Indiana in 2035: Plainfield

PLAINFIELD, Ind. — In the Town of Plainfield, there really is something for everyone.

“I think we really look at Plainfield as a place of places,” said Town Manager Andrew Klinger.

Right now, according to Klinger, around 36,000-37,000 people call the area home, but come 2035, he says trends point to nearly 50,000. With the numbers only increasing, Klinger said it’s a sign that people not only want to move to Plainfield but are also looking to stay for the long term.

“I think really what we’re seeing is a lot of our families are sort of aging in place,” Klinger said. “People like living here, and so we’re not seeing a lot of movement.”

Part of that can be attributed to the Town’s focus on making Plainfield an attractive place to be, specifically downtown. Klinger said the Town continues to invest in the arts and entertainment scene while finding ways to keep the fun “in house” as opposed to leaving town to get it.

Hendricks Live!, a 600-seat auditorium which officially opened its doors in 2024, is a nod to those efforts. The venue, located in the heart of downtown Plainfield, has already brought in a number of acts, including Andy Grammer and Five for Fighting.

“They’re attracting artists of all different types of varieties, music, comedians,” Klinger said. “They have visual art displays down there and really just bringing art to the community and putting it on display for the public to come and enjoy, but we want to take that to the next level.

“Downtown is a focal point right now, and so obviously the arts and entertainment center is part of that, but we also built this government center, new parking structure and that spurred some private development as well.”

Aside from making downtown feel vibrant, plans to make it look that way are also in motion. Klinger said a big focus of the Town’s Art in Public Spaces Masterplan is finding ways to enhance downtown’s appearance.

“The very first project we’re working on is actually the parking structure here downtown,” Klinger said. “While the parking structure looks really nice, if you go down the alleyway … It’s, you know, a parking structure. So, we want to dress it up, and make it look good and using art to be able to do that.”

As part of the investment into arts and entertainment, Klinger said Plainfield is also home to new businesses, specializing in unique ways to bring people in for a night on the town.

“Recently, we’ve added an axe-throwing place over at the mall,” Klinger said. “There’s X-golf, there’s Urban Air that just built a new facility here. So, continuing to build on and grow those sorts of entertainment opportunities for people, not just for people here in Plainfield, but really for Hendricks County and the west side of Indianapolis.”  

Going back to the last 15 years, Klinger said the Town’s focus was more on building out its parks and trails. Throughout the years, Plainfield has already made a “splash” in that category.

“20 years ago, they developed the Richard A. Carlucci Recreation and Aquatic Center, which includes Splash Island, which is the outdoor waterpark that I think people in the region know and love,” Klinger said. “We get a lot of people who come in the community to visit that in the summer months.

“The vision back then was building out those parks and recreational opportunities, and we’re continuing to grow and build on that, but also venturing into some other things, like arts and entertainment.”

Part of the effort to continue momentum on parks and recreation is through Echo Hollow Nature Park. Klinger said the Town of Plainfield recently added a new trail with hopes of making it a “must-go” destination like Splash Island has turned out to be.

“That’s really the next big step on a park, from a parks standpoint,” said Klinger. “Not necessarily focused on the community parks as much anymore, but really this idea of this large nature park that would really be equivalent to a McCormick’s Creek State Park with 1800 acres, with all the amenities that you would expect to find in a state park, like a nature center, and RV camping, and maybe cabins, maybe even a lodge and of course trails throughout these wooded areas.

“We just finished a trail addition last year, that is a boardwalk trail, that goes through some wetland areas,” Klinger said. “It goes around a lake, and so it’s just spectacular views from that boardwalk trail, and it helps create a loop. So, you don’t have to go out and back, you can just loop around the lake.”

Klinger said development is only growing in the town along with more families looking to call it home. Over these next few years, Klinger said they’ll continue to build on diverse housing to accommodate the residents who want to “age in place” and downsize, and the young and growing families looking to get a suburban feel.

“We have a Del Webb development here that is a 55-and-older development,” Klinger said. “So, it’s targeting the empty-nesters and older individuals. We have a number of different developments, where the housing is really designed to cater to that sort of a crowd, but then we still have traditional suburban development happening to the west, to the south, that are attracting more of those families and young families.

“As we continue to grow and add more housing opportunities, I hope that some of our folks will start to move. I’m an example. My kids are now high school and older, and we’re still in a five-bedroom house. So, eventually, we’re going to make a move to something else, and that’s going to create an opportunity for a new family to move into the community. What I would expect to happen over the next 10 years, it’s really going to be a mix of a lot of different types of people and types of families that will move into the community because we’re providing diversity in terms of the types of housing options that are available.”