Greenwood council OKs $9M bond for sports complex

Greenwood city council members unanimously approved $9 million in city funds to pay for the bulk of the construction for a $10.6 million sports complex planned at the Worthsville Road interchange.

The city council approved the money on Monday to come from tax increment financing (TIF) funds. The bond will pull revenues received from the Worthsville Road TIF district, which officials have said is generating revenue quicker than expected.

As for the remaining $1.6 million, city officials expect that would be paid for out of the parks department’s impact fees and operating funds, Greg Wright, city controller, told the council when the funding plans were initially presented in April.

Plans for this 40-acre sports complex on the southeast side of the city have been in the works for the past two years. Conceptual plans for this complex were announced by the city in February 2020, and Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers unveiled the official designs last summer.

The complex would include four softball diamonds, four baseball diamonds and a multi-use playing field. It will also house the city’s second splash pad, and add to Greenwood’s inventory of inclusive playground equipment, according to designs for the project.

At the time of the design unveiling, officials said the price tag on the complex wasn’t final, but the hope was to keep it under $10 million at around $8 million.

The council also on Monday gave final approval to more than $300,000 in tax abatements for three speculative buildings at Airport Parkway.

The company 1173 Airport Parkway, LLC requested tax abatements for three flex-space, speculative office buildings that will be built west of Indy South Greenwood Airport. The company plans to invest $12.1 million and save a combined total of $327,185 in taxes, according to city documents.

The buildings would receive abatements in a stair-step fashion. The first building would have a four-year abatement, the second would have taxes abated for three years and the third would have a two-year abatement. One building would be built each year beginning in 2023, ranging from 28,800 square feet to 44,200 square feet in size.