Development in Westfield — a key component of Mayor Scott Willis’ four pillars for growth plan — will receive a boost from the Central Indiana Redevelopment Authority.
CIRDA selected the City of Westfield’s Park & Poplar project as the recipient of a $4 million grant from Indiana Economic Development Corp. READI 2.0 funding. The money is part of the READI 2.0 Main Street Matters $45 million grant funding initiative.
Park & Poplar is a proposed $164 million mixed-use redevelopment project along the Midland Trace Trail from the connection at Poplar Street/Westfield Boulevard to Grand Junction Plaza. The trail runs south of Park Street businesses, including Nyla’s, The Italian House on Park and Greek’s Pizzeria. The development is expected to be funded by a combination of public and private funds.
“I’ve talked ad nauseam of my vision for downtown,” Willis told more than 75 residents gathered at a town hall-style meeting June 20. “You’re going to start hearing about a lot of things coming to the downtown area. We’re working on multiple projects right now that are going to be transformational for our downtown area.”
According to city officials, Park & Poplar’s strategic location on the trail will enhance pedestrian connectivity to Grand Junction Plaza and Park Street’s ‘Restaurant Row,’ providing amenities and activities for residents and visitors. The area also is included in the city’s proposed Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area — a designated area where patrons 21 and older can purchase alcoholic beverages in a marked container from participating establishments, then carry those drinks within the district. That proposal, approved by the Westfield City Council June 24, now heads to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission for final approval.
Park & Poplar aims to establish a central business district in Westfield, including parking, housing and commercial development. The development is expected to include a boutique hotel, office space, retail space, luxury multifamily residences and public parking to support local businesses and community events at Grand Junction Plaza.
The location along the trail follows Willis’ vision of trail-oriented development that treats the city’s trails as “beachfront property” by strategically maximizing trails and encouraging developers to incorporate trail-facing amenities such as plazas, playgrounds and art installations, retaining natural areas and collaborating with the public works and parks departments to create trail connectivity to other trails and neighborhoods.
Quality growth and livability is one of Willis’ four pillars plan for Westfield, which also includes transparency and accountability, public safety and empowerment and continuous improvement.
“If you live in Westfield, you know that we’re growing at a very rapid pace. We are the sixth-fastest growing city in America. But want to hear something more shocking? We’re the only city in the Midwest to show up on the top 100 list,” Willis said. “People want to live here, so what do we want to do with it? I felt like the city was growing without a real vision of where we want to go as a community. I want to grow. I don’t want to tell people, ‘No, you can’t live in this amazing place.’ I want to share with fellow Hoosiers and Americans across the country. But, we have to plan it and make sure we’re doing it in a smart way so that we all can look back in 20 or 30 years from now and say, ‘This is still a great place to live.’”
The Park & Poplar proposal is in the planning and development stage. A brief introduction of the plan was presented to the Westfield City Council June 24. Closing on the first parcels related to the development — which will be temporarily used for parking — is scheduled for July 29.
