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A business owner is regrouping after last week’s tornado damaged a play and therapy space she is working to open in Carmel for neurodiverse children and their families.
Kay Anderson planned to open Prana Play Carmel at 1019 Third Ave. SW in May. However, the building in the Kirby Park North office complex adjacent to the Monon Greenway was in the path of the F-1 tornado on April 2 that the National Weather Service said had peak winds of 105 mph. The tornado was on the ground in Carmel for 6.6 miles and damaged dozens of houses and businesses.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun declared a state of disaster emergency on Friday for Hamilton and 17 other counties that will be in effect for 30 days and help provide financial assistance to communities who have eligible expenses under the State Disaster Relief Fund program.
Anderson said the storm tore the south wall off the building and caused extensive interior damage. Some areas on the north side of her space were untouched by the storm. Anderson and her family were on spring break in Michigan when the storm hit Carmel.
“It’s been a passion project of mine and self-funded, so when the tornado hit, I was like, ‘Oh,’” she said. “It’s been hard, but I’m super grateful. A lot of people have rallied.”
Anderson is a former marketing executive at Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. who lives in Westfield with her husband and two daughters. She began thinking about her next move about two years ago after one of her daughters was diagnosed with autism while she was undergoing treatment for advanced breast cancer.
Anderson said the two experiences created a shift in her perspective on life, so she took a buyout from Lilly last year after more than 20 years with the company and began planning Prana Play because she did not feel there was a space for families like hers in Hamilton County.
“You just never kind of know when your number is up, and so it taught me the importance of viewing every day like as if it was your last,” she said.
She envisions Prana Play as a place for neurodiverse children and their parents and siblings. The space will be designed to cater to all five senses with equipment that addresses different needs, such as balance and sensory sensitivity. Prana Play will also have rooms for children to access play-based therapy in a safe environment, and it will offer therapy for teenagers and adults with autism.
A nonprofit established by Anderson called Waves of Change Foundation for Neurodiversity will also be housed in the building.
“My plan is to build a haven, a sanctuary for neurodiverse families where they can go and everyone’s happy,” she said. “I always feel like I’m trading off one of my daughter’s needs for the other, or my own needs, and so really creating kind of an innovative, sensory-friendly play space where mom can have a latte, her neurodiverse kid is safe and happy, and the other siblings are also good.”
She spent about six months looking for a building in Carmel and Westfield before she took possession of the 6,000-square-foot space on Third Avenue Southwest in late January. Anderson said she was on track for a soft opening in May before the tornado.
“But we’ll just have to wait a little longer,” Anderson said, adding that she hopes to open in June.
Carmel Fire Department Chief Joel Thacker told members of the Carmel City Council on Monday that 54 houses and 13 businesses in the city were damaged in the storm. Five houses and six businesses sustained major damage.
Thacker said two businesses have not been able to reopen, and those business owners are working with their insurance companies and are in touch with city staff. City Council members are examining ways to provide short-term assistance for business owners following last week’s storm and set in place a long-term plan to help homeowners and business owners in an emergency.
The Carmel storm was not the only tornado to hit the Indianapolis area on April 2. An F-2 tornado in Brownsburg damaged Sur La Table’s main distribution center at 901 E. Northfield Drive. The building partially collapsed, trapping a woman in the wreckage for more than 40 minutes. Confirmed tornadoes also hit Lapel and other areas of Madison County.
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