GREENFIELD — Depot Street Park’s planned entertainment venue will get a boost for booking acts thanks to funding approved by the Greenfield City Council.
At its meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 25, the city council voted to create a non-reverting parks entertainment fund that can be used by the city’s Parks Department to pay for appearances of musicians and entertainers at Depot Street Park, along with other city parks.
The fund will come from revenue from the County Economic Development Income Tax, which is assessed on the county level and distributed among government units; it is used for projects that intend to promote economic activity.
To start with, the fund will receive $45,000 in 2021 and an additional $45,000 in 2022.
Depot Street Park is one of the biggest projects funded through the Stellar Communities program, which is paying for its construction through a grant. Greenfield, along with Fortville and Hancock County, are participating in the Stellar program as the Health and Heritage Region.
Greenfield zoning administrator Joan Fitzwater, who heads the local Stellar committee, said the project has been delayed by some issues necessitating the redesign of a storm drain. However, it didn’t cause a major holdup, and the park construction is now back on track.
The park is expected to be substantially completed by this fall. The grand opening of the amphitheater itself is slated for summer 2022.
The Greenfield Parks Department will be in charge of booking entertainment at Depot Street Park’s stage.
“It’s really exciting, and I know there’s been a lot of community input” on what people would like to see at the park, Fitzwater said.
RLTurner Corporation is doing construction work on the park, which will cost about $1.9 million and is being constructed in a green space between Pennsylvania Street and Riley Avenue. In addition to the outdoor stage, the space will have two smaller plazas, one with outdoor seating and one intended to display art installations.
Other features at the park will be a 12-foot-wide concrete walkway, sway benches, bike racks, and interactive art displays.