For almost seven years, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail has linked up neighborhoods in and around Downtown with a path wide enough to accommodate cyclists, walkers and runners. Now it's about to become about two miles longer.

Indianapolis Cultural Trail Inc., the nonprofit in charge of the trail, announced that it has raised $26 million for two extensions that close gaps on its northwest and south sides. This is the first time the length has changed since it was unveiled in 2013.

The South Street expansion will span from Capitol Avenue to New Jersey Street, freeing up an easier way for pedestrians to reach Lucas Oil Stadium, the Slippery Noodle Inn, The Alexander and south Downtown neighborhoods.

The Indiana Avenue expansion will continue in front of the Madam Walker Legacy Center and up to 10th Street, where it will head west to Riley Hospital Drive and the entrance of the 16 Tech Innovation district, which will be a biotech hub and neighborhood.

"When you connect these kind of anchor institutions and these anchor cultural districts ... you have the Cultural Trail magic in between with the Cultural Trail connection," Kären Haley, executive director of the Cultural Trail nonprofit, told IndyStar.

The trail is currently eight miles long and connects six cultural districts in and around Downtown: Indiana Avenue, White River State Park and the Canal, Mass Ave, Market East, Wholesale District and Fountain Square.

How the extensions will be funded

The Cultural Trail has been a study on how private funds can transform city streets and transportation. The trail's nonprofit estimates that more than one million people use it annually.

The expansion, estimated to cost $30 million, will be funded through a $20 million grant from the Lilly Endowment and $1 million committed last year from Anthem Foundation.

It will also receive $5 million from the city's downtown tax-increment-financing district that was previously approved by the Metropolitan Development Commission under former Mayor Greg Ballard's administration. Those funds are part of the revenue generated from property taxes in the Downtown area.

"We are proud to join our city's generous philanthropic and corporate community in this incredible public-private partnership," Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a statement. "By expanding the Cultural Trail, we are able to increase the quality of life for our residents while uplifting the economic future of Indianapolis neighborhoods."

The Cultural Trail's board had discussed the expansion as early as 2013, Haley said. As the trail significantly boosted property values and consumers, the city benefited, and Ballard's administration said it would give a dollar for every dollar the nonprofit raised up to $5 million, she said.

"We used (the promise of a match) to leverage the other funds that we've raised, to say this is truly an opportunity for public-private partnership to happen again with the Cultural Trail. That this time, it's not just public right-of-way and it's not just public commitment, there's some skin in the game from the city, and we think that's a great opportunity to really make this happen again," Haley said.

The nonprofit also plans to launch a fundraising campaign to raise the remaining $4 million and reach the $30 million mark, some of which will also go to the maintenance endowment. Haley said information on how to donate will be at indyculturaltrail.org.

Brian Payne, the president and CEO of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, pitched the idea for the Cultural Trail in 2001, and construction began in 2007, according to IndyStar archives. The project cost $63 million, with $35.5 million from federal grants and $27.5 million from private dollars.

How the trail will highlight new parts of the city

Haley said 2020 will be devoted to figuring out the new design, which requires public input. Construction will begin in 2021 and, weather permitting, finish up in the same year, though it might stretch into 2022.

The extensions' design is especially important as the trail brings more attention to different parts of the city. Tony Mason, president and CEO of the Indianapolis Urban League, said in a statement that it will unify the Indiana Avenue Cultural District. The trail will extend to the front door of the Madam Walker Legacy Center, which is undergoing more than $15 million in renovations.

The South Street expansion will bring more bustle to Stadium Village area businesses and improve walkability for people who live there.

Also significant will be new art along the trail.

"We're staying true to the original vision and infusing art and nature and beauty into these expansions of the Cultural Trail," Haley said.

In October, Cultural Trail Inc. raised more than $200,000 in private funds and replaced "Ann Dancing" with an upgraded version of the electronic sculpture that has become a defining piece along Mass Ave. It's one of about 14 pieces of public art that, together, help define the trail's identity.

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