Evansville mayor marks 100 days with State of the City
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On the 100th day of her first term, Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry gave her first State of the City address Tuesday. Speaking at the Rotary Club of Evansville, the mayor said a new era was launched in the city when the first Black mayor and the first female mayor took office.
“The energy, the enthusiasm, the hope that I felt that day has carried us through these first 100 days, as we’ve finished assembling our team and gone right to work moving Evansville forward,” Terry said.
The mayor touched on numerous topics during her 45-minute speech, including public safety, infrastructure and education. But it was the potential revitalization of an Evansville landmark that caught many people’s attention.
The Mesker Amphitheatre has been closed since 2012, but Terry said there could be movement in efforts to bring it back.
“We are in the early stages of conversation with a private developer, discussing the feasibility and extent of what could be done to revitalize Mesker Amphitheatre,” she said. “I know for many, this is a crown jewel of Evansville. And while I don’t want to over-promise, I’m cautiously—and I do mean cautiously—optimistic that we will have news in the coming months.”
Watch the full State of the City address by clicking here.
Terry also gave a small update on plans for a major project that has been more than two years in the making: the redevelopment of the former 420 Main building site in downtown Evansville.
The 18-story office building was demolished in November 2021. Originally, plans called for the construction of two mixed-use buildings on the property at 5th and Main Streets, but those plans were adjusted due to rising costs caused by inflation.
Now, officials are planning what will be known as The Vault on Main, a four-story mixed-use development that will include more than 160 apartment units and first-floor commercial space.
Terry said ground could be broken on the project sometime next month, with construction slated for completion in 2026.
The mayor also touched on the need for enhancements to the city’s water treatment plant, which is more than 100 years old. She said the city is ready to make that project a reality as well.
“I can’t think of many things more basic and necessary to having a strong quality of life in a city than clean, healthy drinking water,” she said. “A new water filtration plant is critical to continuing to have that into the future. That’s why we’re moving forward with plans to update and upgrade the plant; construction is expected to begin by the end of this year, with a goal of bringing the plant online in 2028.”
Affordable housing was another main topic for Terry, who said she will allocate $250,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which will add to $500,000 that has already been budgeted for home repair and neighborhood revitalization efforts.
The city already has 127 newly constructed or rehabilitated affordable housing units either completed or underway, Terry said. But she noted that those efforts simply aren’t enough.
She cited a housing needs assessment completed last year, which said the city needs about 2,812 new rental units over the next five years to accommodate the housing need.
To help address the housing gap, Terry committed to helping facilitate the construction or rehabilitation of at least 350 affordable housing units in Evansville within the next year through public-private partnerships and using a variety of residential development tools.
“Evansville today is a city with a lot of great things going for it. We have momentum in revitalizing neighborhoods like Haynie’s Corner, Franklin Street, and Jacobsville. But we have the potential to do more – to bring all of our neighborhoods along, ensuring no one gets left behind.”