Ashley Elrod Talks Spark!Fishers Success, Geist Waterfront Park Update, Affordable Housing & More

Fishers Fridays continued July 20 as City of Fishers Director of Public Relations, Ashley Elrod, joined Fishers Magazine publisher Tom Britt at Four Day Ray for a Facebook Live chat. This month’s Fishers Friday was sponsored by The Max Challenge of Fishers.

 

Elrod provided a number of updates on the city, starting off with a recap of the inaugural Spark!Fishers event. The city recently had all their committees and volunteers together at a thank-you reception to talk about the event and to be recognized for their hard work.

There were more than 700 participants in the Spark!Fishers parade and more than 100 people on the committees who put in about 1,100 hours of volunteer work.

“The event was a resounding home run,” Elrod says. “Our goal was to bring the community together with an entire day’s worth of entertainment. I think we checked the boxes on all of our goals.”

Elrod also provided an update on the 70-plus acres of land the city has been looking to acquire for the Geist Waterfront Park. The deal is now officially done and Fishers has possession of the property.

The next step will be planning out the details of the park through public and private input.

“I actually took a walking tour of the property recently,” Elrod says. “It is going to be great for the Geist district and Fishers residents.”

Other topics included the Fishers AgriPark, which isn’t open to the public yet but is already growing fresh vegetables that are being sold at the farmers market each week.

Elrod also talked about the city’s recent application through Indiana to be an Arts & Culture District, which “solidifies Fishers’ long-term vision for arts in the community.”

Perhaps the biggest update from Elrod included the city’s plans for affordable housing in the near future. Fishers will be providing income-based workforce housing.

“We are excited to add diverse housing options in downtown Fishers,” Elrod says. “We hope it will help support some of our service industries and workers. Great restaurants are popping up all over in our city, and we want to give the same access to living within walking distance of your workplace to everybody.”

Seven parcels have been acquired along Lantern Road south of Fishers Elementary school, which will be the future site of the units. RealAmerica — a Fishers-based development and management company — will be heading up the project.

Fishers Friday concluded with a live demonstration of the Towne Post Network’s new app “Townies Live.” The app includes augmented reality, which is built in. Customers at Four Day Ray can now scan the code on their coasters and watch several menu items come to life before they order their food.

Towne Post Network has also augmented the Liberty Plaza Monument in Fishers. Residents can scan each seal on the monument and see branches of the armed forces come to life as well. With the technology, Fishers becomes the first city in the United States to augment a monument.

You can download the Townies Live app free on iTunes and Google Play.

“Like” the Fishers Magazine Facebook page to stay tuned for our next Fishers Friday LIVE chat.

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