Inside Scoop: The State of the City
Noblesville: Pleasant Street, Peony Fest, a New Police Station — and More 💪
This week, Mayor Jensen delivered his State of the City address at Ruoff, packed with exciting updates and future plans for Indiana’s ninth largest city. Before we dive in, I wanted to share my top ten takeaways (touching on infrastructure, economic development, public safety, and more) with you.
So without further ado...here’s everything you need to know from this week’s State of the City.
10. Pleasant Street is on time and on budget.
After four decades of discussion and planning, the residents of, business owners in, and visitors to Noblesville will soon be able to experience the benefits of the Pleasant Street extension.
What you need to know:
The majority of Phase 1 is set to open on September 27th. At that time, the bridge over the White River and the roundabouts on 8th Street & River Road will be open to the public.
The roundabout at 10th and Pleasant is under construction and will be open for use by the end of the year.
The entire project, including Phases 2 & 3, is on track to be completed by the end of 2025.
As a taxpayer, you should be proud to know that the project is progressing on schedule and within budget.
Key features of the Pleasant Street project:
More than 1,700 trees have been planted
Six roundabouts will improve traffic flow and safety
Over 200 people working on the project
70,000 tons of asphalt used in construction
To celebrate the opening of the bridge across the White River, we’re hosting a "Party on Pleasant" on September 26th. I’ll be there — and I hope to see you there too.
9. We're creating a new gateway to Morse Reservoir with Morse Village.
Morse Village, a development project by the LOR team, is centered around Hague & 206th and will create more residential & commercial options around the northwest side of Noblesville.
Key features of Morse Village:
Master-planned 174-acre, $250 million mixed-use community
Nearly 30 acres of dedicated greenspace
Over six miles of trails and sidewalks
Seamless integration with existing amenities: Morse Reservoir, trails, golf courses, and parks
If you’re a fan of the bald eagles that live in this area — don’t worry! Their habitat has been protected in this development.
8. Innovation Mile is quickly moving towards two miles of development.
Innovation Mile is set to become a game-changer for Noblesville, transforming 600+ acres along I-69 into a dynamic hub of economic activity and community engagement.
Key components of Innovation Mile:
Noblesville Event Center: Opening Summer 2025, featuring 3,500+ seats and a 1,000-car parking garage
BorgWarner & Indiana Joint Replacement Institute (Set to open February 2025)
Pacers G-League team partnership: Bringing professional basketball to Noblesville
Mixed-use developments: Including residential, retail, and a hotel-restaurant complex
7. We have a site established for a new Police Station.
As our community has grown, so too have the needs of our police department, which now is home more than 100 officers. As we’ve been diving into this process in earnest over the past few years, the planning for this new Police HQ has been thorough and collaborative. We've partnered with RQAW, Veridus, and Acuity to conduct extensive analysis, ensuring that the new station will be both safe and functional.
After careful evaluation and a third party expert hired on their behalf, the Fraternal Order of Police has also endorsed the chosen Firestone site, affirming that this location will best serve our community's needs.
Key info of the new police station project:
Addresses the growing needs of the Noblesville Police Department
Provides ample space for additional staff and equipment
Chosen site (Firestone site) endorsed by the FOP
Expected groundbreaking in the second half of 2025
6. The Indiana Peony Festival is establishing a permanent headquarters near Finch Creek while maintaining a downtown festival footprint.
The Indiana Peony Festival has become a true Noblesville success story, launching into one of our community's most impactful events.
Why the festival is important: This year, the festival attracted more visitors than ever before. For our local merchants, it's the most lucrative weekend of the year, bringing a welcome boost to our downtown economy.
Why build an HQ on the east side of Noblesville? The Indiana Peony Festival is a uniquely Noblesville experience. As we continue to grow to the east, I believe it’s crucial that we continue to establish the identity of our city there too.
Where will it be located? Just west of the intersection of 166th and Boden, near Finch Creek Park.
The festival will still be held downtown! Make no mistake – the festival itself will continue to be held downtown, ensuring we maintain and grow Noblesville's unique identity. This dual approach allows us to expand eastward while doubling down on what makes our downtown special.
5. We're taking a look at the gateways into Noblesville.
With so much happening in and around downtown Noblesville, it’s important that we plan what the East (331 acres, from 11th Street to State Route 37) and West (424 acres, spanning 1 mile from the White River) Gateways to our city’s core look like. Over the past year, we’ve engaged more than 1,200 contributions from surveys, events, and stakeholder sessions to guide this process.
This holistic view looks at and includes:
Promoting movement through thoughtfully designed spaces and trails
Strengthening connections to nature, leveraging the White River
Ensuring access to diverse housing options, job opportunities, and food
I’ve included both maps to these areas below.
4. DORA is a success.
Implemented in September after careful consideration and City Council approval, DORA (or the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) is already proving to be a success in our community. This innovative program allows residents and visitors to enjoy alcoholic beverages from participating establishments while strolling through designated outdoor areas downtown.
Key points about DORA:
Launched in September 2024 after City Council passage
14+ local businesses participating
Already seeing an increase in foot traffic and economic spend by visitors
Designed to cut government red tape and promote small businesses
Enhances the downtown experience for residents and visitors
The impact of DORA has been swift and significant. We've seen a noticeable increase in foot traffic throughout our downtown area, with participating businesses reporting upticks in customer visits. This boost in activity is breathing new life into our local economy, supporting the small businesses that are the backbone of our community.
3. We have more trail connectivity than ever before.
Over the past year, we’ve opened the Nickel Plate Trail, the Levee Trail and the Stony Creek Trail — a record for Noblesville. Each of these are important as they serve as connection points within our city and to the communities around us.
Nickel Plate Trail: The city constructed its portion of the Nickel Plate Trail from 146th Street to Pleasant Street. This project rehabilitated two existing railroad bridges and converted them to pedestrian use. When fully complete, the Nickel Plate, Midland Trace, and Monon Trails will create a 41+ mile loop of dedicated pedestrian connectivity. This trail was nearly fully paid for by a grant from DNR. The next step will be building a bridge over 146th Street, which is in discussion.
Levee Trail Extension: In 2016, the City of Noblesville built an asphalt trail on the top of the levee that is along the east side of Morse Reservoir. This year’s phase continued the trail from Carrigan Road to Cicero’s trail at 216th Street and completed a connection between Noblesville and Northern Hamilton County.
Stony Creek Trail: This added a 10-foot wide trail under State Road 37 connecting existing trails, making it the only access point for cyclists and pedestrians under SR-37. Half of this project was paid for with a grant.
In the future, we’ll see more trail connectivity on Little Chicago over Morse, alongside 146th near Allisonville, and on the East side on Noblesville near Pulte / Del Webb.
2. Noblesville has been recognized as the safest suburb in Indiana – and top 20 in the country.
Recently, SmartAsset placed us among the top-ranked safe suburbs in the country, a reflection of the investment that the men and women in our Police and Fire Departments make every single day. The study ranked us as:
The 12th safest suburb in the United States
The #1 safest suburb in Indiana according to the same list
1. We're taking Noblesville's story beyond our borders.
As demand is on our doorstep, we’re working to be thoughtful and careful with our growth. In that process, it turns out that we’ve also been an example for other communities in the state to copy as they look to grow too.
Case Study #1: Take our NobleACT program, for instance. Because of the effort led by the Mayor and Senator Scott Baldwin, our blueprint for paramedicine was enacted into state law last year, allowing other communities to enhance public safety programs in their own communities.
Terre Haute, a city over 80 miles away, has taken notice of our success and is now implementing their own version of NobleAct on the western edge of Indiana.
Case Study #2: Our Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) program has also caught the eye of neighboring communities.
Greencastle, intrigued by our DORA implementation, has decided to model their own version after ours. In fact, one of their city councilors made the hour-and-a-half trip to Noblesville to see our implementation firsthand on a First Friday.
As we continue to grow and evolve, we're proud to see our initiatives taking root in other cities. It's a testament to the hard work and creativity of our team, public safety personnel, and engaged citizens. Together, we're showing that Noblesville isn't just a great place to live—it's a source of ideas for communities everywhere.
Thank for reading and being a part of what we’re doing in Noblesville.
Onward,
Aaron Smith
317-445-1045
And of course, before you go, a few trending stories:
Here are a few stories you may have missed on Noblesville over the past month or so: