INDIANAPOLIS — Greenfield’s new Depot Street Park and the neighboring restaurant, The Depot, were each recently nominated for the 45th annual Monumental Awards hosted by the Indy Chamber, which serves the nine-county region of greater Indianapolis.
The park advanced to the next round on Sept. 1 after finalists were chosen through public votes on the Indy Chamber’s Facebook page.
Both the park and restaurant were nominated in the chamber’s “creative reuse” category, which honors creative structures and reuse of buildings and locations throughout the greater Indy area.
This year’s Monumental Award winners will be announced Oct. 5 at a celebration at Tibbs Drive-In in Indianapolis, where highlights of each finalist will be shared.
Greenfield city planner Joanie Fitzwater said this year’s dual nomination of both Depot Street Park and The Depot restaurant is a huge honor for the City of Greenfield.
While the grain tower celebrates the city’s agricultural roots, Depot Street Park’s railroad theme embraces the city’s ties to the historic Pennsylvania Railroad.
Depot Street Park has drawn thousands of visitors to downtown Greenfield since its official grand opening June 18, mostly through live music events held at the state-of-the-art amphitheater.
The Depot restaurant, created by three Greenfield natives, has proven to be an equally popular draw, with a frequent waitlist of guests often spilling out the front door.
Fitzwater said both the park and restaurant celebrate the best of the city’s past, present and future by providing a place for people to gather for generations to come.
The park has been on the city’s radar ever since the community first voiced the desire for a downtown park and amphitheater through the city’s 2013 Downtown Revitalization Plan.
It finally came to fruition thanks to $1.75 million in Community Development Block Grants from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, in addition to $650,000 in local funds.
The Greenfield parks department contributed another $30,000 in event accouterments while the Greenfield City Council set aside $60,000 for initial programming. Stellar Community funds awarded by OCRA were used to renovate a trailer into a mobile Green Room for entertainers at the park.
Greenfield Parks & Recreation director Ellen Kuker said seeing the community flock to the park in droves has made the arduous two-year process of creating the park worthwhile for community partners and parks department staff.
“To say everyone’s hard work has paid off is an understatement,” said Kuker, crediting the multiple City of Greenfield departments and state partners who brought the park to fruition.
“I don’t believe anyone who contributed in some way to making the park a reality could have dreamed it would be so well received,” she said.
“To date we’ve had over 10,000 people come out and enjoy a concert or a movie. The turnouts for our events have been incredible, which is a direct reflection of the people at the table and their hard work and thoughtful approach to this park.”
Kuker said the new amphitheater, which has hosted a number of popular musical acts this summer, rivals those found in neighboring cities like Greenwood, Franklin and Noblesville.
“To see the community come out and support events held in this park and to see visitors from outside our community come in and be wowed by our park is pretty fulfilling,” she said.
In addition to being a great community draw, Fitzwater said the park has also sparked subsequent development in addition to transforming the historic grain elevator into The Depot.
Libby’s Ice Cream Parlor has benefited from tremendous foot traffic generated by the park’s summer concerts, she said, and the adjacent Co-op Store and Gas station on the south side of the park plans to build on the momentum by expanding into a decorative garden center.
Fitzwater said a new day spa recently opened in a nearby cottage home, in an area recently rezoned “Traditional Neighborhood” to allow for small businesses.
“Vacant and blighted land near the park is being purchased with plans to capitalize on the burgeoning revitalization of the area,” said Fitzwater, and the city has several acres near the park ready for mixed use development of residential, service, retail and parking amenities.
