By Hamilton County Extension Board
Recently there has been some public discussion of the vision for the Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds and Purdue Extension programs.
First, a little background:
Hamilton County has a long history of Cooperative Extension, first organized as a 4-H Club in 1904 with a Corn Club with 93 members.
The current Hamilton County Fairgrounds was purchased in 1950 by local families through fundraising efforts. The current site was owned and operated by the 4-H Council until it was deeded to the Hamilton County Commissioners in 1996 when they built the current Exhibition Center.
The federal government had the foresight in 1887 to ensure that each state would receive up-to-date research in agriculture, health and human sciences, and engineering to support economic development and improve daily living.
In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act was passed providing Extension programs to communities and local residents through the land-grant university. Our Purdue Extension office is an extension of Purdue University, Indiana’s land-grant institution. Extension programming reaches every township and corner of Hamilton County with nearly 1,000 volunteers assisting in their delivery.
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The most visible activity on the fairgrounds, the annual Hamilton County 4-H Fair, is only one event that occurs on the site. Additionally, there are multi-generational learning opportunities through Extension that engage people of various paths, such as STEM, arts-minded, and life skills (money management, food preservation, etc.). These are delivered through 4-H Clubs, Extension Homemakers, Master Gardeners and many more. Programs for all ages focus on providing skills and knowledge to compete in the modern workforce, lead organizations and businesses, and serve throughout the community.
Due to its central location, the property serves as the Emergency Management Center when issues arise. Likewise, the main Exhibition Center was used as a COVID vaccine clinic for 18 months.
The fairgrounds are also used for voting, public meetings, partner events, family reunions, vendor shows, livestock events, and rented storage. It is an events center, meeting place, and offers community engagement on every front, demonstrated by it being booked 49 of 52 weeks per year.
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In 2016, the Hamilton County Extension Board established a Life Sciences Team to explore the future programming needs of youth, adults, and partners and then consider a physical plan to support them. Stakeholders were invited to meetings to share ideas. We found that our facilities didn’t match what was needed for this future programming.
Hamilton County hasn’t invested significant dollars into any new buildings on the Fairgrounds since 1997. The buildings have been kept up very well for their age, due to the fine management of the Hamilton County Buildings and Grounds Department. However, to match the vision of future programming for our county, we explored what interior and outdoor facilities were needed.
Using the input from stakeholders and in collaboration with Hamilton County Tourism staff, the team visited various sites around the state and identified the need for more classrooms, event spaces, and year-round facilities.
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In 2022, the County Commissioners contracted with Mussett Nicholas and Associates architects and The Veridus Group to investigate if the current location could meet the needs of this vision and to develop a Master Plan on this site, if appropriate.
The architects determined the current site would meet these needs and then worked with the Life Sciences Team to develop a Master Plan that was ultimately approved by the Commissioners on July 11, 2022. Throughout the process, we met with stakeholders and the Master Plan was unveiled during the 2022 Hamilton County 4-H Fair.
In addition to the proposed changes in the Master Plan, the City of Noblesville is widening Pleasant Street, which will cause the loss of the O.V. Winks and Annex buildings along with the fairgrounds maintenance garage.
These events made the priorities clear for the First Phase of the project: replace the Winks and Annex buildings, build a new maintenance garage, upgrade the current Llama Barn to make it a year-round rentable facility, and update the Exhibition Center and offices. This phase will also correct drainage issues on the fairgrounds.
To meet the evolving needs of the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, we are recommending a rebranding of the site – The Silos@37 – The Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds and Events Center – to honor the county’s agricultural heritage while creating a modern learning and meeting space for Extension programming and other community needs.
The total cost of the proposed Master Plan is $65 million and we greatly appreciate support of the Hamilton County Commissioners and the County Council for approving $15 million for Phase I-A. However, this amount will not take care of the entire cost of Phase I. We are beginning private fundraising to assist with Phase I-B, which is an additional $11 million and will include a new Show Arena and Education Halls.
The design team, which includes Extension stakeholders, architects, developers, and public officials, is striving to be a good steward of the public and private funds committed to The Silos@37 project.
It is an exciting time in Hamilton County. Let’s not forget that with all the investment in road infrastructure, we also need social infrastructure. We need places for people to gather socially, engage in learning, and serve each other in our communities. For decades, our county fairgrounds has been a great venue for engaging our community and we are building a fairgrounds for future generations.
If you have questions about the plan, please contact the Purdue Extension Office at (317) 776-0854 or a member of the Life Sciences Team.