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Developer BR Health Holdings LLC plans to break ground Wednesday on a long-planned family health and community center at Broad Ripple Park, after completing negotiations with tenant Indy Parks last December.
The 40,000-square-foot facility will replace an aging, smaller building that crews began demolishing Monday. BR Health—a partnership between Community Health Network and Indianapolis-based Avenue Development—is expected to own the property, which will include recreational space and a health clinic.
Indy Parks is expected to lease at least 25,000 square feet in the building for 30 years. The lease agreement includes a clause that would allow the city to buy the building outright at the end of each lease year—with a price escalator, dependent on the year—while maintaining ownership of the land.
A news conference and ceremonial groundbreaking for the $20 million development is expected to start around 10 a.m. Wednesday, with various city and Community Health officials on hand for the event.
The community center project is part of a $70 million master renovation plan for the park approved in 2018 that called for the replacement of the existing, 11,000-square-foot facility that Indy Parks officials have argued is too small to meet the growing demand for space.
In addition to health care uses, the two-level facility is also expected to house a gymnasium, group meeting space, a children’s play area, a two- or three-lane track, administrative areas, and a multipurpose room. Initial designs for the project were revealed in November 2019.
The plans have been repeatedly challenged by a small group of people within the Broad Ripple community, many of whom claim there is no need for such a facility, and that a public-private partnership is not appropriate.
Three property owners near the park also filed a lawsuit—which was later dismissed—to try and stop the building from being constructed. Those complainants said the new facility would cause “immediate and irreparable loss of [their] property values and their use and enjoyment of their homes.”
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“immediate and irreparable loss of [their] property values and their use and enjoyment of their homes.” – In reality the exact OPPOSITE would happen. Broad Ripple has done nothing but improved and grown and appreciated year over year.
“media is the Fourth Estate, not for the state”. Amy Goodman
In 1995, Harrison Ullmann, former editor of Nuvo Newsweekly, described Indianapolis as “a city that has no tradition or talent for public debates. Once the leaders of the community set a priority or start an initiative, the opposition is expected to retire in silence.” (Quoted in The Hudnut Years in Indianapolis, 1976-1991 [1995] by William H. Hudnut III)
Great news that this has started! This will be a great addition to Broad Ripple Park.
It is sad that people continue to fight change and improvements in our City. Those three property owners who filed a lawsuit should sell and see how much money they will make on their homes.