White River State Park reveals plans for $65M expansion on stamping plant site

The leaders of White River State Park are finalizing design plans for a $65 million extension of the park across Washington Street to the former General Motors stamping plant site where Elanco Animal Health is building a new headquarters.

The park will expand into 15 acres between the White River and the Elanco project and will occur over two phases. The first—covering the northern 7.5 acres of the property—is expected to include an event pavilion to be developed inside the remnants of a former crane bay that had been part of the original stamping plant.

The first phase will also feature new greenspaces, a theater and a promenade overlooking the White River, along with a new set of limestone stairs within the levee that will lead to a new overlook offering panoramic views of downtown Indianapolis.

The White River State Park Commission, which manages the 250-acre park’s operations on behalf of the state, has been considering what could be done with the land since late 2020, when the Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced it would set aside at least 10 acres for the park as part of a deal to relocate Greenfield-based Elanco to the site. The IEDC is working with Elanco and Purdue University to develop a tech park called the OneHealth Innovation District on part of the former stamping plant site.

To make the most of the site, the state plans to reroute White River Parkway South so it runs along the western edge of the new park property, closer to the Elanco site. That will free up more land along the river for recreation.

The road will cut between the Elanco headquarters building and the former crane bay, which will be named Kahn Pavilion in honor of Detroit industrial architect Albert Kahn, who helped design the GM facility nearly a century ago.

“When we were factoring in what to consider for this first phase of the expansion, our big goals were to try and preserve a big part of the state’s history while also engaging with the White River itself,” said Jake Oakman, executive director of White River State Park.

“We wanted to do something that would make sense for where the overall development of the [OneHealth] innovation district is at this point, then let the rest of the park property sort of grow as the GM site gets further developed and as The Valley neighborhood continues to grow,” Oakman said, referring to a neighborhood that borders the stamping plant property.

The state plans to spend $35 million on the project, with an additional $30 million pledged by Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc., Oakman said. He declined to say how the state plans to pay for its share of the project.

The endowment’s investment is in addition to a grant the endowment is providing for the city’s construction of a bridge extending Henry Street and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail from the east side of the White River to the former stamping plant site.

The bridge, which the city started working on last month, will offer drivers, pedestrians and riders easier access to the White River State Park expansion.

Construction timeline

Oakman said the park commission has published the first construction bid packages for consideration, with responses due this month. He said construction on the levee portion of the project is expected to start by the end of this year and take about 12 months to build. Construction on the remaining parts of the first phase, including Kahn Pavilion, are expected to start in spring 2025 and take 14 to 18 months to build.

When completed, the pavilion will be available for weddings, corporate events and community gatherings of up to 500 people but will be open to the public on most days. Park officials anticipate the building, which will have large retractable doors and a cafe, will be able to accommodate stalls for farmers markets, yoga classes and seminars.

“We think it’s going to be a real attractive element to the park and something we don’t have right now in our portfolio of park elements,” said Adam Theis, associate vice president of capital planning for Indiana University and chair of the commission’s design committee. “There’s a myriad of opportunities for activities that are relevant to the White River State Park mission and also very attractive for people around the state to come and bring conventions, gatherings and festivals.”

The area left when White River Parkway is moved will be filled with a large promenade that acts as an artery for the expansion, with an entrance from Henry Street. The commission is also planning a second, smaller pavilion space, terraced seating and a pair of nature-focused areas called a hill scramble and an adventure bluff, which will flank either end of the expansion. Trails are expected to run throughout the expansion, as well.

No watercraft access

One thing the expansion won’t offer is a launch point for kayaks or boats, despite initial interest in locating access points at the site. Oakman said the project will create an opportunity for visitors to “engage the river,” but he said the proximity of a low-head dam nearby makes launching watercraft from the area a challenge.

“We would like to see people safely engaged in the river, but one of the considerations for not having a defined canoe launch is the dam north of this site,” he said. “There’s some issues with how the water comes off the dam, and we want to make sure people are being safe.”

Low-head dams allow water to flow continuously over a crest. But when water levels rise downstream, they can produce upstream currents capable of trapping someone who is on the water swimming or in a kayak or other boat. The dams are often referred to as “drowning machines.”

Despite the lack of a launch point, Oakman said he expects the park will draw 50 to 100 people a day, a number that could swell to hundreds or thousands on nice days or during special events.

The northern portion of the expansion will have 65 to 85 dedicated parking spaces to accommodate daily traffic. The southern portion of the expansion could be used for overflow parking, Oakman said. Visitors could also park along White River Parkway.

The plans for expanding the state park come about one year after a group of 26 local leaders visited the $1 billion Gardens by the Bay nature park development in Singapore, which encompasses 250 acres near the country’s southern coast. The tourist attraction fronts 3.2 miles of coastline along the Singapore Strait.

Local leaders were looking to learn about how central Indiana could better utilize land adjacent to the White River.

Theis said the White River State Park expansion plans incorporate ideas from the trip but don’t replicate any one part of the Singapore site.

“We think this is a first phase … a significant action step to engaging the river and engaging it right next to one of our biggest and most important corporate partners in Elanco,” Theis said. “This becomes an outcome that is directly related to not just preserving our own cultural heritage, but it’s about new and exciting things that are going on in our economy.”•