Carmel, Indiana

Carmel is a city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States located immediately north of Indianapolis, Indiana. The population was 79,191 at the 2010 census, and is one of the most affluent communities in the Midwest.

Until 1874, the settlement where present day Carmel now sits was called Bethlehem. Today, the plot first established in Bethlehem, located at the intersection of Rangeline Road and Main Street, is marked by a clock tower, donated by the local Rotary Club in 2002.

In 1924, one of the first automatic traffic signals in the United States was installed at the intersection of Main Street and Range Line Road. The signal that was installed was the invention of Leslie Haines and is currently in the old train station on the Monon.

Carmel recently completed construction of Carmel Monon Community Center as well as $118 million concert hall "The Palladium" at the Center for Performing Arts.

Geography
Carmel is located at 39.97306°N, -86.10778°W (39.972917, -86.107877).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.9 square miles (46.4 km²), of which 17.8 square miles (46.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) (0.61%) is water.

Major East-West streets in Carmel generally end in a 6, and include 96th Street (the Southern border), 106th, 116th, 126th, 131st, 136th and 146th (the Northern Border). The numbering system is aligned to that of Marion and Hamilton counties. Main Street (131st) runs East-West through Carmel's Art & Design District; Carmel Drive runs East-West through a main shopping area; and City Center Drive runs East-West near Carmel's new City Center project.

North-South streets are not numbered, and include (West to East) Michigan, Shelborne, Towne, Ditch, Spring Mill, Meridian, Guilford, Range Line, Keystone, Carey, Gray, Hazel Dell, and River. Some of these roads are continuations of corresponding streets within Indianapolis. Towne Road replaces the name Township Line Road at 96th Street, while Westfield Boulevard becomes Range Line north of 116th Street. Meridian Street (US-31) and Keystone Parkway (formerly IN-431) are the major thoroughfares, extending from (within Carmel) I-465 in the south and merging just south of 146th Street.

As of the census of 2010, there were 79,191 people residing in the city. The population density was 4,424.1 people per square mile (1706.1/km²). There were 30,738 housing units at an average density of 1717.2 per square mile (662.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.4% White, 3.0% African American, 0.2% Native American, 8.9% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $90,321, and the median income for a family was $73,394. Males had a median income of $93,340 versus $62,943 for females. The per capita income for the city was $85,320. About 1.6% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The government consists of a mayor and a city council. The mayor Current mayor is Jim Brainard The city council consists of seven members. Five are elected from individual districts. Two are elected at-large.

Roundabouts
Carmel has become the unofficial roundabout capital of USA, due to The Mayor of Carmel, Jim Brainard, installing over 80 roundabouts and demolishing 78 sets of traffic lights. Jim Brainard say "We have more than any other city in the US. It's a trend now in the United States. There are more and more roundabouts being built every day because of the expense saved and more importantly the safety." Many of the roundabouts are also well landscaped, thus improving the image of the highway network. Carmel has been described as the Milton Keynes of the USA.

Schools
Public The school system has 11 elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school. Student enrollment for the district is above 14,500. The Elementary Schools are: Carmel Clay Elementary, Cherry Tree Elementary, College wood Elementary, Forest Dale Elementary, Mohawk Trails Elementary, Orchard Park Elementary, Prairie Trace Elementary, Smokey Row Elementary, Towne Meadow Elementary, West Clay Elementary and Woodbrook Elementary.

The 3 Middle Schools are: Carmel Middle School, Clay Middle School and Creekside Middle School

Carmel High School is the high school that the three middle schools feed into.

Carmel Clay Schools

Carmel High School official Website

Independent Carmel also has several private schools including St. Elizabeth Seton Preschool (2 year olds-K), Midwest Academy (K-12), Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School (K-8), Walnut Grove Christian School (K-8) and University High School. Additional private schools are located near Carmel in other communities.

Industry
The Meridian Corridor is the second largest concentration of office workers in the state of Indiana. It is home to more than 40 corporate headquarters and many more regional offices. The close proximity of these many thriving businesses is a key to their success. Several large companies reside in Carmel, and it serves as the national headquarters for CNO Financial Group (formerly Conseco), MISO, Delta Faucet, Pearson Education (formerly MacMillan Publishing), as well as the headquarters of ITT Technical Institute.[1] It is also home to many mid-sized and smaller companies.

Awards
The city of Carmel has been recognized with numerous awards and ratings for its programs and services.


 * Carmel voted #14 best place to live by CNN Money Magazine
 * Carmel Utilities received water quality awards from the Indiana Department of Health.
 * City’s annual Arbor Day program won International Society of Arborculture’s highest award – the Gold Leaf Award.
 * The Keystone Parkway project received an Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Excellence.
 * The U.S. Conference of Mayors awarded the “Climate Protection Award” to Carmel for its roundabout program and other environmental initiatives.
 * The League of American Bicyclists designated Carmel a Bicycle Friendly Community at the bronze level — an award presented to communities with remarkable commitments to bicycling.
 * The 2006 City Livability Award for Roundabouts. This award recognizes mayors for implementing programs to improve the quality of life in their districts. Carmel mayor Jim Brainard earned this award for his efforts to improve traffic flow to meet the area's growing population. He replaced stop-signs across Carmel with roundabouts, which are both safer and more efficient.

Carmel Monon Community Center
A $24.5 million water park and mega-fitness center is the center piece of Carmel's $55 million Central Park which opened in 2007. The Outdoor Water Park consists of two water slides, a drop slide, a diving board, a lazy river, a kiddie pool, a large zero depth activity pool, and a lap pool. The state-of-the-art fitness center consists of an indoor lap pool, a recreation pool with its own set of water slides, gymnasium, 1/8 mile indoor running track, and the Kids Zone childcare. The Center also has an adjoining building connected by an elevated walkway over the Monon Trail, where the Carmel Clay Parks Department offices are located. In addition to a banquet center and activity rooms that can be rented out.

Flowing Well
Just north of 116th St., between Gray Road and Hazel Dell Parkway, you will find Flowing Well Park, which contains a natural artesian well that provides very high quality drinking water.

Monon Trail
The Monon Trail is a bicycle trail that is part of the Rails-to-Trails movement. It runs from 10th near downtown Indianapolis through Broad Ripple and then crosses into Carmel at 96th Street and ends at 146th Street. In the future, it is planned to run all the way to Sheridan. In January of 2006 speed limit signs of 15 to 20 mph have been added to sections of the trail north of 96th Street which is the county line with Indianapolis.

Carmel Arts & Design District
www.carmelartsanddesign.com

Carmel City Center
Carmel City Center is a one million square foot, $300 million, mixed-use development located in the heart of Carmel, Indiana. Carmel City Center is the location for The Center for the Performing Arts, which includes a 1,600 seat concert hall named “The Palladium” and a 500-seat theater named “The Tarkington” and a 200-seat black box theater. This pedestrian-based master plan development is located at the southwest corner of City Center Drive (126th Street) and Range Line Road. The Monon Greenway runs directly through the project. Carmel City Center was developed as a public/private partnership between the City of Carmel, Pedcor City Center Development Company and numerous developers. Early City Center projects include NTS Carmel Center Apartments (formerly AMLI Apartments), the Townhomes at City Center (developed by Ryland), Shapiro’s Delicatessen, the Carmel Clay Veterans Memorial, Pedcor Corporate Headquarters, Flagstar Bank, Hoosier Realty Building and Salon 01 (formerly Carmel Schwinn).

Clay Terrace
146th Street and Meridian www.clayterrace.com

Clay Terrace, an outdoor lifestyle center, is a shopping destination featuring upscale retail shops and restaurants. More than 70 retailers line the center’s broad sidewalks including specialty apparel and home furnishing stores such as Jos. A. Banks, Sur La Table, White House, Black Market and Z Gallerie.

Village of West Clay
www.westclaysocial.com www.brenwick.com