INDIANAPOLIS — Indy Parks now has the money it needs to modernize Marion County's playgrounds and it wants your opinion to make sure it's done right.
Indy Parks received an $80 million Lilly Endowment Grant for park improvements, which is much more than the parks department has on hand.
"For reference, $80 million is 14 times our annual budget for park improvements," said Alex Cortwright of Indy Parks.
42 parks will receive a facelift thanks to the funding. $8 million of the grant will be spread across 18 smaller playgrounds such as DeQuincy Park on the east side of Indianapolis.
"It's being able to really utilize neighborhood parks and neighborhood assets rather than feeling like you need to go to a larger park," Cortwright said.
The largest slices of the grant will go to Riverside Regional Park, Grassy Creek Regional Park, and Garfield Park.
Chelsea Wilson said she enjoys using Grassy Creek Park with her children but has some suggestions on how to spend the grant money.
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"We come out here every other day, I love this park," Wilson said. "I would like to see a lot more picnic tables. I would also like to have better grilling areas."
Indy Parks is inviting people to comment on the spending plans during public meetings this month. The next meeting will happen inside the Windsor Village Park Center at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Cortwright hopes the recently-completed Douglass Park renovation can inspire others about what will be built with the endowment grant.
"The community loves these parks," Cortwright said. "We know we can provide them more, and being able to see that impact is really great."
A full list of the parks funded by the endowment grant can be found at this link.
