The town council in Merrillville, Indiana, has approved a $10 million gift from the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation to name its new community center, the Chicago Tribune reports. 

To be administered through the Legacy Foundation, Lake County's community foundation, annual distributions of $2 million over five years will be used to offset shortfalls in the town's operating budget for the $24 million center, said councilman Shawn Pettit, who also serves as president of the town's redevelopment commission. When finished, the 95,000-square-foot facility will feature a fitness center, a walking/jogging path, three regulation-size basketball courts, six volleyball courts, a rock-climbing wall, a multi-purpose turf field for youth soccer and football, a multi-purpose community room, and three meeting rooms.

The Whites were longtime residents of northwest Indiana. Developer, hotelier, and theater impresario Dean White's investments in Merrillville, where his business was headquartered, include the former Radisson complex at Interstate 65 and U.S. 30, which encompassed the original Holiday Inn (Radisson) hotel, the Twin Towers office building, and the Star Plaza Theatre.

"Words cannot begin to express the town's gratitude for this enormously generous donation from the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation," said Pettit. 

"The [f]oundation is proud to honor Dean and Barbara's legacy by providing the lead gift to the Merrillville Community Center," a spokesperson for the foundation said in a statement. "It is their hope that this center enhances the quality of life for the town's citizens and serves as a gathering place for people of all ages to engage, learn, and improve their physical and emotional health."