Denison To Sustain Presidential Place Park

City officials hope a new public-private partnership involving the Parks Department is the first of many to come.

A lot of history is held in the half-acre Presidential Place Park downtown, including being where President George H.W. Bush delivered a speech on urban forestry and green space.

Now, Denison Parking is signing on to sustain it.

The company agreed to cover all maintenance and capital improvements at the park, which are roughly $15,000 per year.

"The easy day-to-day maintenance is the mowing, the trimming," said Denison President and CEO Mark Pratt.  "These ash trees have the Emerald Ash Borer, so eventually they have to come down.  We are working on a set of plans right now on how we could reconfigure the park, take the trees down, maybe even turn it into something different, but still exciting."

Pratt says the company agreed to the effort as a way to give back to the city.

"We wanted something where we could come and work together and this green space proved to be the perfect spot," he said.  "It needs help. We have the time.  We do have the money, we’ll pour a little more money into this place, but as much as anything, it’s right here in the heart of Indianapolis - in our back yard - and we get to get out as one unit, have fun, and get in the sun, and take care of the park."

Parks and Recreation Department Director John Williams hopes the city will look to do similar partnerships at other parks because of the savings it can provide.

"Every dollar that we can get in kind or even a cash dollar donation will help us in the long term maintenance of these parks," he said.  "It’s not going to take away from maintenance having to get done, it just gives us an opportunity to redirect those maintenance dollars to other priorities that we have in our system."

Denison does not own the park and Williams says projects will still need parks board approval.