French Lick – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) announced Greenfield has earned an Aim Community Placemaking Award for Depot Street Park. The city was honored with this award on Wednesday, August 23rd during the Annual Awards Luncheon – presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors, LLC during the 2023 Aim Ideas Summit in French Lick. Greenfield won in the 5,001 – 25,000 population category.
The Depot, a former Pennsylvania train depot in the heart of Greenfield has been transformed into a community gathering place for art and recreation. The park includes an elevated two-sided stage with electrical support for concerts, presentations, theater, and dance. The art plaza is for smaller events and the main grassy seating area is for recreation and larger gatherings. Additional amenities include tables, chairs, picnic tables on steel wheels rolling on tracks, bollard and overhead lighting, limestone water bubblers, a secondary trail, brick plaza, steel and beam swings, embedded rail lines, and public art.
Depot Park was constructed with $650,000 from local funds and $1,750,000 from Community Development Block Grant funds. The Parks Department contributed another $30,000 in event equipment and Council set aside $100,000 for initial programming. Local Stellar funding was used to renovate a trailer into a mobile Green Room for entertainers. The Parks Department will provide event management and routine maintenance.
Aim CEO Matt Greller said, “I have been lucky enough to tour Depot Street Park and some of the accompanying amenities. The city’s vision is so clear and has been successfully realized in every aspect of this project. For some, placemaking can be a very complicated concept to grasp. After spending just a few minutes walking around the park, I believe this award-winning project perfectly meets the definition.”
The Placemaking Award highlights programs or projects that have been implemented and demonstrate new approaches for solving municipal challenges. Placemaking projects also exemplify the positive impact of planning, regeneration, or economic development work on the physical quality of a place, as well as the economic and social well-being of a community. Nominations must have a physical aspect. Awards are presented in multiple population categories based on nominations received.
In its 47th year, the Aim Annual Awards program, presented by Baker Tilly Municipal Advisors LLC, recognizes communities and individuals in municipal government for excellence and outstanding achievement. A seven-member panel of qualified judges selected this year’s winners from a competitive field of nominees from around the state.
Conference Facts:
2023 Aim Ideas Summit
August 22-24, 2023
French Lick Resort
Attendance: 1,000 (pending final registration count)