Last Wednesday, Whitestown became the owner of land the town plans to convert into a new 15-acre park.
In December, with a unanimous vote, the Whitestown Town Council agreed to accept a land donation in the AllPoints at Anson industrial park area from Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding, Inc., which will move its therapeutic riding operation to land along County Road 500 South later this year.
Morning Dove is a non-profit group that improves the lives of individuals with physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioral challenges in the greater Indianapolis area through equine assisted therapies and activities.
The final parts of the process of handing the land over to the town were completed Wednesday.
“This 15-acre park will be a great addition to our growing town,” Whitestown Parks and Recreation Director Nathan Messer said in a statement. “With an all-natural setting that includes a large wooded portion and a pond, it will be a perfect place for residents and employees working in the industrial area to walk, bike and enjoy nature.”
The park will feature asphalt walking and biking trails that will connect with Whitestown’s trail system and a nature trail, according to a press release. A 20-space parking lot will accommodate visitors, and there will also be basketball courts, a shelter building with restrooms, outdoor grills, bike racks, corn hole lanes and a pond overlook.
“It’s creating those venues that have a sense of community, a community gathering place,” Messer said. “With the other park we are looking at on Main Street and this one, it’s getting those open spaces where 20 kids could go hang out with families and play basketball or cornhole, or grass fields they could play in.”
The newly donated land will also host a new event coming to Whitestown in 2018: ‘Viking Fest,’ a three-day festival from April 20-22, transforming the wooded area of the park in to a Viking village.