$280M Indiana Whitewater Park Turns Brownfields Into Construction Opportunity
Southern Indiana’s Origin Park is advancing toward a signature whitewater venue built directly atop former landfills and industrial riverfront sites, ENR Midwest reports. Highlands Ranch, Colo.-based Calibre Engineering has been selected to design and oversee construction of Wildwater at Origin Park, a planned 3,300-lineal-ft simulated river system with a 2,000-ft recreational channel, a 1,000-ft competition channel, and a 92-ft surf wave. The nonprofit River Heritage Conservancy, leading the $280 million, 430-acre redevelopment in Clarksville, Ind., has acquired 80% of the site and is actively cleaning up former landfills, junkyards, and riverfront industrial land. A $20 million, 14,000-sq-ft event center was completed in May by Dean Builds. The whitewater feature remains in design, with no construction date set, though CEO Dennis Schnurbusch said he hopes to open it by 2029.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Environmental remediation and geotechnical crews have ongoing work at the site: SME is handling geotechnical and environmental services across the two former landfill sites where the whitewater course will be built.
- Civil and sitework contractors should track upcoming packages tied to the park’s remaining scope: 1.5 miles of creek trail restoration, utility pole removal, and ravine bridge construction, all listed as remaining work outside the whitewater feature itself.
- Specialty trades tied to water infrastructure, including pump system installation and hydraulic structures, will be needed once the whitewater venue moves from design (current phase) into construction; the system requires a high-capacity pump delivering 900 to 1,200 cubic ft per second.
- General contractors and concrete/structural subs in the Louisville metro area should watch for bid activity as the project targets a 2029 opening, with Calibre currently leading channel design, structural systems, and civil integration ahead of any construction start.
