Photo Credit: Illustration - RATIO
The City of Noblesville, Ind., recently committed to implementing an extensive plan for public-space development immediately west of the historic downtown, a $17-million investment. The master plan includes a new park, a sweeping pedestrian bridge across the White River, and pedestrian and traffic-calming enhancements to an adjacent state highway. This is the fulfillment of a vision established through collaboration between the mayor’s office and the city’s departments of parks and recreation, planning, engineering, and economic development. The master-planning process was facilitated by RATIO, a multi-disciplinary design firm based in Indianapolis, with offices in Chicago, Raleigh, and Champaign.
Noblesville is the county seat of Hamilton County, the fifth most populous county in Indiana. The county enjoys the number-one spot in per capita income, as well as the lowest unemployment and highest education levels. Noblesville’s population has increased by 82 percent in the last 10 years.
The site for the new park is a 6.4-acre parcel bordered by busy thoroughfares that bring vehicular traffic into and out of Noblesville’s historic, pedestrian-scaled downtown. The site has over time been under agricultural production, home to two residences, a golf driving range, and an auto-repair shop. As a gateway into downtown, however, the potential for the property far exceeded the land uses it hosted. Adjacent property-uses include large surface parking lots that serve a grocery store and a nearby hospital. The city envisions a gradual transition of denser development surrounding the park, which, in turn, creates a gateway into downtown, effectively causing the White River to be a downtown feature, as opposed to merely being on the west edge. As the density around the park increases, the city will also realize an increase in tax revenue—probably amounting to many millions of dollars over time.