Monon Boulevard, Carmel, Indiana

Carmel, Indiana is a community of more than 90,000 people bordering Indianapolis, Indiana. Formerly a sleepy suburb dominated by low density housing and automobile-oriented sprawl, the town has been transformed over the past decades. Led by Mayor Jim Brainard, the town is building a walkable urban downtown to fit its growing population and economy.

Working with planner Jeff Speck the town conceived a new, walkable Main Street, an Arts and Design District and built City Center, a world-class performing arts complex.  Between the two was a former industrial area where the city intended to promote mixed-use development. In 2018, the City of Carmel engaged a team led by John Bela, former partner and director of Gehl, to develop a public realm and urban design framework for the area.  

Establishing the Vision

The vision emphasized the transformation of downtown from a place with a few destination points to a complete neighborhood. A key element of this transformative project was the re-imagining of Monon Trail, an 18-mile former railway line that was converted to a pedestrian and bicycle trail, and ran through the city’s nascent heart. Our concept was to transform a ~5 mile section of the trail into Monon Boulevard: a new urban boulevard that would link the existing Main Street, Arts District, Civic Center and surrounding neighborhoods. Monon Boulevard reorients the expanding downtown around a new neighborhood heart that has become a framework and catalyst for redevelopment and investment.

From Vision to Reality

Our team developed the conceptual plans for the boulevard and improved connections to the surrounding neighborhoods. A talented local landscape architecture firm; RLA, carried the project to completion. The new, 140-foot-wide Monon Boulevard—built on the site of the rails-to-trails path—is the impressive centerpiece of that area, now called Midtown. The $23 million boulevard—a complete street and public space—is already paying off, with $175 million in private sector redevelopment nearby. The investment includes corporate offices and headquarters, apartment buildings, a distillery, restaurants, and other uses.

Collaborators: Mayor Jim Brainard and the City of Carmel, Jeff Speck, Maki Kawaguchi and Celsa Dockstader (Gehl), Rundell Ernstberger Associates, CrossRoad Engineers, and Jeremy Kashman

Awards:

2022 ULI Americas Award for Excellence Finalist
2020 Indy Chamber Monumental Award, Finalist for Landscape Architecture, Public Art, Neighborhood Revitalization, and Development
2020 INASLA, Merit Award
2019 Congress for New Urbanism Charter Award
2019 AIM Indiana Placemaking Award