In 2023, the City of New Castle was vying for a $2 million downtown grant. One of the steps included updating the 13-year-old plan that had been guiding downtown development.

New Castle did, indeed, win the $2 million PreservINg Main Street grant. And the new downtown masterplan is nearly done.

The Taylor Siefker Williams Design Group has published the official draft of the New Castle Downtown Plan to https://www.tswdesigngroup.com/newcastle for public review.

Scott Siefker presented the draft plan to the New Castle City Council on Monday.

“Think of this as a guidebook. This is a guidebook for the downtown,” Siefker said. “It’s very much a blueprint for where the downtown is now and where it’s going in the future”

TSW Design Group built the new plan from previous planning efforts that New Castle has gathered over the years, including the bike/pedestrian plan, the Main Street transportation study and the city’s comprehensive plan.

“You do want, at the end of the day, all of your planning initiatives or efforts to speak to one another and build on one another,” Siefker said.

Siefker said the final downtown plan will not be a legislative document or ordinance. Rather, it will a plan the council and administration can use when making decisions about New Castle’s future.

He said planning is very important for communities such as New Castle when it comes to pursuing grant opportunities.

“Hopefully, it will be a very usable plan for you,” he said.

Council member Jerry Walden asked for Siefker’s opinion of New Castle, compared to other similar communities.

A lot of effort put into our downtown, a lot of emphasis. “As an outsider, what is your opinion?”

“You’re positioned very well,” Siefker said.

He noted that communities nowadays see downtowns less as a retail center and more as an experience. Specialty experiences, including concerts and festivals.

Those types of events are what drive people downtown, Siefker said.

“I think your downtown already reflects kind of a positive change in terms of that direction, and that’s reinforced with what we’ve heard through this process, as well,” he said.

Siefker also said New Castle has a strong building stock downtown, which is something other communities would envy.

Concert series opportunity

Emily Hurst, director of New Castle Main Street, followed Siefker’s presentation with a financial request for more downtown concerts.


Hurst asked for $15,000 in matching funds to go after a three-year grant. The council unanimously approved the request from the city’s Riverboat fund.

In her request to the council, Hurst noted that out-of-town concertgoers spend about $300 on average within the local community.

Hurst referenced the draft masterplan as stating downtown events lead to economic activity.

Main Street’s hope is that money raised from the Amp Up Concert Series would also support matching fund for the second and third years of the grant.

Hurst said the concerts would be free and family-friendly and would take place primarily at the 1400 Plaza stage. She said these new concerts would not conflict with the Henry County Concert Series, which is a fundraiser for the Art Association of Henry County.

The city funding would be paid in 2026, but only if New Castle Main Street receives the grant.
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