City Projects
Riverbend Flats
Status: Completed
Riverbend Flats, was completed in the spring of 2023 with 60 units and fully leased a few months later. Some of the Riverbend amenities include a clubhouse and fitness center, free Wi-Fi in all apartments and common areas, a playground area and more.
Announced: Early 2021 → Ground Breaking: January 24th, 2022 → Ribbon Cutting: May 23rd, 2023
1,000 Trees in 1,000 Days
Status: Completed
In 2020, a tree survey showed that many of our city trees were dead or dying and needed to be cut down, and that we had not been planting enough to keep up with the loss of canopy. 1,000 Trees in 1,000 Days was designed to address this by planting healthy, native trees that were several years old, instead of saplings with a poor chance of survival.
There were occasional setbacks with sourcing healthy trees or finding sites that were ideal for planting, but the project was largely successful and was completed ahead of schedule.
Due to the success of this project, the City of Muncie was able to secure a $2,000,000 Federal grant to expand this project in under-resourced neighborhoods over the next 5 years.
Read more: "City Exceeds Goal of Planting 1,000 Trees in 1,000 Days"
Announced: 2020 → First tree planted March 19, 2021 → Completed: 1,000th tree planted November 3, 2023
Till Pond
Status:
In efforts to improve public parks and green space, the City of Muncie has acquired a 5.6-acre pond as well as 13 acres along South Tillotson. The plans will include converting the area into an ADA-compliant public fishing lake with multiple fishing piers including an ADA-compliant fishing pier. There is also a hope to create a nature trail around the fishing lake with a nature center on the property as well.
Read more: "Muncie Closes on Property Purchase"
Storer Estates
Status: Construction has begun
Construction work continues at the site of the former Storer Elementary school, and 22 building lots at the future Storer Estates will soon be put up for bid to individuals and/or builders.
Work on the playground and pickleball courts are in progress.
Read More: "22 Lots Up for Bid at ‘Storer Estates’"
New YMCA
Status: Construction has begun
Currently, the Muncie Y has two locations, one downtown and one on the northwest side, which have increasingly needed updates and greater access to the community. Now, the Y is combining the two locations and constructing a state-of-the-art, 73,000 square foot facility located next to Muncie Central High School.
Read more: YMCA Groundbreaking
The vision is for a community gathering space, centered around wellbeing that will benefit children, families, and the community at large.
Southern Terrace
Status: Construction has begun
Southern Terrace is funded partially by State Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and investment from the developer. The project will include 45 residences: 20 of the properties will be converted into single family homes, with an additional 25 townhomes. (flesh this out from the press release)
Read more: "Southern Terrace Moves Forward"
Southern Terrace will provide 45 new homes and townhomes for low income families. It will also transform vacant, blighted lots into beautiful properties, which benefits the neighborhoods. The City will collect property tax from the developers, which can go towards future projects.
City applied for LIHTC credits June 2022 → 1.2 Million LIHTC Award announced January 2023 → Advantix Developer closed February 2023 → Broke ground May 2023 → First houses framed July 2024
Skatepark
Status: Construction has begun
Muncie residents have been eagerly anticipating updates on the new 15,000 square foot skatepark planned for Westside Park, a project that has been in the works since 2020. The design for the skatepark was bid out to Hunger Skateparks, who collected public input to finalize the design in 2022. The engineering and design work were ready to go in 2023, but permits from the Department of Natural Resources were required before construction could begin. Later in 2023 the skatepark went through a redesign to fit the current budget and site restrictions. The state permits have now been approved and construction has begun.
Read more:
"Public Opinion Sought for Westside Skatepark Design"