Sara Snow, Green Lifestyle Expert, Speaking at Noblesville City Hall
Going Green has been the catch phrase for the past decade and we all know that not only can it be good for the environment but also good for your bottom line. Green lifestyle expert, TV host, and author Sara Snow will come to speak to the Noblesville community on Wednesday, March 21st at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Noblesville City Hall. The event, sponsored by Vectren, is free to the public. Sara will be talking about creating a healthy home and business with tips on reducing chemical exposure, using less disposable products, and infusing more natural elements into your daily spaces.
Sara is the creator and host of 'Get Fresh With Sara Snow' and 'Living Fresh' for the Discovery Networks. She is also the host of 'Big Green Lies' for the Fine Living Channel and author of 'Sara Snow’s Fresh Living'. For more info, go to www.sarasnow.com.
Population Growth & The Future of The 'Burbs
One of Noblesville’s and Hamilton County’s greatest assets and challenges has been the enormous population growth over the past decade. With growth comes new housing, new infrastructure investment and new tax dollars. As we’ve written before, the 2010 Census put Noblesville’s population at approximately 51,969 persons. Our Planning Department also estimates growth by applying a formula based on new housing starts and square footage—their estimate for 2010 was only off the actual Census number by slightly over 1000 people—an error of less than 2%. Planning’s December 2011 estimate is 54,295 persons—up an additional 2,300 from the previous year.
Oftentimes population growth and economic growth are positively correlated and a study from USA Today says that almost 85% of the nation’s 308.7 million people live in metropolitan areas with more than half in suburban rings that encircle major cities. And even though the New York Times devoted two big op-eds to the decline of the suburb in late November of last year, statistics show that over the past decade, single-family houses grew far more than either multifamily or attached homes and that detached housing retains a significantly lower vacancy rate than the multi-unit sector.
It turns out that while urban land owners, planners and pundits love density, people for the most part continue to prefer space, if they can afford it. As the workforce and the workplace becomes more diverse with many working at home or taking shorter trips to their place of work, Noblesville will continue to become less bedrooms to the core of Indianapolis and more self-contained and ‘village like’ with shopping streets and cultural amenities near what will still be a landscape dominated by single-family homes.
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Noblesville Facade Grant Program
The Noblesville Façade Grant Program has been an overwhelmingly successful redevelopment program. Begun in late 2007, thus far the program—along with the review committee and Common Council—has granted $383,167.34 that has been matched privately by $906,186.67. These amounts represent 31 total approved applications improving 26 properties in downtown Noblesville. The program continues to remain strong with monthly interest from downtown building owners.
The program was also showcased as a session topic at the 2011 Indiana Main Street Conference held at Noblesville City Hall and attended by over 150 Main Street and downtown redevelopment professionals. For a closer look at some of our before and after pictures or to learn more about the program visit our Façade Grant Program Page.
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