Master Breakdown of Carmel, IN. Projects (parks, developments, and impacts for real estate)

This is for my friends and clients in Carmel, Indiana. Whether you are building your real estate investment portfolio or choosing where you live, the details below matter for neighborhoods and future property values.

Carmel has tons of projects going on. This morning I sat in a meeting, and these are the most important things I pulled out: new parks coming, existing upgrades, how it’s paid for ($$$), and lastly, Home Place.

New parks coming:

Bear Creek Park: Shelborne and 146th street, new playground, tennis courts, and half basketball court initially. A tree-house style walking path will be added in coming years. This will provide amenities for the new Pulte townhomes right across the street. Plus the existing neighborhoods, so property values might appreciate due to the new local park. $6.5M investment for initial park with $30-40M total.

Japanese Gardens at City Hall: being expanded. I already see lots of people walking the existing park. Now, it will expand south into the pond next to the proscenium building where the old Walbergers was and where the 101 Craft Kitchen.

Veterans Park: old Meridian Street and Grand Blvd. by Bar Louie. Will build where a vacant lot sits. New physical water feature, not just a retention pond. Area for public gatherings of 20-40 ppl. $15M investment.

Existing park upgrades:

Founders Park: near Hazel Dell Parkway and 116th. There is a pond in the old rock quarry there (that most people miss because it’s below the eyeline), and it will be upgraded to include a boardwalk across the pond.

Hazel Landing Bridge: recently completed. This connects Fishers and Carmel across the White River north of the sanitation plant. This park is great for bicycling; you can now ride down to Town Run without having to ride along 96th Street, or if you are doing a road ride, you can have an easier connection.

How the parks are funded:

My big question is the funding of these projects. Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation has $22M annual budget. About 1/3 of the budget comes from the City of Carmel, and the remaining 2/3 comes from self-generated revenue and park impact fees.

Self-generated funding: Monon Community Center, before- and after-school care, summer camps, and dog park admissions are all self-generated revenue to take less tax dollars. The internal mandate is 100% cost recovery for these programs. (And national parks’ average return is around 27%, so this is cool to hear about Carmel’s 100% return)

Park impact fees are for new residential development and paid for by the developer. It’s currently $6.5K per unit, which pays for capital projects, not operations. Meaning: that money goes to all of those parks and upgrades, not paying staff, paying for new trucks, etc.

The fee is for any NEW residential development. So a 100x unit apartment would put 100 x $6.5K. This doesn’t count if you do a teardown build, like in West Carmel; I’m seeing more lot conversions for residential. Like you buy an old house, tear it down, and build a new home for yourself. Compared to buying a lot in Wild Air in Zionsville or a lot in Chatham Hills in Westfield or Asherwood in Carmel.

Visitor Numbers:

The Carmel parks get around 6 million visitors across the facilities. Zion National Park in Utah and the Grand Canyon have about 4.9M visitors annually. I think that’s super cool to hear. Granted, how many visitors to Carmel parks are repeat visitors compared to Zions/Grand Canyon, but I love hearing good things about our city.

Lastly, Home Place:

I grew up in Home Place, going to school at the old Orchard Park Elementary, so it has a special place in my heart. Home Place has a love/hate relationship with Carmel, and I remember riding my bicycle around and seeing the “NO ANNEXATION” signs in people’s yards. But regardless of personal dogma, if Carmel is investing in other areas, it’s nice to see it in Home Place too. There will be incentives for development and creating walking and transportation elements, so I’m excited to see how this progresses.

Quick takeaways:

1. New parks coming: Bear Creek Park and Veterans Park

2. Upgraded parks: Japanese Gardens, Founders Park, Hazel Dell Park

3. Funding for Parks comes from the City of Carmel and self-generated revenue from Monon Center, dog parks, extended school care, etc.

4. If you are planning a new development project, remember the $6.5K fee per unit

5. Home Place is seeing an upgrade

If you are thinking about investing in residential real estate or for a personal residence of yours, feel free to send me a message. I work with one of the largest residential property management groups from the Indy Metro, along with sophisticated people figuring out their next personal residence.

Any mistakes or errors are fully my own

First published on Substack, August 13, 2026. Get new articles by email on my Substack.

Nolan Lamkin, REALTOR®, CENTURY 21 Scheetz, Indianapolis. (317) 696-9545, nlamkin@c21scheetz.com. More about my work.