by

Fred Swift

Hamilton county Reporter

A new year and a new decade are upon us in Hamilton County – one of the best places to live in America, according to the experts. And, local leaders are planning to keep it this way and expand upon that image.

During the new year, major additions to infrastructure and amenities are planned while private sector development, especially new housing, will continue its explosive growth in central and southern portions of the county.

The biggest public project, converting State Road 37 to a freeway without signals from Noblesville to Interstate 69, will get underway in earnest this spring with the first of new interchanges with intersecting roads.

Other highway projects involve completion of the 276th Street upgrade linking State Road 19 and U.S. 31, the next phase of dual-lane 146th Street west to Boone County, and the construction of several more roundabouts in areas of increasingly heavy traffic.

Hamilton Southeastern and Carmel Clay Schools will begin construction on new elementary buildings to replace Durbin, Orchard Park and Carmel elementary schools.

Downtown redevelopment is a term heard in recent years usually involving the encouraging of developers to take advantage of tax abatement or other inducements to build new commercial and residential structures.

Noblesville’s first such project, known as The Levinson, will be completed this year, and another complex is planned at Conner Street and White River. These, along with the city’s first parking garage spanning Clinton Street east of 8th Street, will begin markedly changing the downtown landscape.

Meanwhile, Westfield’s new Grand Junction is expected to revitalize the center of town. Fishers has announced plans for new condominium projects near the center of town, and Carmel will open a new luxury hotel, the Carmichael, near the Monon trail.

Other development will continue along the Monon while Clay Township gets started on a $60 million package of park and fire department upgrades, including a fieldhouse and fire administration and museum building.

Walking trails throughout the county will not be overlooked. Major work is expected on the Nickel Plate trail from Noblesville to the Marion County line, and another phase is set for the Midland Trace, which is planned to connect Noblesville with Westfield.

Planning and zoning departments are expecting hundreds of permit requests for new homes throughout southern and central Hamilton County.

All in all, it will be another truly big year for the ever-changing face of our county.