Fishers officials plan to remake their municipal plaza from a passive lawn where spectators sprawl to watch concerts to an active, versatile year-round park with a water plaza in the summer, ice skating in the winter, a pavilion and a playground climbing wall.

The design proposed by Ratio Architects in Indianapolis for the $6 million project also would increase the size of the Nickel Plate District Amphitheater to accommodate bigger acts. The city awarded Ratio a $550,000 design contract over other bidders. The proposal goes before the Board of Public Works and Safety on Monday. The city would pay for the construction with a $7 million bond issue.

This past week, the city was named the best place to live in the United States by Money magazine. In giving the Hamilton County suburb the top honor, it mentioned the city's attention to parks and open space.

Mayor Scott Fadness envisions the 10-acre elliptical lawn being used for more than a place where city workers to eat lunch on sunny days and the occasional concert.

“He wants to make sure it is a true gathering place that can be utilized year round,” said city spokeswoman Ashley Elrod.

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Construction could begin in October, and the stage improvements could be finished in the spring.

Ratio has designed dozens of outdoor areas in Indiana and throughout the country. Among them are the recently completed Federal Hills Commons in Noblesville, which has a stage and playground; Mulberry Fields Park in Zionsville; Indiana State University Dede Plaza in Terre Haute; Garfield Park Aquatic and Nature Center in Indianapolis; and the Bargersville Downtown Redevelopment plan.

The architects said the water plaza could resemble City Garden's in St. Louis, which has a 180-foot rectangular shallow pool with 102 spray jets and lightning displays.

Ratio landscape architect Ken Boyce said cities nationwide are quickly enhancing public spaces to attract economic development.They include Indianapolis, which is spending $9 million to redevelop the concrete plaza at the City-County Building to one with green space and water.

"You've got Millennial Park in Chicago and City Garden and other examples," Boyce said. "They want more attractive places so millennials want to live there, and companies like Amazon want to move there."

The Ratio proposal will have “a water feature consisting of programmable jets that can be turned off to accommodate other uses" but the "character of the plaza will be urban/sophisticated in nature and not a spray” park, the design proposal said.

The water surface would be large and flat enough for a temporary ice rink in the winter.

The architect also proposes an enclosed pavilion in the center of the green with a kitchen that could host events of up to 50 people, and, possibly, house a bike share. The building would have a bathroom for spectators at concerts, where crowds have grown to as large as 10,000.

Tree-lined terraces with tables and chairs and space for pingpong or cornhole would flank the pavilion. A children’s area with playground equipment and a climbing wall would be nearby and walking paths could be carved into of the entire site.

The park is one of three public space projects that Fishers is borrowing money to build.

Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton County announced a $9 million plan to replace the Nickel Plate railroad with a walking and biking trail. In May, Fadness said he wanted to buy property at Geist Reservoir at Olio Road and 116th Street for $9 million to build a park and beach.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.