Improvements proposed for Athletic Park in Anderson include new water features, a rock climbing attraction and a multi-use amphitheater. Herald Bulletin file photo
ANDERSON — Officials with the city and Anderson University are submitting a grant proposal this week that they hope will lead to $25 million in funding for a series of projects to transform the Park Place neighborhood on the western edge of campus.
Last May, the university received a $250,000 planning grant from Lilly Endowment that allowed officials to assemble a steering committee and hold a series of meetings with stakeholders, including a public open house, to gather ideas for specific projects.
Those conversations, according to Stephanie Moran, senior advisor for strategic partnerships at Anderson University, have generated a list of priorities that would link the university more closely with the downtown area.
“The theme is really about stronger connection between campus and community,” Moran said. “In this case, connecting campus and downtown physically, but also creating connections between campus and the rest of the community when it comes to program opportunities, service opportunities, contributions and resources.”
The planning grant also provided an opportunity for AU and the city to jointly apply for $25 million in implementation funding as part of the Lilly Endowment’s College and Community Collaboration initiative. Other Indiana colleges, including Taylor University, Ball State and Indiana State, have also received funding for planning similar projects.
Moran said a feasibility study has also been completed, which has helped coalesce elements of the grant proposal into two main anchor projects: reimagining the space along the White River after the current Madison County Jail presumably closes; and renovating Athletic Park.
Although there are no formal plans to demolish the current jail, Moran said planners envision the potential for a host of retail, mixed-use and housing developments along the riverfront in that area.
“That would open up some real estate right there along the river for redevelopment,” she said. “That could be part of a much greater vision of development along the river for Anderson to take advantage of having that natural resource right in our downtown area.”
For Anderson city officials, collaborating on the grant proposal represents an opportunity to secure significant funding for a project that has long been a priority.
Renovating Athletic Park would create what Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. calls “a transitional and regional attraction that will not only serve the people of Anderson but attract people from around the region to come into the city and check out the amenities here.”
Broderick said the city is currently working with engineers to formalize plans that would include a large amphitheater with lawn space that could accommodate up to 3,500 people for concerts and other events. Other plans include outdoor shelters, rock climbing walls and a large entry pavilion with restrooms and a concession area.
He noted that existing trails that approach Athletic Park would also be updated to improve access for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Both Broderick and Moran said the cooperation between the university and the city in putting the proposal together reflects the goal of the Lilly Endowment’s program.
“The overall thrust of what the Lilly grant is anticipating is that these smaller colleges and universities that are part of their communities, that they’re not isolated,” Broderick said.
University leaders, he added, “have done a lot to reach out and want to be part of the community on many fronts. We’ve really enjoyed that relationship and look forward to that even growing stronger as this project moves forward.”
Moran said Lilly will likely make a decision on the proposal during the summer.
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