CHARLESTOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- The city of Charlestown is ready to develop an amenity it said is missing from the town.

It's overgrown and completely empty right now, but soon, a 70-acre field will be transformed into mixed use trails, an amphitheater and much more. The vacant space off High Jackson Road, about a mile from Charlestown Middle School and Highway 62, will soon become a family park, something Charlestown Mayor Treva Hodges said the city has been lacking for awhile. 

A design for the proposed park in Shadow Lake was presented to the City of Charlestown's Redevelopment Commission meeting Aug. 1. 

The land was donated to the city in 2022 to create a nature-friendly park, and Hodges confirms the area is now considered the "future site of the Shadow Lake Park." 

By next spring, the first of three phases will start to bring to life a park in Charlestown's south side. It's a project estimated to cost just under $20 million.

The design includes a 31,500-square-foot multi-purpose community/civic center with amenities like a sports court space for basketball, volleyball, pickleball, archery, wrestling, gymnastics and more. Other areas feature a theater/stage space, community rooms, and an indoor play area for children and indoor walking track.

Shadow Lake Park amphitheater concept

Pictured: this undated image provided by HWC Engineering shows a designer's visualization of an amphitheater that would be included as part of a 70-acre park planned for the Shadow Lake neighborhood of Charlestown, Ind. (HWC Engineering)

"We want this to be a space where literally everybody who lives in Charlestown — who has some kind of outdoor or recreation interest — has a place to come and play," Hodges said. 

Charlestown Park Director Marissa Knoebel knows the area well and said it's exactly the right place for a new park. 

"I've grown up in Charlestown," Knoebel said. "I've lived in Charlestown my entire life. And this is the exact kind of spot, location, that I would want to be seen at, hang out at, bike, trail, hike, all of that kind of stuff." 

Knoebel believes the park will fill a need for the city and provide a critical resource.

"We're such a small and close knit community, to be able to have a place where we can grow and build our relationships and hang out with our neighbors and friends and all that," Knoebel said. "It's going to be so important to us."

While the area doesn't look like much right now, it's part of a larger development, with an industrial park and neighborhood, that will surround it.

Charlestown is planning to host listening sessions so residents can weigh in on what they'd like to see included at the park. Public feedback opportunities will be available on the following dates and times:

Saturday, Sept. 16 – 4-6 p.m. at Community Days Festival at the City’s booth in front of City Hall (304 Main Cross St.)

Tuesday, Sept. 26 – 6-8 p.m. at the Arts & Enrichment Center (999 Water St.)

Thursday, Oct. 12 – 6-8 p.m. at the Arts & Enrichment Center (999 Water St.)

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