The Carmel/Clay Board of Parks and Recreation on Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt the Bear Creek Park Master Plan.
Click here to see the 292-page document.
The approved Master Plan is a framework that will guide the ultimate design and development of the 27-acre park over the next several years. Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation (CCPR) worked alongside the community, consultants, and city leaders to develop the Master Plan. Throughout the process, CCPR engaged residents, students, stakeholders, and neighbors to gather feedback. This input as well as facility and programming needs identified in CCPR’s 2020-2024 Comprehensive Parks & Recreation Master Plan informed the final park concept.
The overarching goal for Bear Creek Park is to develop an innovative, inclusive, and resilient community park that is grounded in the site’s natural fabric and shaped by the northwest side of the city’s need for a unique and culturally connected experience.
Klitzing
“For anyone that has visited the Bear Creek Park site, it seems like it was destined to become a park,” CCPR Director Michael Klitzing said. “Thanks to an innovative public input process, this park will also become a transformative space that inspires play and exploration while meeting the recreation needs of our ever more diverse community. Because our parks are for the benefit and enjoyment of all people, I want to thank the community for your contributions to the master plan. Your voice and ideas, including enlightening (and entertaining) input from elementary, middle school, and high school students, helped inspire the park’s design and guide its future uses.”
The next step is securing funding for the park. Development will likely begin in the next three to five years.
About Bear Creek Park
Bear Creek Park was purchased in 2020 and comprises 27 acres of undeveloped land located in northwest Carmel at 146th Street and Shelborne Road.