FRENCH LICK – Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (Aim) is honoring the City of Huntingburg with a 2019 Community Placemaking Award for its Market Street Park. The city will receive the award on August 28 at the Aim Annual Awards Luncheon, presented by Baker Tilly, at this year’s Aim Ideas Summit. Huntingburg won in the 5,001 to 15,000 population category.
Huntingburg launched the Market Street Park project to bring an open space for public gatherings to the city’s downtown. What was once an underutilized parking lot, the park now offers a venue for festivals and events and serves as an organic space for the community to come together. The park connects to an urban trail that runs through downtown Huntingburg and features the city’s iconic Old Town Hall, a preserved and renovated 1887 Italianate structure. The park is a result of the city’s 2014 Stellar Designation with the state.
The park’s design features a double-sided performance area with a lawn terrace and plaza, along with an event promenade for the seasonal farmer’s market.
“Market Street Park is the perfect addition to the heart of downtown Huntingburg, bridging the city’s rich history and its current position as a leader on quality of life,” Aim CEO Matt Greller said. “Under the innovative leadership of Mayor Denny Spinner, the park adds to Huntingburg’s strong track record of centering its community development strategy on the needs of current and future residents. Market Street Park taps into downtown Huntingburg’s potential and is a testament to the transformative projects that come from state and local partnerships.”
In its 43rd year, the Aim Annual Awards program, presented by Baker Tilly, recognizes communities and individuals in municipal government for excellence and outstanding achievement. A nine-member panel of qualified judges selected this year’s winners from a competitive field of nominees from around the state.
Conference Facts:
2019 Aim Ideas Summit
August 27-29, 2019
French Lick Resort
Attendance: 700 (pending final registration count)
Further information: www.aimindiana.org
Since the 1890s, Aim, formerly the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, has been an advocate for Indiana municipalities. Aim is the official voice of municipal government in Indiana, with more than 460 cities and towns as members. Our purpose is to foster, promote and advocate for the success of Hoosier municipalities as laboratories of innovation, hubs of talent and the engines driving our state’s economy.