Marsh Supermarkets has withdrawn a request for a five-year tax abatement for renovation of the downtown O'Malia's store. 
Marsh
officials notified the city Tuesday, shortly after Property Lines reported
on the abatement. Marsh Spokeswoman Connie Gardner said the controversy over property tax increases fueled the decision. She
said the original request was appropriate, considering the company's investment of up to $1.5 million and the potential creation
of new jobs if sales increase. "We're going to put a bunch of money in that store and really make it nice for the people downtown,"
Gardner said. "We do believe it was a valid request at the time, but when we filed it we weren't in the current environment
on property taxes."
Marsh
officials notified the city Tuesday, shortly after Property Lines reported
on the abatement. Marsh Spokeswoman Connie Gardner said the controversy over property tax increases fueled the decision. She
said the original request was appropriate, considering the company's investment of up to $1.5 million and the potential creation
of new jobs if sales increase. "We're going to put a bunch of money in that store and really make it nice for the people downtown,"
Gardner said. "We do believe it was a valid request at the time, but when we filed it we weren't in the current environment
on property taxes."
Back to Top
IBJ Conversations
14 Comments
Add Comment
process is. Tax abatements are supposed to be
granted only if the development would not occur
without it. This demonstrates the lie that is tax
abatement. They are going forward with the project, just
as most projects would proceed without
abatement. They ask for it because they can. The
tax abatement, TIF charades need to stop.
Both tax abatements and TIFs are useful in smaller-scale neighborhood redevelopment. They've proven very useful in targeted strategies such as the Methodist Hospital expansion (TIF) and Fall Creek Place (TIF and tax abatement). Without them, Methodist would probably now be somewhere in the suburbs, and Fall Creek Place would still be Dodge City.
I've worked in the area for many years and been a downtown resident for several years now, and it has been depressing to see this store slide into the gutter. What was a premium grocery at one time no longer offers a distinctive product mix. Many of the staff members are sloppy-looking and unprofessional (some have been completely rude to me) and the physical condition is shabby and even unclean in areas.
Almost everyone I know who lives or works downtown longs for a better option such as Whole Foods or something like Sunflower Market.
that's sliding downhill. The Nora store has also been slowly declining.
Products that are no longer carried, or more likely just not on the shelf
have become the norm and the fresh produce section is awful. But don't put
Sunflower Market on a pedestal. When it opened it Broad Ripple, it
was terrific. But they've since decreased their product lines and their
produce is not what it was when they opened either. One wonders
what it will take to get a good grocery store here and the keep it.