Noblesville to get new parks, fieldhouse and more houses
Noblesville Parks Director Brandon Bennett shared some insights on new parks and developments happening in Noblesville with Realtors at the Fishers FC Tucker office this week. Here are some highlights of the discussion, which includes details of the proposed fieldhouse at Finch Creek Park on Noblesville’s east side and the opening of Federal Hill Commons near downtown Noblesville. Finch Creek Park is a 200-acre site west of Boden Road south of 166th Street not far from Klipsch Music Center. Klipsch-Card Athletic Facilities – the same developer of the Grand Park Fieldhouse in Westfield – is developing 10 acres of the site for a 150,000-square-foot facility that will include five basketball courts, plus turf that could be used for training or as many as nine batting and pitching fields. St Vincent Sports will be a tenant in the Fieldhouse offering athletic and performance training along with physical therapy. Construction of the $17 million fieldhouse is expected to begin in August, and it’s slated to open by mid-2018. The park will be developed in phases. The first phase will be south of the fieldhouse, which will include a playground, splash park and picnic tables. The area will be perfect for families taking a break from games at the fieldhouse, but also will be connected to the neighborhood Blue Ridge Creek, a Pulte development. The City of Noblesville worked out a PILOS (payment in lieu of open space) agreement with the developer of the neighborhood. Instead of the neighborhood including the minimum amount of greenspace typically required, the developer will pay the city about $300,000, which will go toward developing the park. There will be a direct connection between the neighborhood and the park. It’s the first time a PILOS agreement has been used in Indiana, but not the last.
According to City of Noblesville documents, PILOS agreements will be used for other subdivisions in the same area, including Copper Leaf, on the east side of Boden, and at Willow Creek, which is to the west of Blue Ridge Creek. The new neighborhoods will include homes built by both Pulte and CalAtlantic (which formerly was Ryland Homes).
The 200-acre park that surrounds the area will be developed over phases. Bennett said the park will have a nature center, dog park, trails and an area for extreme, outdoor sports enthusiasts. The park also will take advantage of a creek that runs through the property. Here are more details about the development.
Most of Noblesville’s growth has spread to the east around Hamilton Town Center and the corporate campus north of 146th Street. Bennett said this areas accounts for 50 percent to 60 percent of Noblesville’s growth.
Federal Hill Commons is a 6 ½-acre park just west of Noblesville between Conner and Logan streets and west of Indiana 19. The $6 million project includes an amphitheater, play area for the kids, tables and restrooms. The former First Merchants Bank has been converted into a community center, called the Green Room, which will have several purposes. It will be open to the amphitheater, so it could become a suite area for a concert. It also could be rented for events.
Federal Hill Commons – named after the first school in Noblesville – will also become home to the Noblesville Farmers Market. Grand opening will be May 13, which will feature Rugged Brothers Band from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and The Wright Brothers from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Both concerts are free. There also will be kids’ activities and a fireworks show at 10 p.m.
Laura Musall is a full-time Realtor based in Fishers, Ind. and helps buyers and sellers throughout the Indianapolis metropolitan area, including Hamilton, Boone and Marion counties.