Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen said 2020 has been a year of ideas and announcements, and he expects 2021 to be the year of implementation.
Jensen has outlined several construction projects that will begin construction in 2021.
Panacea
Panacea announced in February that it planned to build its North American headquarters in Noblesville at 141st Street and Olio Road. Panacea is a medical-tech and life science company in India. It wants to expand operations in the United States for research and development, engineering and manufacturing modern radiotherapy machines to diagnose and treat cancer. Panacea will build a new 20,000-square-foot facility along the I-69 corridor at 141st Street and Olio Road. Construction will begin in 2021.
Jensen said major infrastructure improvements will be made in that area of town, such as the widening of Olio Road between 141st and 146th streets and the widening of 146th Street from Bergen Boulevard to Olio Road with a roundabout at 146th Street and Olio Road.
“That’s going to make (improvements to) our eastern edge as we focus infrastructure dollars out east, and that’s an exciting time for us out there,” Jensen said.
Other infrastructure projects
Although the 146th Street and Ind. 37 interchange is a project conducted jointly by the City of Fishers and Hamilton County, Noblesville stands to benefit.
“The State Road 37 Project is well under way, and the 146th Street interchange is being completed next year, which is very impactful for Noblesville,” Jensen said.
Other projects include a roundabout at Ind. 32 and Ind. 38 by Riverview Hospital.
“That is an exciting time for a major connective artery where those two roads meet on the west side of the (White) river,” Jensen said.
The city also will focus resources on the Pleasant Street project and funding. Land acquisition for the project will begin next year, and construction will begin in late 2022 and continue throughout 2023.
Downtown
Jensen said one thing he and the city learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is that downtown Noblesville needs more walkability.
“We have been working with the downtown streetscape master plan done several years ago and are now more into the implementation phase of how to design downtown to be more pedestrian-friendly, more COVID-friendly, if you will,” Jensen said. “We want to allow for that outdoor space and expansion of sidewalks with an emphasis on aesthetics and quality-of-life issues downtown on the square.”
The Levinson and Lofts on Tenth
Jensen said The Levinson will and the Lofts on Tenth project will be complete by the second quarter of 2021.
The Levinson consists of apartments, parking and retail space at the northwest quadrant of Ninth and Maple streets in downtown Noblesville. It has below-ground parking with 300 spaces, 200 of which will be full-time public spaces. There will be 5,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor for one to three new businesses. The third floor will have amenities such as a coworking space and a fitness room. The fourth and fifth floors will have 85 apartments.
The Lofts on Tenth is a $7.7 million project that will add 31,700 square feet of mixed-use development on 10th Street between Clinton and Wayne streets.
Construction will soon begin at the Village at Federal Hill, a residential living and high-end commercial space in the downtown area on the west side of the White River near Federal Hill Commons.
Other projects
Jensen campaigned on four pillars when he ran for mayor: infrastructure, downtown, economic development and public safety. In relation to the public safety piece, Jensen said 2021 will be a year to focus on mental health and a citywide mental health coalition.
