The Fishers City Council approved a resolution to accept and transfer $7,597,625 in surplus proceeds from a 2024 bond issue to acquire remaining land around the city’s event center, council members said during the meeting.

Council members and staff said the transfer would be used to buy down property held by private developers and to secure parking and development parcels around the venue. Staff noted roughly 30.16 acres remain in the immediate site area that the city can acquire under prior agreements.

A city official described the move as a financially prudent step because the city is carrying interest on the land and the bond surplus can be used now rather than waiting the full statutory purchase period. “We have 7 years in total to purchase all the land around there. But since we identified funds now, we are carrying interest on that. So buying it down sooner rather later, it's really financially sound decision to make,” the council member said.

Staff and council discussed a range of per-acre valuations in the transcript. One speaker said retail portions of the site were about $618,000 per acre; a separate exchange included figures that were unclear in the record, and a later comment referenced a per-acre figure of roughly $800,000. Council members asked how much acreage and which lots would remain after the transfers; staff said roughly four lots and about 13 acres would be left for private development under the current site plan and that Thompson Thrift (developer) has earmarked certain parcels for multifamily use.

The resolution was presented at the meeting and a motion to approve was made and recorded as approved. The transcript records the motion and the comment “All approved,” but it does not include a roll-call vote or a named tally in the public record excerpt provided.

Council members said the purchased parcels would be held for economic development purposes and to secure needed parking for the event center; any future transfers would follow the city’s statutory process. Staff noted additional bond items and routine signatures may return to the council in September.

The council did not provide a detailed, itemized purchase contract during the meeting. Staff said maps and parcel-specific valuation detail can be provided in follow-up materials.