NEW HAVEN, Ind. (WANE) – The City of New Haven broke ground on the New Haven Community Center Park project Friday afternoon.

In the summer of 2020, New Haven said it was awarded $1,718,935 in funding by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs through the Stellar Communities Program.

“The new Community Center Park will be a great addition to New Haven, it will be a new hub that will bring families together and add vibrancy to the community,” said Mayor Steve McMichael.

The Community Center Park Project includes: an outdoor plaza with overhead shade structures, seating walls and security lighting, a concession/restroom/utility building, a splash pad, ADA compliant playgrounds, pickleball and basketball courts, an open activity lawn, ADA accessible sidewalks and lighting to connect amenities to each other and the park to adjacent neighborhoods, overflow parking and utility improvements.

The total estimated project cost is $1,937,000, which includes $1,718,935 in U.S. HUD Community Development Block Grant funds and $218,065 in local match. The city said this project is a component of NewAllen’s East Allen Rural Revival Regional Development Plan, which led the region to being named an Indiana Regional Stellar Community Designee in 2018.

“The New Haven Community Center Park is exactly the type of project that exemplifies the spirit of the Stellar Communities Program. Creating a vibrant location that is open and accessible to all adds to the quality of place not only in New Haven, but in the NewAllen region and is a key element in leading the East Allen Rural Revival,” said Denny Spinner, the Executive Director of the Office of Community and Rural Affairs for the state of Indiana.

The city said Mosaic Building Solutions is the contractor that received the winning bid to construct the project and will be working toward completion by the end of September 2021. Jones Petrie Rafinski is the architect on the project and Sturtz Public Management Group is the grant administrator.