Cordell Adamson, 90, misses the sounds of children playing across the street from his westside home at McCarty Triangle Park.
The playground was razed last year, and construction on a new one was supposed to begin in May. But Indy Parks said permitting problems and some issues at the site delayed work until late August. Now, the park is just a gray and brown eyesore to residents — a dirt field enclosed by a chain link fence. And, along with the Elanco Animal Health global headquarters and the Henry Street Bridge, it’s one more construction site creating headaches in what for a long time was a sleepy area of the city.
The park is supposed to be completed in November, but neighbors like Adamson are skeptical.
“I don’t believe they’ll get it done this year,” Adamson said. “When the weather changes, there’s a lot of things you can’t do. Right now, they do a little work, plow a bit, stack the dirt up and then the grass grows up on that pile.”
His home of more than 50 years in The Valley, a section of the West Indianapolis neighborhood, is directly west of McCarty Triangle Park, a triangle-shaped 1.4-acre park which until late last year had a playground, half-sized basketball court, swing set and large greenspace.
The park is one of 26 chosen by Indianapolis in 2021 to receive a portion of $16.7 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, which will pay for new equipment and other improvements.
According to Indy Parks, McCarty Triangle Park will be renovated with new playground equipment, synthetic turf, a full-sized basketball court, a covered picnic shelter, new paths and trees.
Neighbors say the work can’t be completed soon enough. Danita Shepard, 48, moved into the neighborhood in early August to be closer to her 90-year-old mother. She, like Adamson, has seen a lot of kids in the neighborhood in need of a nearby place to play.
“There’s a lot of kids on this street,” she said, “and there’s nothing for them to do.”
Shepard said the park would benefit her 9-year-old autistic sister, who visits her sometimes.
“It’d be a good thing for her,” she said. “She can go over there and play and have an active day instead of just sitting in here.”
Many irons in the fire
For many residents, work at the park is just one more headache to endure in a changing area.
The park has joined the list of other long-brewing projects that have required residents to adjust to road closures. If Adamson looks north up Marion Avenue from his porch, he can see the glitter of sunlight bouncing off window panes at the $300 million Elanco headquarters that’s under construction where the GM stamping plant used to be.
Construction at the headquarters is expected to last until the second quarter of 2025 at the earliest. That’s when Elanco employees will begin moving into the building.
Work on the Henry Street Bridge, which will connect the headquarters to downtown, will begin next spring.
The bridge project will intersect with two of the four historic cemeteries collectively known as Greenlawn Cemetery. Human remains were uncovered on the city’s site in 2023 during utility exploration. In June, city officials announced that they would pursue a full excavation of human remains on their portion of the cemetery before constructing the final phase of the Henry Street bridge project.
On Sept. 10, Indianapolis DPW submitted its archaeological investigation work plan, which will need the approval of the Community Advisory Group and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources before construction can begin.
The developments have drawn attention to real estate in the neighborhood.
Two Chicks and a Hammer, the Indianapolis-based developers with their own TV show, recently renovated a few homes in the area and sold them. The company is known for renovations in trendy areas, such as Fountain Square and Bates-Hendricks.
Adamson said he often receives calls — too many of them — from eager developers trying to buy his home. He doesn’t give them much time, as he believes they don’t have the neighborhood’s best interests in mind.
“Mainly fly-by-night deals,” he said. “It would be alright, but what’s happening is that you’ve got people with money that buy up property and don’t aim to develop it. They’re just in there for the money.”
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz.
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