For the second time in as many months, Whitestown officials have announced plans to build a new park.
The Whitestown Town Council voted Dec. 20 to accept a 15-acre land donation that will enable the town to build a park. The land is on the southeast corner of Anson Boulevard and East County Road 450 South, just south of ExpressScripts in the Anson industrial development.
In November, town officials announced plans for an 11-acre park near the Walker Homes subdivision.
“This will double our number of parks,” Whitestown Parks Director Nathan Messer said.
The land was donated to the town by Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding, Inc. Duke Realty originally gave the land to Morning Dove, but Morning Dove on W. 96th Street in Zionsville never ended up it. It plans to move instead to a location along County Road 500 in 2018.
Together, Morning Dove and Duke came up with the plan to give it to the town for use as a park, Messer said.
The 15-acre park will be mostly open fields and a wooded area, with trails running through the property. At the main entrance visitors can enjoy basketball courts, grills, a shelter and corn hole lanes. At the north side of the property, in the wooded area, the town plans to put in a pond overlook.
Town officials intentionally left much of the park space open, Messer said.
“We didn’t want to touch that wooded area,” he said. “We will clear a trail … but we really don’t want to disturb that area too much.”
The bike and walking trails in the park will connect to an existing trail system in Anson, Messer said.
Funding for the park will come from a federal grant and park impact fees. The town has been recommended to receive $200,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a division of the U.S. National Park Service. Another $200,000 will come from the park impact fees.
The town does not yet have a funding plan for the Walker Farms park, which will cost an estimated $4.1 million. That park will include native plantings, a wetland area with an overlook, basketball and tennis courts, a splash pad, playground, sledding hill and sports field.
Messer plans to start work on the Anson park next spring, but the land will be put to use before then.
In April, the site will host “Viking Fest” a three-day Viking-themed festival. Previously held in Richmond, Viking Fest will be a partnership between Whitestown, Noble Order Brewing and J&J Winery.
The festival will feature archery demonstrations, live music, Viking re-enactments, wolves, fire juggling, Viking food and ale and more. The event will be April 20-22.
In addition to a new park, Whitestown has acquired the land needed to complete its remaining portion of the Big 4 Rail Trail. The town has been trying to purchase a 4.5 acre parcel at County Road 400 South and Whitestown Road for months.
The Whitestown Town Council approved the purchase at its Dec. 20 meeting. Owning the land will enable the town to build the final 0.7-mile stretch to connect to Zionsville’s trail.
Though the town purchased the land, it will not actually spend a dime. The property owner agreed to donate half of the cost, $45,000, to the town. The other $45,000 will come from a grant from the Department of Natural Resources.
Messer said the trail would likely be completed in 2019.