INDIANAPOLIS — Indy's Norwood community is rich in history.
Kaila Austin, one of the people documenting that history, said it's home to one of the oldest and most stable Black neighborhoods in the country.
"It really is kind of like a time capsule of a community," Austin said. "The way that they have been able to be resilient and build and thrive together here is an inspiring story we can use to tell a broader version of Indianapolis."
Part of that history involves a famous Black artist named John Hardrick. The land he used to own is now surrounded by barbed wire. Austin said after Hardrick died, it became a coal storage site for Citizen's Energy, which has created some contamination issues on the property.
"There are a lot of health concerns in the neighborhood that we've been battling for a long time," Austin said.
Austin said neighbors are hoping the next chapter for the property on the city's near southeast side, will be something more family-friendly, like a park.
"They would really like it to be something like a living history museum, like the way Conner Prairie feels. How do you integrate the history of their neighborhood?" Austin said.
She said the community has been having conversations with Indy Parks about how to ensure the land will be safe enough for the park.
"We've been talking about what it looks like to cap certain parts of the property so contamination is not as big of a deal in those spaces, but I don't know what that would look like moving forward," Austin said.
13News reached out to the city of Indianapolis about the possibility of that happening. A spokesperson sent a statement that read:
"The city has been having conversations with Norwood Place residents around their visions for the property, and a potential future park is part of that dialogue."
It's a dialogue this community hopes will turn into action.
"It would give us a gathering place," Austin said. "Not just for the community here on the south side. I think that Black Indianapolis needs a place for the arts. If we could have it here in a very authentic place, at the home of one of our first Black painters, would be a beautiful full-circle moment," Austin said.
The Norwood Place community has a goal to open the park by 2027.