This year at Indy Parks: What’s coming in 2023
Spring has sprung, and so have many exciting plans for our local parks! Fortunately for those of us in and around Indy, we have partnerships with organizations like Lilly Endowment to thank for upcoming improvements to our parks and playgrounds. There is a lot to look forward to.
CityMom Amy and her boys checkout the newly-opened Broad Ripple Park Family Center.
Creating and improving greenspaces is one of the goals highlighted within Indy Parks and Recreation’s Comprehensive Master Plan, first developed in 2017. Now, as part of the agency’s accreditation, Indy Parks has been busy seeking community input toward their 5-year Comprehensive Master Plan Update, and big things are on the horizon! The best part? The parks department isn’t on its own in working to improve our parks system.
In January 2023, the Lilly Endowment chose Indy Parks to receive $80 million in grants, to be shared among 42 parks and three foundations across the city. This dollar amount is an incredible fourteen times the planned 2023 parks department capital budget, allowing city officials to look excitedly toward making long-planned improvements by 2025.
Construction is already underway at several parks across the city, but you can find a list of additional planned improvements sorted by park here. There are many we’re thrilled to see:
Accessibility upgrades
Adult fitness equipment additions
Baseball diamond, basketball court, tennis pavilion, and sports field upgrades
Beautification
Comfort station and restroom additions
Community programming additions and extensive outreach
Concession pavilion construction
Development of a park history documentary
Environmental center construction
Family center developments to include fitness areas and locker rooms
Farmers market pavilion additions
Field grade, irrigation, and drainage system improvements
Parking lot construction
Pickleball court additions
Playground replacement and resurfacing
Shelter additions
Signage improvements
Skate park expansion
Splash pad additions
Sport stadium lighting and scoreboard additions
Trail construction
Walkway improvements
Photo of new playground being installed at Ringgold Park. Thanks to Indy Parks & Rec Instagram for photo.
Parks to watch in 2023:
Charles Williams Park (a new playground, picnic areas, and performance shelter)
Frank and Judy O’Bannon Park (a new playground, splash pad and picnic shelter)
Frederick Douglass Park (an all-new family center, new playground, and synthetic sports fields are among the planned upgrades)
Krannert Park (Family Center renovations and an expansion of indoor pool facilities)
Riverside Regional Park (including completion of the Riverside Promenade)
Grants from Lilly Endowment aren’t the only funding source allowing Indy Parks to make long-desired improvements. The Circle City Forward Initiative announced an investment of $45 million in February 2021, followed by $16.7 million through the American Rescue Plan announced in October 2021.
January 2023 also marked the grand opening of the Broad Ripple Park Family Center, a $19.7 million project carried out in partnership with Community Health and a shared vision of public health. Individuals and families can take advantage of:
an indoor walking track
a gymnasium
group exercise rooms
multipurpose rooms with large windows
group meeting space
a children’s play area (including indoor playground and party room)
CityMom Amy and her boys enjoy a walk around the Broad Ripple Park Family Center’s indoor walking track.
The Broad Ripple Park Family Center also boasts new fitness studios for community classes.
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The parks department and city leaders are looking through a lens of community health improvement. Indy has consistently ranked near the bottom out of the 100 largest cities on the Indy-based American College of Sports Medicine’s American Fitness Index. Indy Parks is also looking toward improvements with a goal of equity, with playground upgrades planned at parks within our city's most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods using Lilly Endowment funds.
