City officials are laying the groundwork for major changes around Central Park and will be seeking public input later this summer.
Nothing has been decided, but much of the possible changes are needed to accommodate the Buffalo Street revitalization project that abuts the southern shoreline along Center Lake, but the city also has an opportunity to acquire two separate lots around the park.
The Buffalo Street project will eventually include a plaza along the lake at the northern end of the street. Utility work began earlier this year and will continue this summer. The design also includes plans to connect Indiana and Buffalo streets near the lake, according to Mayor Joe Thallemer.
City officials are looking a handful of major changes:
• The parks office along Canal Street and Center Lake will have to be relocated to accommodate the connection between Indiana and Buffalo streets.
• A proposal to construct a multi-use building that would house an ice rink is being considered.
• NIPSCO’s substation, south of the parks office, will be renovated and reduced in size. Thallemer said the size of the substation will shrink significantly and that the utility apparatus will be only half as tall as it stands now.
• NIPSCO’s substation, south of the parks office, will be renovated and reduced in size. Thallemer said the size of the substation will shrink significantly and that the utility apparatus will be only half as tall as it stands now.
• Owners of the gas station at the corner of Canal and North Detroit streets have offered the property to the city. The business recently closed.
• The owner of a home at the northwest corner of Indiana and Fort Wayne streets has told city officials they are willing to sell it. The house is adjacent to two lots to the west that the city already owns.
Central Park was developed more than 20 years ago and has become the “heart of the city,” according to Thallemer, as the amount of programming for park activities in the immediate area has grown over the years.
“We’ve got a ton of opportunities to enhance this,” Thallemer said. “There’s a lot of ideas floating – none of which have been determined.
“There’s a lot of moving parts,” he said.
The Park Board on Tuesday approved plans to hire Design Collaborative, of Fort Wayne, to assemble a master plan that will encompass all of the possible changes.
On Friday, the city Board of Public Works and Safety signed off on the request to hire the firm and approve a spending plan.
The work is expected to cost no more than $42,000. Costs will be covered by K21 Foundation ($14,000), the parks department ($5,000) and plan department ($23,000).
A series of public meeting to discuss the ideas is planned for later this year and much of the discussion will be channeled through the park board, Thallemer said.
No timetable has been set for construction of the various elements, but Thallemer said the park office might have to be temporarily located elsewhere at some point until construction is complete.
A final recommendation from Design Collaborative is expected to include a rough estimate of the costs involved. A funding source will also need to be determined.
Numerous decisions are looming.
Exact locations for the multi-use building and park office need to be determined.
NIPSCO plans to allow the city to acquire and use land that will no longer be needed near the substation.
If the city acquires the gas station and house, officials will need to determine how the land would be best used.
Thallemer said Center Lake Pavillion will remain intact, and could be renovated or expanded.
“We need to look holistically at the entire amount of property that is available in the park as we move things around,” Thallemer said.
He credited a Kosciusko Leadership Academy paper for “kick-starting” the idea of developing an ice rink.
The firm is expected to conduct a survey during the Northern Indiana Lakes Festival this summer at Center Lake. They are also expected to use social media to get public sentiment on the possible changes.
Thallemer said they also will evaluate the pier at Center Lake because a lack of circulation of water in the area has led to the development of E. coli and the closing of the lake several times in recent years due to health concerns.
City Planner Jeremy Skinner said they want to be ready with a plan if the city chooses to acquire the two properties.
Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer expressed an eagerness to hear from the public.
“We’re excited about a lot of opportunities that we have in the park and this is a great first step,” Plummer said Friday at the meeting.
