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Whitestown plans to begin construction this year on a new park at the former Wrecks Inc. junkyard on the town’s west side.
The 12-to-14-acre Wrecks Park is planned along Indianapolis Road, west of Interstate 65 and south of Whitestown Parkway. It will feature a plaza, splash pad, playground, basketball and pickleball courts, picnic shelters and an amphitheater. The undeveloped area of the Wrecks site is about 100 acres.
Town officials expect Wrecks Park will cost $5 million to $7 million to construct, including infrastructure, such as roads and utilities. The town expects to receive an official cost estimate next month. The park is currently in the design phase and construction is expected to be completed by either late 2025 or early 2026.
“As of now, this will be our first park on the westside of I-65, and those residents deserve recreational opportunities and a place to create memories as well,” Assistant Town Manager and Director of Parks Dominic Cornett said in an email. “This will also help fulfill a need based on our Parks Master Plan, which calls for every resident to be within 10 minutes walking to the nearest park.”
Wrecks Inc. was founded in 1949 by brothers Michael B. “Mickey” Maurer and Julius Maurer and moved from Indianapolis to Whitestown in the early 1950s. Julius was the father of Michael S. Maurer, also known as Mickey, who is a former shareholder in IBJ Corp., which owns the Indianapolis Business Journal.
The business was well-known for its three-line neon sign along I-65 that says, “Wrecks Inc. We meet by accident. Drive carefully.”
In 2018, the town signed a $6.5 million agreement to acquire the 135-acre property. It donated about 20 acres to Little League International, which opened its Central Region headquarters in 2021. Just north of the complex is the 240-unit Nese Apartments that were developed by Indianapolis-based Milhaus LLC.
The land has been vacant since the early 2000s and required environmental remediation to put it in developable condition. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued a certificate of completion for the site in late 2022.
In 2023, the town announced plans for a $20 million aquatic facility that would have been the first phase of a redevelopment project on the former Wrecks site. However, last year, new town leadership decided to put the aquatics facility on hold indefinitely.
A plan by Milhaus for a $64 million project called Maurer Commons was also nixed last year after the town and developer could not come to alignment on the project. That project would have transformed the site into a mixed-use development with a 125-room hotel, a 228-unit apartment development and 75 for-rent town houses.
Now, town officials are looking at Wrecks Park as the first step toward redevelopment of the rest of the property.
“It is important for the park to be built first because as we continue to grow as a Town, we want everyone to feel a part of the community,” Cornett said. “We are hoping the new park will spur momentum in what gets developed on the remaining acreage of the property.”
Whitestown currently have seven parks within town limits.
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Noting that this is an old ‘salvage yard’, surely soil testing for contaminants will be done long before construction begins.
“The land has been vacant since the early 2000s and required environmental remediation to put it in developable condition. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management issued a certificate of completion for the site in late 2022.”
Not so sure the name ‘Wrecks’ will help attract to, and sell the area.
That is the name of the old business that was at this site. Really not that hard to understand.