Indiana in 2035: Lawrence

LAWRENCE, Ind. — Known to many in Indiana as the site of a former military base, the City of Lawrence has its share of history. In fact, reminders of it are easy to find all throughout the community — even inside its government center.

“We wanted everyone in Lawrence to understand where we came from,” said Mayor Deborah Whitfield.

A legacy wall of the city’s past mayors is the first greeting to visitors inside the building. Mayor Whitfield said the wall serves as inspiration not only for where the city has been, but also where it’s headed.

“I’m here on an assignment, and my assignment is to take this time to bring pride to the City of Lawrence,” said Whitfield.

It’s an assignment Whitfield said she isn’t taking lightly. Only having been mayor for two years, Whitfield said the City is hitting the ground running on her vision to make Lawrence a destination.

“We have to make sure our residents feel welcome, they feel invested, and they feel proud to say that I live in the City of Lawrence, a suburb of Indianapolis,” she said.

The city’s health is a huge focal point for Whitfield and her team. This past spring, the City launched an initiative to help people “live longer in Lawrence,” and already, leaders believe the initiative is proving to be more than just a slogan — it’s a call to action.

“We found that there’s an 8-year difference living at the top of Geist down to 42nd, 46th Street,” Whitfield said. “I need to know why that is. How can we be healthy and be a healthy city and understand what our residents are dealing with?”

Whitfield said the city now has a chief medical officer for the first time in its history. Through this position and other opportunities, Whitfield said city leaders are helping get a better understanding of how to best address the health needs of residents.

Among those opportunities is recent funding through the National League of Cities. Because of Lawrence’s investment into the city’s health, Whitfield said that the city was able to become one of six communities to be selected for an accelerated, year-long program.

“It’s going to help us make some initiatives, and then some quality challenges and outcomes that we can look forward to,” she said.

Other strides in the City’s health focus include efforts to better connect residents with the resources and help they need. Whitfield said the City has also partnered with Crosswalk to Care, which plays a role in 911 calls.

“When you call 911 now, our dispatcher has a nurse navigator to help answer questions and maybe it’s not an ER visit, but maybe to an urgent care,” said Whitfield. “We’re looking at things that we can do to help our residents live longer in Lawrence.”

Along with living longer in Lawrence, city officials hope people stay in Lawrence.

Decommissioned for about 30 years now, Fort Harrison is a site of history and opportunity, which is key for developers like The Keystone Group.

“We’re hoping to make a statement to tell people that this is the place to live, and work, live, play, and we’re excited about that,” said Ersal Ozdemir, founder and CEO of The Keystone Group.

Right now, work is well underway on The Benjamin. Coming in at about $80 million, the site includes more than 200 luxury apartments, a parking garage, plus retail and restaurant space.

“Our goal is to help the City, partner with the City, to create an amazing amenity, luxury apartments, retail, restaurants to complete their vision to make this one of the best places to live in Indiana,” Ozdemir said.

The Benjamin, which is slated to be finished in 2026, is what city leaders hope will entice people, as well as big businesses, to the area.

“If we do our job right, get more housing and more people living here, they’ll want to stay here, spend their disposable income here,” said Greg Goodnight, executive director of the Fort Harrison Reuse Authority.

With excitement building for more housing and potentially more businesses, city leaders are also working to build on Lawrence’s arts and culture scene. Already, Whitfield said the City successfully expanded some of its bigger community events like BBQ and Blues.

“We had at least 12 vendors, barbecue, chicken, fish, you name it was there,” Whitfield said. “We had blues bands, about three of them. From the first year that we did it, if you saw the pictures, to what we saw this year … It doubled in size.”

Investing in the arts is still part of the City’s to-do list. Whitfield said she hopes to make a big announcement related to that come next year.

“I’m hoping in 2026, I’ll be able to announce that we will be building an amphitheater in Lawrence,” she said. “So, we can have concerts, and venues, and we can become a destination.”