Once the debris is cleared, a cultural garden is set to take root on the site of the old Major Hospital.
City planners have received a $21,200 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs to create a Japanese Cultural Garden at the corner of West Washington and West Streets.
The grant comes from the state’s 5-year-old Place-Based Investment Fund which is intended to encourage local quality of life projects.
Local matching funds are required, and Mayor Tom DeBaun said several local companies have offered to contribute.
Stepping stone walkways, a water feature and bridge, a rock garden and a landscaped area with traditional Japanese plantings will highlight the 2,500-square-foot garden.
The cultural nature of the garden is especially appropriate for Shelbyville which will soon have 14 Japanese companies with the recent announcement that Kimura Foundry America Inc. plans to build a new factory in the city, Brian Asher, executive director of the Shelby County Development Corp., has stated.
SCDC, the Blue River Community Foundation and the city partnered to do the project.
There is no firm date yet when the garden will open.
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