Indianapolis hopes to take a major step toward redeveloping a key site in the Mass Ave Cultural District by issuing a request
for proposals for the property, city officials announced Tuesday morning.
The adjoining city-owned properties targeted for redevelopment are at 555 N. New Jersey St., the site of Indianapolis Fire
Department administrative offices and Station No. 7, and at 501 N. New Jersey St., the location of Firefighters Credit Union.
The city is hoping to land a mixed-use development for the site. The three existing facilities would be relocated to nearby
properties, Mayor Greg Ballard said.
“We are seeking a project that will not only strategically link the north and south ends of Mass Ave but will enhance
the unique culture of this vibrant and growing district,” he said in a prepared statement.
A key factor in redeveloping the property will be the cost of relocating the IFD facilities. No minimum price has been set
for the sites, but only proposals that are “cost-neutral” to public safety will be considered, the city said.
The city intends to move the IFD administrative offices to the historic IPS School No. 97 on the near-east side in partnership
with the John H. Boner Community Center and the East 10th Street Civic Association. Indiana Landmarks once listed the school
building as one of the most endangered landmarks in the state.
Alternate sites for the fire station still are under consideration. The site is expected to be within a half-mile of the
current location, the city said.
The city in July began exploring the feasibility of redeveloping the Mass Ave property as part of a real estate overhaul led by Public Safety Director Frank Straub. The aim is to better
connect police and fire services with the neighborhoods they serve, consolidate office space to save on lease expenses, and
help spark revitalization in parts of the city that have been starved of investment.
An upshot for the city is that the prime New Jersey Street property could be sold to private developers, raising money for
the city and potentially adding to the tax base.
The city hired the local office of real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis to assess the sites and possible redevelopment
options. Sealed bids must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. Nov. 21.
Bidding information is available here.
- Home
- NEWS
- REGIONAL
- THIS WEEK'S PAPER
- BLOGS
- Multimedia
- OPINION
- A&E
- LISTS
- PEOPLE
- EVENTS
- Classifieds
- Subscribe
IBJNews
City taking redevelopment bids for key Mass Ave properties
Scott Olson
October 18, 2011
Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT
on Facebook & Twitter
on Facebook & Twitter
 Follow IBJ's Tweets on these topics: |
||
| @IBJNews | @Propertylines | @IBJTheScore |
| @IBJArts | @IBJHealthcare | @IBJDining |
| @IBJLists | @IBJSmallbiz | |
-
See, I told u Indyman and Dipsicle....this 8 days is overkill. It's barely worth a weekend....great job Tony George! Your dream has been fulfilled....he fans want the I r l back. Thats how good it was.....and that sucked.
-
I have been in training for a short time now but right off I can see that safety and quality are the number one issues, my experience as of late has been a positive one, the employees along with Jeff the plant manager and the operation supervisor as well as the engineers are a highly motivated group of people, what an asset for the area to have and for company's in need of a quality metal products.
-
Pimlico
-
While I understand the severity of their actions as well as everyones eagerness to hold them responsible for thier lost funds, these gentlemen did know how to make money. Dispite thier poor decisions over the ownership of Fair they had made several wise investments which paid them greatly. This proves they do have the potential to rebuild so they can repay. I do not feel they should live the life of luxuary but given an opportunity could they find ways of repaying the debts? They are doing nothing now but being a burden on tax payers. Just a thought!!!!!
-
You guys have some "interesting" comments to say the least. I hope you will call in and share those opinions starting June 1. I'm looking forward to having you on the air.
ADVERTISEMENT
Back to TopCopyright © All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use.
Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing.
Additional Hosting & Delivery by
IBJ Conversations
13 Comments
Add Comment
No one is entitled, but if you want to gentrify a neighborhood you should at least respect the prior residents and uses of that area.
Why do you feel so entitled to be able to force poor people out of their neighborhood?
It's not the government's job to make sure poor people can live wherever they want. They need to live somewhere, but why do you feel like they need a place in upscale areas? You can't have it all -- if you want to live in Lockerbie, Mass Ave, Carmel -- just like if you want to live in Beverley Hills or Manhattan -- get a job and earn it. If you want to take the cheap gov't housing, then you live where they tell you.
Yes, poor people need to live somewhere, too. But they DO NOT need to live on high-value downtown property. Do the tenants of Barton Towers need to walk to their job at Baker & Daniels? No. They just need to walk to the grocery, and frankly, Marsh is a lousy grocery. These people would be better off somewhere else. Also, as residents of government housing, they are not entitled to the same house forever. They do not own the building, and the government can tell them at any time that this will be the last year of their lease.
Downtown is a terrible place for the poor. The only thing in walking distance is office buildings, an overpriced and small grocery, and a bunch of restaurants they can't afford to eat at.
The high-rise government building would be a great place for some GREEN SPACE in a neighborhood that desperately needs it.
I like the Barton tower and respect the era that it was built. It will be around for a very long time, no matter who occupies it.
Residents of the area are very familiar with the few individuals who roam the streets of the area begging for money. I have no issues with those in need asking for money, but these people follow you as you are walking down the street. If you do not have any cash, they will ask for you to take them to Marsh and put some food on your credit card for them. There is also the gentleman that pretends to have a daughter with a broken down car and he just needs $20 for gas to go help her (he tried this story on me 5 times now).
Let me make something completely clear, the vast majority of the residents in the section-8 housing units are good people and good neighbors. However, there are a handful of residents from this building that are hurting the entire neighborhood.
I doubt we see anything done in the near future about this issue. It's much easier to build a large housing building like this than it is to tear it down. This is prime real estate, and the residents love the location. It will be difficult to do anything about this issue.
The new development will be low to moderate income meaning something like 30%-80% of Average Median Income (AMI). At the bottom that is getting close to poor, but it is not completely impoverished. At the top that is your average college graduate starting their career. All of the new development in the are are EXACTLY the people who want a quality grocery store.
Further, your theory to "fix" the "problem" is just flat out wrong from a public planning perspective.
If you segregate your "rich" "middle class" "working class" and "poor" into different areas you stifle economic mobility. The poor get neglected and the rich get more insulated and only do things that benefit the rich areas. If you have mixed income in a neighborhood, sure the rich contribute more than the poor but they would have done that in the rich only neighborhood anyway, the difference is the poor are not as neglected. Things as simple as crime reporting, street cleaning, reporting abandoned houses and cars all matter. With a few people that care enough to set a good example the people with less then have a reason to take [some/any]pride in their neighborhoods. Pushing the dust under the rug doesn't make your house clean. For a health city we need to find positive solutions that help EVERYONE to come up. Not just help some snob from lockerbie that thinks he/she is above people with less.
Get off your high horse. The poor people aren't holding your neighborhood back, YOU ARE.
The fire station is an ASSET to this neighborhood--the fire fighters are great neighbors, and the fire station is not out-of-place along Massachusetts. The HIDEOUS, USSR-themed low-income government housing is a blight on the neighborhood and has kept property values down for too long.
I'm also afraid of more low-income apartments coming into the neighborhood, as proposed for the development at College and Michigan. You can't expect Fresh Market to open an upscale grocery store if you're going to have low-income housing above it. Those tenants can't afford to buy organic groceries.
Get some market-priced apartments in this area, please. It's just condos and luxury condos. Put something in the $900-1500/mo range in the neighborhood, along with more bars and restaurants, and A PARK.
I agree that Ballard has put the future of our city second and his pals first. Where will we be in 20 years when we run out of his privatization dollars and don't have any revenue streams.
He sold our future down the river for big government spending today on projects that cost a lot to maintain. Build better schools before you make the roads look pretty.