Halteman Village Neighborhood Association (HVNA) – in partnership with the City of Muncie – is making continued quality improvements to Halteman Park to create a multi-generational public recreational space for the citizens of Muncie and Delaware County. To date, HVNA has succeeded in raising over $112,000 toward improvements to Halteman Park via the CreatINg Places Indiana program administered by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA), as well as private foundation grants and donations.

The Problem

In 2017, the Halteman neighborhood faced two major challenges. One, the loss of our neighborhood school, and two, the loss of the last recreational amenity in our park—the neighborhood pool. Once a private members-only club, the pool had been an anchor in the neighborhood since 1959. Eventually, the young children who once populated the neighborhood for many decades grew up and moved out of their familial homes. This dramatically changed the age demographic of the neighborhood, which also contributed to a loss of revenue for the pool. The pool was unable to remain operational due to the aging infrastructure and loss of revenue and was forced to permanently close in 2017. The pool club gifted the property to the city following its closure. Unfortunately, within a few months, the pool went up for auction in a sheriff’s sale due to unpaid property taxes. After nearly a year, the Halteman Village Neighborhood Association successfully convinced the city to reclaim the property from the purchaser and utilize the space as a public park. The problem was, what to do next?

The Solution: Phase One

The neighborhood enlisted the help of residents and community partners in reinventing a new neighborhood park. After many months of planning and discussions, we embarked on the renovation of the space to create a new Halteman Park. The first phase of the Halteman Park renovation project included the removal of the old blighted and run-down neighborhood pool, to make way for a new playground.​

To fund these improvements, we launched our first Patronicity crowdfunding campaign in the spring of 2021. Thanks to the generosity of so many, we met our campaign goal, which provided new playground equipment, a new pavilion, lighting, and landscaping. This leveraged public funds which were allocated toward a new splash pad, walking trail, signage, and other site improvements.

What Comes Next: Phase Two

Since the initial phase focused on the needs of children, we would like to use this campaign to begin our second phase, which will focus on implementing recreational/wellness opportunities for adults and seniors in the community.

In our next phase, we plan to install pickleball courts. This sport was named the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, with over 4.8 million players. A growing interest in the sport is attributed to several factors, including a short learning curve, appeal to a wide range of ages and fitness levels, and low startup costs.

If funding from this campaign allows, we plan to install permanent seating next to the courts, as well as a shade structure near the new splash pad where there currently is no natural shade. In addition, a toddler play area would be developed to accommodate the younger generations.

TO LEARN MORE CLICK HERE