What's New on Carmel's Monon Boulevard This Fall, From Midtown to City Center?

Why is the new playground just north of City Center Drive 40 feet tall? Duke Energy transmission and distribution lines that power Carmel's central core run under the bridge between its two towers, and service trucks need room to drive beneath it.

That detail explains a lot about the Monon this fall. Along the stretch from Midtown to City Center, and over at the Japanese Garden behind City Hall, what you see on the surface was designed around the power lines, data lines and stormwater pipes underneath. Once you know that, a walk south from Main Street makes more sense.

The tallest slide in town exists because of an easement

The City of Carmel and Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation opened the third phase of Monon Boulevard on July 3, with a ribbon cutting and a ceremonial first slide just before CarmelFest began. The centerpiece is a $2 million music-themed play structure on the east side of the Monon Greenway, a short walk from the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts and next to the site of the future Great American Songbook Museum. The city calls it Up and Down the Monon.

According to Current in Carmel's report on the opening, the structure is the tallest that Minnesota-based Landscape Structures has ever built. The same company built the playgrounds at Central, Meadowlark, Cary Grove and Founders parks. CCPR Director Michael Klitzing explained the height to Current:

"Under the bridge connecting the two towers is a utility easement, which includes critical Duke transmission and distribution lines powering Carmel's central core. To ensure access to this easement, we had to go high enough with the playground to allow for service vehicles to go under it."

City Engineer Bradley Pease told Current that the structure also sits on top of underground IT infrastructure. The visible design follows the music theme. The red tower is shaped like a metronome, the paving is inspired by piano keys, and the signage carries lyrics from a song about the Monon Railroad. The two slides are enclosed metal curlicues. Klitzing said the enclosure traps heat at the top, which keeps the sliding surface cooler than other slides on the market on a sunny day, and the concrete landings stay cooler than other landing surfaces. That matters less in late October than in July, but it explains the design.

Walking the corridor from Main Street to City Center Drive

Monon Boulevard now runs in three phases. The first two cover Main Street to Walnut Street. Phase 3 picks up at Walnut and continues to City Center Drive, widening the greenway into a 12-foot paved trail with open green space, gathering areas and landscaping that matches the earlier sections. The $14 million cost of Phase 3 includes the playground.

Heading south, these are the stops:

1. Midtown Plaza. Carmel Clay Parks lists green space, tables, benches, shade, a big screen, public art, ping-pong, bocce, cornhole and a seasonal spray plaza. The plaza is getting maintenance work this fall, which is why the city moved The Arts in Autumn on Oct. 17 out of the plaza and onto Monon Boulevard, just north of the playground.
2. Prufrock Coffee, 275 Veterans Way, Suite 120. This Midtown café opened in March 2025 and serves coffee and pastries.
3. The Walnut Street handoff. Phase 3 starts here, and the newer, wider trail continues south toward City Center Drive.
4. Up and Down the Monon. The playground sits at the northeast corner of City Center Drive and Monon Boulevard.
5. City Center Drive restaurants. Carmel City Center announced on July 31 that Charred, a bourbon steakhouse at 61 W. City Center Drive, was open. It is 21 and over, with hours of 4:30 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. SALT, a seafood restaurant at 11 City Center Drive that also serves pasta, steaks, sushi and brunch, opened in October 2025. The City Center directory also lists Divvy at 71 W. City Center Drive and Eggshell Bistro at 51 W. City Center Drive.

The opening schedule shaped how the new stretch was first used. The ribbon cutting ended minutes before CarmelFest started nearby, and this month the trail's open green space gave Arts in Autumn a place to go when Midtown Plaza wasn't available.

The work underneath isn't finished yet

The trail is open, but the infrastructure work around it continues. The City of Carmel said in June that utility work on Monon Boulevard Phase III would continue through the rest of 2026. Just east of the corridor, the city's Oct. 16 newsletter reported that northbound Range Line Road between Executive Drive and City Center Drive is under construction with lane restrictions, and that the businesses along Range Line remain open.

The same newsletter listed several closures farther from the Monon. The 106th Street and Westfield Boulevard intersection is fully closed, 116th Street at Hoover Road is closed, and Hazel Dell Parkway between 96th Street and 106th Street remains closed. If you drive to the trail rather than walk to it, those closures affect your route more than anything on the greenway does.

The Japanese Garden's next phase is a stormwater project with a waterfall

The same pattern shows up at Civic Square. The Japanese Garden south of Carmel City Hall opened in 2009 to mark 15 years of friendship with Carmel's Sister City in Japan, Kawachinagano. Its northern section reopened earlier this year with a design by internationally known landscape designer Hoichi Kurisu.

Current in Carmel reported in August that Kurisu will also design the expansion, which will extend the garden to the southern stormwater detention pond. Construction was scheduled to start in October and finish by spring 2027. The plan adds a waterfall to connect the two bodies of water visually. It is funded with $750,000 from the city's 2024 infrastructure bond package. City spokesperson Erin Murphy described what the money covers in practical terms:

"This direct investment supports the final phase of enhancements at Civic Square, including authentic Japanese landscape architecture features, pond upgrades and critical stormwater management infrastructure."

A later phase, scheduled to start in spring 2027, adds a loop trail around the pond, benches and trees. Klitzing told Current that with the available funding, the land around the south pond will be mostly prairie with some trees, so it will look and feel different from the existing garden. The long-term goal is to extend the Japanese Garden around the entire south pond as more funding comes in. The prairie also has a practical purpose. Klitzing said it will provide pollinator habitat and, as it matures, make the pond less appealing to geese. The detention pond behind City Hall is set to become a garden you can walk around, and much of the work that makes that possible is drainage.

Park repairs aimed at the next 20 years

At Central Park, the same Current report described repairs planned for late summer and fall. CCPR planned to replace the boardwalk along the pond next to the Westermeier Commons playground in a project expected to take about 30 days. Klitzing said the new boardwalk would "look substantially similar to how it is today, but it will be structurally sound and last another 20-some years."

At the Monon Community Center, the pavers around the building are being replaced with concrete this fall. Klitzing noted that the center and The Waterpark turn 20 next year and that the pavers are buckling in places after two decades of heavy use. The city expects concrete to last longer and to be easier for crews to clear in winter. The center stays open during the work, although some entrances may close temporarily. The Waterpark has closed for the 2026 season and plans to reopen in 2027.

A new landmark at Main Street and Lexington Boulevard

The city scheduled the unveiling and dedication of "Channels of Connection," an illuminated sculpture by international sculptor Casto Solano, for Oct. 20 at the Main Street and Lexington Boulevard roundabout. According to the City of Carmel's announcement, it is the first time Carmel High School students have worked directly with an international artist on a public civic artwork. Students contributed ideas through workshops, and the details they inspired include custom hair strands and a nod to the Greyhound mascot. Indiana-based bo-mar Industries was scheduled to install the piece over fall break. Because it is illuminated, the sculpture is best seen in the evening as the days get shorter.

Projects like Monon Boulevard and the Civic Square garden change how a stretch of Carmel works day to day, and they often take years to finish in phases. If you want to know how city projects near your street are scheduled, or what a planned phase could mean for your home, the advisors at Circle Real Estate can walk you through it. Our office is at 30 W. Main Street in Carmel.