The Town of Zionsville has been awarded a $1.9 million grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) for the Zionsville Gateway Area (ZGA) project. This grant is part of Governor Holcomb’s Indiana Regional Economic Accelerations and Development Initiative (READI).
The $1.9 million comes from a total award of $20 million in READI grant dollars to the White River Regional Opportunity Initiative (WR-ROI) partnership (consisting of representatives from three counties – Hamilton, Madison and Marion – and eight communities – Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Indianapolis, McCordsville, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville).
The grant funding will be used for design work within the ZGA. Beginning in 2023, DPW will engage engineers and landscape architects to design the realignment of 1st Street south of Sycamore Street, including considerations for a future public plaza. Design work also includes the addition of trail and pedestrian connections, as well as the evaluation of burying overhead utility lines. Design and engineering are expected to be complete in the first half of 2024.
“With this grant, we are setting the stage for the future transformation of the gateway into our town – a vision that was cast by the public and stakeholders during previous planning phases,” said DPW Director Lance Lantz. “The ZGA plan strategically adds new design elements to the gateway area, including an extension of 1st Street south of Sycamore Street with intersection improvements, the creation of a pedestrian boulevard, a public plaza area and more.”
The ZGA project began in 2020 when the Town demolished two buildings at the corner of Main and Sycamore Streets. In the fall of 2020, months of public input meetings and stakeholder interviews took place. This resulted in the final ZGA study – a whole-community serving, authentically Zionsville approach that brings together a menu of options for the downtown area.
“The ZGA plan sought to engage all stakeholders – business owners, residents and developers – to determine the highest, best and most sustainable mix of uses within the area,” said Mayor Emily Styron. “This infrastructure investment will be a catalyst for implementing this mission and seeing future transformational development that compliments the activity and character of the Village.”