Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Sheridan officials are considering a proposal by a Carmel-based real estate development firm to build a $100 million resort waterpark along U.S. 31 in the northern Hamilton County community.
Monarch Ventures LLC, a division of Circle Property Group, has submitted plans to build Skylake Adventure Park on 126 acres of agricultural land at the northwest corner of U.S. 31 and 216th Street.
Jon Dobosiewicz, a land-use professional with the Carmel-based law firm Nelson & Frankenberger, introduced Skylake Adventure Park on Thursday night to members of the Sheridan Plan Commission, who voted 5-2 to provide a favorable recommendation to the Sheridan Town Council to rezone the property to the Skylake Planned Unit Development.
Skylake Adventure Park at 1510 E. 216th St. would be an all-season, nature-based entertainment park with a six-acre manmade lake with water slides, an inflatable obstacle course, kayaks, floating cabanas and a splashpad; a tree-top canopy experience with ropes courses and challenge courses; mini-golf and disc golf courses; a 400-foot-long year-round tubing hill; and indoor and outdoor activity spaces for private and corporate events. The developers expect the park to attract about 500,000 visitors per year.
Dobosiewicz told Plan Commission members that commercial development is also planned along Dunbar Road and 216th Street. There was discussion at Thursday’s meeting about how both roadways, which are narrow country roads, would need to be widened to accommodate traffic in the area.
“Seasonal events and outdoor event space are also contemplated, focused on events and themes, including various holiday activity,” Dobosiewicz said. “The park will be more than just another commercial enterprise. … The park aims to be a cornerstone in the community, fostering social interaction, wellness and environmental sustainability, while enhancing the overall quality of life for residents and visitors alike.”
If Skylake Adventure Park receives approval, Monarch Ventures hopes to break ground in June with the first phase of the park opening in May 2026. There would be phased attraction openings through 2031, according to the firm’s website.
Phillip Sack and Sean Howard founded Circle Property Group in 2003. The firm is also led by Chief Operating Officer Lee Coulter.
During a public hearing session, five residents who live near the proposed site spoke and expressed concerns about noise and the ability of Dunbar Road, a north-south road that intersects with 216th Street, to handle the number of vehicles bringing visitors to the park. Sheridan and Hamilton County officials are in the early stages of discussing an interlocal agreement for the county to reconstruct and widen Dunbar Road from State Road 38 to 236th Street. Westfield has jurisdiction over 216th Street.
Skylake Adventure Park is planned in a part of Sheridan that was in unincorporated Adams Township until Jan. 1. Voters last November approved a reorganization plan to consolidate Sheridan and Adams Township into one town bounded by the county lines on its northern and western borders, east to U.S. 31 and south to 216th Street.
The entire 133-acre property was an impetus for Sheridan and Adams Township’s reorganization after Westfield began consideration of an annexation request early last year from Indianapolis-based landowner Shear Property Group.
“I think as a community, we know that development will happen over time. However, I want to raise an alarm and concern over this, or any project, that developed in the former Adams Township,” resident Stephanie Knapp told the Plan Commission. “We don’t want to be Grand Park. I don’t want Grand Park across the road from me.”
Some residents also told the board they would prefer other uses, such as light industrial, on the property, and that a regional attraction like a resort waterpark would be disruptive to those living nearby.
“Conceptually, I love the idea of a feature like this for a community,” Blake Alexander told Plan Commission members. “Hate the idea of living next to a Monon Center/Conner Prairie concept combined.”
Plan Commission members Amy Koepkey and Jeff Meister voted against rezoning the property for Skylake Adventure Park. Koepkey said she is concerned about the amount of water the six-acre lake would require and how the park would keep the water clean.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Thunder Island 2.0!
Throw in some Boogie Mountain and maybe it will stick this time?
How could anyone be against this idea even if in an industrial area?
Some people think they can live “out in the country” without moving that far from major roads.
How much for parking???
OMG! I remember that water park and loved it. I really hate that there’s no major amusement or water park close to Indy. You have to drive hours away to Holiday Park Splash and safari, Kings Island in Ohio or Kentucky Kingdome or Indiana Beach. I would also suggest the Old airport terminal in Indy. That would be perfect cause there’s no neighbors to reject such a project. Not sure why no one had thought to develop that area.