There’s a lot going on near the intersection of Allisonville Road and 96th Street, with a new development and road construction for a new roundabout adding to traffic congestion in an already busy area. But a new project near that intersection will offer respite and natural beauty to visitors who want to temporarily escape the bustle of urban life.
The City of Fishers recently announced its plans for White River Park, set to open in spring 2025. The site is about 120 acres, said Jake Reardon-McSoley, the city’s director of recreation and wellness.
The city already had plans to create a park with land it owned at that site. Those plans expanded when CRG Residential — which is building the new River Place mixed-use development at that intersection — donated an additional 25 acres for the park.
“The majority of the 120-acre park parcel really couldn’t be developed,” Reardon-McSoley said. “It’s in either (a) floodway or flood plain. There is some space that could be developed technically, but (CRG) thought it could really be a great partnership and gifted that property to the city for the purpose of a park — a community park.”
The city received a $4.7 million READI grant through the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to finance the park’s development. READI stands for Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative.
“As a state, Indiana is making unprecedented investments in quality-of-place assets to ensure we have vibrant communities that attract top talent and support Hoosiers and their families,” READI Director Jim Rawlinson stated. “Fishers White River Park will increase public green spaces and connectivity throughout the community while furthering regional efforts to better leverage the White River waterway throughout the central Indiana region.”
That grant was supplemented with another $1 million from Hamilton County. The total $5.7 million fully paid for the park’s first development phase.
“A great part to residents here is, not a nickel to any taxpayers,” Reardon-McSoley said. ”It’s just a free community asset we think is going to be a gorgeous sanctuary of a park.”
The city launched a community survey, he added, and hosted several open houses to understand what residents wanted from their new park.
“It was pretty clear what our community was interested in for this park — that was really an opportunity to showcase natural beauty and not necessarily create any more manicured sports fields or other amenities,” Reardon-McSoley said. “And so, that’s what we started working on for concepts and designs and really wanted to reflect the spirit of what we heard from our residents. And so, what our community can expect when we open next year will be a sprawling, large park with just under 2.5 miles of trails to explore.”
The park also will have scenic overlook boardwalks so visitors can get close to the river and a kayak launch for those who want to get even closer.
“Access to the White River was a really important focus point,” Reardon-McSoley said. “I don’t think, generally, Fishers residents think of the White River as an opportunity to recreate in our community and we wanted to change that and really kind of provide an opportunity for residents to launch their own kayaks or nonmotorized water vehicles and just engage with the river in a number of ways.”
In addition to the boat launch and overlooks, he said there will be a “creek-stomping” area for kids to splash and play. There also will be some more practical amenities, such as a parking lot, restrooms and a water-bottle fill station. But, he said, development will remain light.
“We’re trying to really kind of work with the grain of the property, not against it,” Reardon-McSoley said. “So even the paths that we’re creating for hiking, walking, running, are really just kind of expanding and improving some of the natural kind of deer paths and trails that have been on the property over the last 100 years.”
There will be some paved trails, but most will be crushed rock or dirt paths. The crushed rock improves accessibility for those with mobility limitations, he said, and they considered grades when designing various trails.
“If you get a chance to go out and explore it, it’s rugged,” Reardon-McSoley said of the site. “There’s all kinds of elevation changes and wildlife. It’s a unique property in a lot of ways but making sure there’s the proper grading — both for traffic and pedestrian access coming in — we had to work on grading so that was accessible.”
He said the city hopes to break ground on the park project in September with a goal of opening in May 2025. Development at the park won’t stop there, though. Reardon-McSoley said the city has future plans, including a possible disc golf course.
Connectivity
The City of Fishers has been working to improve pedestrian connectivity and the White River Park project’s design reflects that ongoing goal, said Jake Reardon-McSoley, the city’s director of recreation and wellness.
“We will have a connection from the Fishers White River Park directly to Heritage Park at White River, which is another Fishers park just immediately north of this property,” he said. “That’ll be kind of fun for residents to explore that large trail connection. And then, we’re actually under construction right now for a pedestrian bridge to go across the White River and that’ll actually connect the Heritage Park property with Hazel Landing, which is a Carmel park on the other side.”
He said that city officials will continue looking at ways to connect the new park with other parks and trails throughout the community, leading to a broad network of paths for residents to walk, run or bike.
