Paul Smith, Real Estate Manager(317) 327-5832Indy Parks and Recreation, with help from the Indianapolis Park Foundation, is forming alliances with local developers, private individuals, community organizations and governmental agencies to acquire and preserve greenspace throughout Marion County. Indy Parks has relied upon these alliances, donations and other funding strategies and initiatives to acquire more than 378 acres within the past five years (all with no formal land acquisition budget). And thanks to developers’ future commitments, the agency anticipates an additional 150 donated acres by the end of 2006.
The Indianapolis Parks Foundation also works closely with Indy Parks to secure desirable acreage in under served areas of Indianapolis-Marion County. In 2004, AES, the parent company of the city’s largest utility company, Indianapolis Power & Light Company (IPL), donated $1.1 million to the foundation to purchase 63 acres on the city’s eastside.
Recent Land Acquisitions
Acres: 3.52Location: 2802 and 2861 Colorado AvenueDonation from private citizen
Acres: 14.07Location: 7846 Wolfgang PlaceDonation from C. P. Morgan Developers
Acres: 89Location: Property is bordered by Grassy Creek Park, Andrew J. Brown Academy to the north, German Church Road to the east, and 30th and German Church Park to the southDonation from the Community Alliance for the Far Eastside (CAFÉ) and the Indianapolis Foundation