girls troop we lost a few adults and in hindsight, propagating patriarchal attitudes is the opposite of what scouting is about.
I’ve been amazed by the accomplishments of youth, be they boys or girls. The organizations standards have not fallen. The same amazing program is still in place but the organization is now giving those leadership development opportunities to boy AND girls. The youth protection training is a model that many other organizations strive to imitate. The training offered to scouts and especially leaders is superior to what I have seen in a large corporation (25,000 employees) I worked for.
It’s sad to see facilities close, but selling the headquarters property seems like a great move. Scouting is not about indoor training facilities and offices.
This is a GREAT response.
This is a great response and reflects a position of someone with a growth mindset versus maintaining the status quo. I have been a Scout nearly my entire life, and proud to have earned the Eagle Scout rank. I have been blessed with daughters, one of which is very active in her all-female Scouts BSA troop. The program is largely the same as it was from my youth (albeit with some changes focused on safety). GSA is also a great program, but it does not deliver what many families seek.
On the heels of COVID, school districts began restricting access to community organizations, like the Scouts. The inability to present the option to kids has also led to declines in new membership.
A building is a building and a camp is a camp. There are sentimental ties to these places, but the mission of the organization continues to be delivered through volunteers at Scout Troop and Cub Scout Pack meetings and individual outings.
Youth club sports are the biggest factor, competing for kids’ and families’ time. In our peer group, sports are prioritized so it is very challenging to keep a thriving scouts roster. It’s not impossible, but this is the biggest factor in my opinion. It’s not “kids these days” or anything like that… it’s shifting priorities.
Where boys learned to be men and contributors to society.