Greenwood partners with Beech Grove firm

Beech Grove, IN (February 7, 2020) — The city of Greenwood hopes to create a new athletics campus with a multi-use playing field, eight ball diamonds and a splash pad on 40 acres adjacent to Interstate 65.

The unnamed project—still in its early planning stages—would cost an estimated $8 million to develop over the next few years on a strip of vacant land northwest of the Worthsville Road and the I-65 interchange, on the city’s southeast side.

Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers delivers his ninth State of the City address on Thursday at The Nest Event Center in Greenwood. Scott Roberson | Daily Journal

According to a site plan, the first phase calls for eight total softball or baseball diamonds (four 225-foot and four 300-foot fields), as well as a shelter, parking, batting cages, a playground that would accommodate children with special needs and a maintenance structure.

Phase two would feature a 240-foot-by-300-foot multi-use sports field for soccer, football and a variety of other sports, plus a splash pad, a second playground, a trail and restrooms.

Greenwood has partnered with Beech Grove-based Mader Design LLC to master-plan the site and will use a public bid process to find a developer to execute the city’s vision.

“We’re thinking late summer to fall that we’ll hopefully have the design package ready and put it out for bid,” Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers told IBJ. “We’re hoping in 2021 to start construction on the site.”

The land for the project was acquired by the city from the Indiana Department of Transportation in mid-2019 at no cost, because the city contributed about $12 million toward the Worthsville interchange project, Myers said.

The land is bordered on the west by Clark Pleasant Middle School and the Harvest Indy South church, with fields and a planned neighborhood to the north.

The mayor announced the development during his State of the City address Thursday, touting it as an opportunity for Greenwood to draw in families and central Indiana athletic teams for games, as well as competitions for travel teams.

“We’ve always had a large softball demand in our area for local teams, so this will help augment that,” Myers said. “At the same time, we know that we’re designing it so it’s big enough for travel teams that are passing through. It will be a good destination” for those types of competitions.

The mayor said the city is exploring the use of artificial turf for the fields, along with advanced water drainage systems—such systems are used at many recently-constructed facilities, including Grand Park in Westfield.

Myers said a firm date has not been determined for when the project might open to the public.

SOURCE: IBJ
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Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers diagnosed with Parkinson’s

Greenwood, IN (December 13, 2019) — The mayor of the Johnson county’s largest city announced Friday he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers, 58, said in a statement he was diagnosed with the central nervous system disorder last month, and that it wouldn’t affect his role as the city’s top leader.

Mark Myers, Mayor of Greenwood, Indiana 

“As with every challenge life has presented, I intend to take a head-on approach and have never known any other way,” Myers said. “Thankfully, we discovered the disease early, which provides a much greater opportunity to treat and manage symptoms.”

Myers said he has an excellent team of doctors and has started kickboxing sessions at 9Round Fitness on the southside. Studies done by Butler University and the University of Indianapolis have found that intense exercise, particularly the kind that forces people out of their comfort zones such as boxing or kickboxing, can slow the progression of the disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative and relentless neurological disease in which the brain produces increasingly less of a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is responsible for allowing the brain to communicate to the muscles throughout the body, so as less becomes present, it becomes more difficult to move normally.

Myers has reached out to both the Indiana Parkinson Foundation and Parkinson’s Awareness Association of Central Indiana seeking to learn more about the disease and offering his assistance in raising awareness, according to his statement.

“I feel strong, fit and more passionate than ever about leading Greenwood’s resurgence. As always, thank you for your support,” he said.

During the last seven years, the life-long Greenwood resident and son of a former mayor helped revive downtown Greenwood by working to fill vacant storefronts, beautifying facades and improving city streets. He added jobs, attracted Fortune 500 companies such as Amazon to the outskirts of the growing city and built a staff he raves about.

In Greenwood, conversations have centered around future development, particularly downtown and on the southeast side of the city.

Redevelopment of the 16-acre middle school property is part of the mayor’s years-long $24.5 million plan to turn downtown Greenwood into a place to live, work and play. His hope is the area will eventually be home to more than 580 apartments and townhouses, 75,000 square feet of retail shops, restaurants and office space, 9.9 acres of open green space and include 1.9 miles of new or renovated streets, something he hopes to see come to fruition in the next five years.

Myers was just re-elected and will start his third term next month. He plans to continue serving Greenwood as mayor.

SOURCE: Daily Journal
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