When I moved to Fishers in May of 1991, the municipality had a population of about 11,000. I lived in the first planned subdivision in the community, Sunblest. I have seen Fishers move from a small and growing suburban town into a city approaching a population of 90,000.
How did Fishers get to this point and how is the city poised to deal with the future? Reporter Chris Sikich of the Indianapolis Star has a lengthy a front page story in the January 3rd edition of the Star exploring how Fishers got to where it is, and where the city plans to go from here.
Sikich begins his piece with a couple living in Fishers planning to downsize. They looked at all their options and decided to locate in the Depot downtown apartment development because of its walk-ability and access to work and basic needs, such as grocery stores and restaurants.
Mayor Scott Fadness’ vision for the city is explained. Former Fishers Town Council President Walt Kelly is quoted in the story as being skeptical of Fadness’ strategy of having the city support private development. This was a throwback to the 2014 mayoral campaign which Scott Fadness won.
The Fishers Town Council had no comprehensive plan and only looked at whether the private developers met certain minimum standards when developing the area. Impact fees paid by developers were utilized to finance parks, sewage hookups and other services.
Current Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness makes the point that if the city does not create a planned core in the downtown area, and have local employment opportunities, once development begins to move further north, property values could go down as a result.
Sikich does a good job of explaining that many long-time residents of Fishers are not happy with all the development. Anyone attending a forum or public hearing will tell you there are voices in opposition to the size and pace of development in Fishers. Many say Fishers has lost the identity it once had, and that is largely true. Mayor Fadness makes it clear he hears those people and wants to work with them.
Sikich writes about Launch Fishers and the successful small businesses hatched from that operation, reviews all the infrastructure work planned in the next few years and looks at what the future may hold for the city.
One expert is quoted in Sikich’s piece, Arthur C. Nelson, a University of Arizona professor of urban planning and real estate development. Sikich says Nelson has written extensively about managing growth. The academic praised the approach taken by Mayor Fadness.
“What’s interesting in Fishers is you have a mayor who is on the ball and looking ahead,” Nelson told Sikich. “That growth pattern will wind down, the houses there now will age, and the population will change. Smart suburban communities do eventually what the mayor is planning to do now, and that is create a downtown.”
When the Depot and Switch developments were approved by the Fishers Town Council, one council member told me at the time that Fishers was taking a big risk by taking on these projects, but he emphasized that doing nothing could be just as risky.
Sikich ends his story with this sentence: “Time will tell whether the bold, new approach will pay off.”
I think that sums up where Fishers is now.
My compliments to the editors at the Indianapolis Star and reporter Chris Sikich for taking on a long-form story to explore the status of Fishers, Indiana.
You can read the story at this link. (NOTE: If you are not an Indianapolis Star subscriber, there is a limit on the number of times you can access a story online)