LAS VEGAS—A not-for-profit group that's hoping to build a retail project at the northeast corner of 22nd and Delaware streets in Indianapolis is looking for tenants after a deal for an Ace Hardware fell apart.
King Park Area Development Corp. Executive Director Janine Betsey met with several potential occupants at the International Council of Shopping Centers show in Las Vegas on Monday. The group also hired a broker, Bridget Farren of Farren Real Estate Services, to help lease the two-story, $2-million project.
Betsey said the site meets the criteria of several retailers, including restaurant concepts and clothing stores. She declined to name which ones have expressed interest.
The group hopes to break ground on the project, designed by locally based A2SO4, in the fall. The project would be built to the sidewalks and include parking in the rear. A selling point for the second-floor restaurant space is its outdoor terrace with skyline views.
Ace won't be going in at 22nd and Delaware, but the hardware cooperative has picked out a couple other options for a new store in the vicinity of the Old Northside, said Market Development Manager Bob Merritt.
Merritt said Ace is working with existing and potential partners to open about five new stores in the Indianapolis area, with a focus on downtown and the south side.
A former store owner closed five Ace locations in 2008, primarily on the south side, leaving a market ripe for replacements. Ace has opened a handful of stores on the north side, including in Noblesville, in the last few years.
The King Park group also is seeking tenants for development of a 1.8-acre site it owns a few blocks north on Delaware, between 25th Street and Fall Creek Parkway.
The group in February tore down a former juvenile detention center on the site that had been vacant at least 15 years. King Park bought the property from the Marion County Treasurer’s Office for about $75,000 in 2008, and is using grants to fund the demolition and search for a new use.
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I certainly agree with that much. It was one of the main factors my wife and I considered while we were shopping for our first house back at the beginning of the year. Fall Creek Place certainly crossed our minds, but in the end we felt much more comfortable where we are now at 56th and College-ish. It felt more walkable, it's near our college stomping grounds (we just graduated from Butler two years ago), closer to shopping at Glendale and Keystone without the hassle of downtown parking, and it's a better split between where we both work - she in Carmel and I downtown. Plus...it's way easier to get back to campus for basketball games! It seemed like a better investment, though, at the same time. As families move back into the city, houses will continue to be renovated in Meridian-Kessler going southward toward 38th, putting an ever-deeper "buffer" between where we are and the not so nice parts of the north side. Hopefully the same thing continues around FCP and HM, but that seemed less certain to us.
More power to you if you're willing to deal with some of the problems that developing neighborhoods like Herron Morton and Fall Creek Place can go through. Catching the neighborhood on the upswing is great for those who can time it correctly, but there's always a chance that the reverse could happen.
And to reiterate the point that others have made, living in the city is not cookie-cutter Carmel or Fishers suburbia. One needs to be aware of the area and surroundings, as well as take precautions such as having a well-lit building, alarm system, etc. I, for one, love the city and this neighborhood and I will take the good with the bad.
What's the real meaning behind your words? That their are too many black or poor people in the area to support a diverse mix of businesses?
Your assertion is ridiculous. This neighborhood has a great mix of income levels and can support businesses of all types, which range from Goose The Market (arguably the best small market in the entire city) to yes, a fried chicken place and tire repair shop, which for some reason, you deem as "hood."
A real neighborhood/city provide options for people of all income types and backgrounds. You can keep your generic cookie-cutter white-washed upscale aesthetic in whatever neighborhood you call home.
We can read right through your bigoted code sir, and I for one, as a downtown resident, find it completely offensive.
Am I happy that there's a horrible liquor store at 22nd and central that is anchored by two dollar stores, no. These stores fill a need in the community or they wouldn't survive - however this also true for the higher-end businesses on Delaware.
Look at Keystone Shoppes directly across from the Fashion Mall, two cell phone shops and a 'cash for gold' type of place. Not everybody is going to love every business in a certain area, but blanket statements about what a neighborhood could support based on race or socioeconomic class is painting with too broad a stroke.
The area of the proposed site is indeed between Church's chicken and Paul's service station, but it is also only 1 block away from Tea's Me, a hip tea cafe . I must admit that I hope Church's Chicken will close...as it certainly is not supported by the primary demographic in HMP.
Another poster commented that there is not enough foot traffic on 22nd St for a restaurant. Perhaps that is because, at the current time, we lack good retail destinations to walk to!
I think both of you guys forgot about the live/work retail units just three blocks North of this lot near 25th and Delaware. Higher end salon, great local businesses and a one-of-a-kind food emporium (Goose the Market) that most certainly doesn't cater to the same crowd that frequents check cashing or liquor stores.
Certainly Fall Creek Place has some challenges, but lets be real - there are for sale signs throughout the entire city and suburbs.
As I write this (at 9p) my wife is out walking the dogs in the heart of this region. On tope of this, more and more families are coming back to the city. Common sense and good judgment goes a long way in keeping yourself safe...and this applies to living anywhere outside of Mayberry.
I will say that Fusek's True Value in Lockerbie Marketplace is a fine store that can generally get you by between visits to the big box stores, but I'm sure Ace would have done well in Delware location. There are a lot of homeowners down here who choose not to own a vehicle and having hardware in walking distance is a no brainer.
Fall Creek Place, in my opinion, still has a long way to go to prove itself. Houses everywhere are for sale in the area and development east toward College Avenue has slowed significantly, if not completely come to a halt. There just isn't enough demand yet for more upscale housing in the area. A shop in the near-northside area, say (speculatively)around 16th and Delaware puts the store closer to a more established neighborhood, where houses are probably more likely to keep their value.
Fall Creek Place kind of sticks out on its own. The near northside isn't going anywhere, then Herron Morton is improving to the immediate north. But instead of building off of the property values south of 16th, the Fall Creek Place renovations were done north of 22nd. Meridian as a border on the West is fine, but East of College is nowhere you want to be...ever, meaning you don't have to go far to find neighborhoods you wouldn't want to wander into, let alone be walking your dog in by yourself at night.