Butler University awarded $22.5 million to improve neighborhoods

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INDIANAPOLIS — Butler University is getting more than $20 million dollars, but they’re not spending it all on the school.

WRTV’s Amber Grigley explains what neighborhood projects the money will support and how the community is embracing the changes.

“My mom and grandmother used to go to the Martin Luther King Center across the street. I remember when it used to be a court up there and right here,” Andre Morris, who has been living in the Tarkington Park community for 35 years said.

The Tarkington Park community has a unique way of tugging at the hearts of so many.

“We’ve been here now for 10 years, we used to live in Carmel and we always found ourselves coming towards this side,” Jenny Bizzoco said.

“This is a really booming area for the community and they’re doing a lot of modernizing to the homes and apartment areas here. So, it’s actually growing,” Morris said.

“We have a lot more to offer now to this community,” Bizzoco said.

So, you can imagine the excitement buzzing, when Butler University received $22.5 million dollars in grant funding to continue work in the community.

“If there’s going to be more improvements, ‘oh my god!’ Kudos! Kudos to whoever’s doing it, Lilly and other institutions that want to help the community because we need it,” Bizzoco said.

The grant is from Lilly Endowment Inc., all part of its vision to strengthen quality of life in Indiana communities.

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