Carmel plans $2M light show on Palladium instead of water tower. Here's when it's live
Once destined for the water tower, Carmel is now planning a nearly $2 million light show on the Palladium performing arts center that's expected to launch in spring 2023.
The light show, which has financial support from Hamilton County Tourism, could "transform" the area surrounding the Palladium and draw residents, visitors and businesses interested in Carmel, said the city's redevelopment director Henry Mestetsky.
“Carmel, just like with our eclectic art and public plazas, makes these amenities public, free, accessible, and inclusive,” Mestetsky said. “It’s the kind of thing companies, which are focused on talent retention, look at when deciding where to locate their next headquarters.”
Related:Carmel could get a $1.5M water tower light show. Some worry it's too 'Las Vegas.'
In August, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously to approve funds for equipment, installation and design of the light show on the Palladium.
The commission approved an agreement with Indiana-based Blockhouse Studios, a projection company, to design the light show. The company “is excited to be involved,” in the project, owner Kevin Winkler said in an email.
As of early December, Blockhouse Studios already completed 3D scanning of the Palladium and are building the model of the structure, Mestetsky said.
“The idea is to activate Carter Green and really explore all of the ways that we can really highlight the Palladium and create a show out of this,” Mestetsky told the Carmel Redevelopment Commission in August.
Twelve projectors placed in all-season enclosures would be installed on the roofs of buildings across from the Palladium.
The funds for the project will come from the redevelopment commission’s urban parks fund, which receives dollars from developers and designates them for park spaces in the central core of Carmel, Mestetsky said.
Carmel's light show won't be nearly as expensive as the nightly show on Monument Circle. Downtown Indy and the Indiana War Memorials Commission received $7.6 million in 2018 for the "Shining a Light" display every evening on Monument Circle.
Others are reading:Monument Circle will become a big movie screen with lights Saturday. Here's how it works.
The Carmel project will receive additional financial support. The Hamilton County Tourism board of directors and the county’s tourism commission in November approved $100,000 in its 2023 budget for the Carmel light show project, according to Brenda Myers, president and CEO of Hamilton County Tourism.
The grant agreement between Hamilton County Tourism and Carmel’s Redevelopment Commission will be finalized in early 2023, Myers said in an email.
Myers told the Carmel Redevelopment Commission in August that the light show could encourage longer stays in Carmel and Hamilton County.
“We think it would serve as a driver for Central Indiana visits as well as a destination enhancement for Midwest travel,” Myers said.
The light show on the Palladium is a change in plans from 2021 when the Carmel City Council approved $25 million in funding for projects, which included $1.5 million for a light show on the water tower.
When Carmel staff members began considering the water tower for the light show, experts said the Palladium would be a better “canvas,” Mestetsky said.
The Palladium and Carter Green is an area that draws tremendous activity in Central Carmel. Currently, the Carmel Christkindlmarkt is hosted in the space and the city’s Farmer’s Market happens there in the summers.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Carmel plans light show on Palladium instead of water tower
