Reimagined Carey Grove Park Now Open
Neighborhood park received full refresh
Carmel, Ind. (Jan 8, 2021) – Carey Grove Park, located at 14001 N. Carey Road, is now open for the public to enjoy. As part of Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation’s Reimagining Parks initiative and the Clay Township Impact Program, the neighborhood park received a complete refresh in order to meet the needs of the growing local community.
The park features all new playground equipment, year-round bathrooms, basketball court, permanent outdoor exercise equipment, expanded parking lot, resurfaced trails, and picnic shelters.
The reimagined playground brings a whole new level of exploration and play to Carey Grove Park. The playground is divided into two sections. One section is designed for kids ages 2-5 and another designed for ages 5-12. Kids will enjoy climbing, sliding, swinging and exploring musical features on this completely modernized playground.
Before making updates, CCPR hosted a community input meeting to gather feedback and answer the public’s questions in November 2019. While Carey Grove is the smallest park receiving updates as part of the Reimagining Parks initiative, CCPR Assistant Director Kurtis Baumgartner shared it’s the park that received the most feedback.
“Carey Grove Park is located in the middle of several neighborhoods, so it receives a lot of traffic from surrounding families, and they’re invested in the park’s future,” said Baumgartner. “I’m really excited about what this park now has to offer our community. What we’re aiming to do with all of these Reimagining Parks projects is create spaces people want to continually visit to make memories that will last a lifetime.”
As a requirement for stormwater management the park’s design required additional drainage accommodations so not to impact neighboring residences. The open area in the middle of the park meets those requirements while also offering some unique topography that can serve as a sledding hill for small children in the winter months. The low area is designed to remain dry most of the time, except during heavy storm events, and can serve as an open recreation area for various informal recreational pursuits such as soccer, playing catch, or flying kites. The lowest portions will be planted with native prairies grasses to help absorb the stormwater and provide additional habitat.
Restrooms are currently closed and will tentatively open in the next 2 weeks.
Updates to Carey Grove Park were made possible by the Clay Township Impact Program.
A ribbon cutting ceremony with local officials and dignitaries will be held at a later date.
