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“A retail strip directly south of the Vogue music venue along College Avenue on the western edge of the business district. This 8,900-square-foot building is home to businesses such as Eating Fresh and Zen Nail Lounge. The initiative proposes a mixed-use structure to replace this building managed by Kosene & Kosene.”
This is the best looking retail strip in the city and still gives Broad Ripple some character.
Don’t think that was a grass roots sourced idea – Surely it is K&K’s idea, and they planted it through a proxy. Rather, they should be encouraged to focus on unattractive undeveloped parcel and breaks in the street frontage. Government and community leaders should help encourage that sort of responsible development and act as facilitators instead of tearing down an attractive part of the streetscape and a perfectly functional building just to build something that makes more money and generating fees for K&K.
I don’t get that either because it’s a nice-looking building. Perhaps someone wants to add a couple stories for residential above. Paul is correct that there should be other areas of focus.
To counter the perception that Broad Ripple is rife with crime, why not give the IMPD the now vacant former fire station on the northwest corner of Westfield Blvd and Guilford Ave as a permanent police station? Just as fireman lived there 24/7, so two could police officers who can walk and bike the neighborhood and get to know residents and merchants. Frankly I can’t think of a better use and purpose that this for the historic building.
That is a good idea, and would give IMPD and Broad Ripple a better relationship.
That would be such a waste of resources
Police don’t work the same schedule as firefighters not 24/7. IMPD is very shorthanded. Your idea is not without some merit, but reality is that the property will be for sale to the highest bidder by the city, meaning Another bar or restaurant.
IMPD does have a office in the aforementioned parking garage, not that it has had a significant impact on bad actors.
We all can agree that the goal is to elevate the area. Smarter people than me will have to figure that out. I wish them well.
You can always count on Murray to come through with a negative comment. He eats dirty socks for breakfast. Way to go, Murray!
I applaud the efforts here but the ship has sailed. I live in the Village and have for long enough to watch the “change” BRVA wanted and here we are. I leave my village and go to SoBro (lol) for food or entertainment or Mass Ave.
I bet you’re fun at parties.
I applaud the efforts here but the ship has sailed. I live in the Village and have for long enough to watch the “change” BRVA wanted and here we are. I leave my village and go to SoBro (lol) for food or entertainment or Mass Ave.
There has been far too much NIMBYism in Broad Ripple for far too long. Broad Ripple (including BRVA) sat back and allowed itself to be surpassed by Mass Ave., Fountain Square, and – in some ways – Carmel.
The best thing Broad Ripple/BRVA/the City could do is figure out how stop Broad Ripple NIMBYs. They will put brip into a doom loop.
Broad Ripple would benefit from a better mix of uses. Better retail including appropriate national boutique-ish shops that actually draw substantial numbers customers, plus a bit of office to add to the daytime usage mix so the place is less dominated by excess concentration of bars.
“national boutique-ish shops” is not what makes Broad Ripple fun. It’s the unique restaurants, bars, live music, and walk-able indoor/outdoor seating that makes it fun. I lived in B-Rip for 5 years and never once went shopping in the village.
Broad ripple is a jewel for the northside. My Mother in law many years ago had a antique shop and she knew everybody and lived off of Guilford south of the main drag. I know it’s not fashionable to wax poetic, but those were truly the days.
I wish I had the answer…..but I don’t.
I sincerely wish the best for the area.
Great comments, and good ideas…if property owners will cooperate. Now:
What do we do about the ugly parking/retail structure at the SWC of Westfield/College? The one Mayor Ballard doled out to one of his contributors? I think that tax abatement falls off in a few years….and it’s likely not successful now.
The observations in this piece about where improvements could be made are not wrong. But, if there is any hope or desire to make these improvements without killing the remaining character of the village, I’m highly skeptical that master planning will achieve the desired effect. Master plans are great at optimizing certain goals and functions, especially for entirely new developments or redevelopment projects where there is absolutely no life or business at all, requiring a complete overhaul. But, in this case, I have a feeling this effort will kill whatever remains of the eclectic village character. At this point, maybe that’s what the businesses and residents want; that they are so desperate for change and investment that they are okay with foresaking what had drawn them to the village in the first place. If so, so be it. But it’s worth thinking about the extent to which this high-minded master planning would be necessary if the city and those involved in this effort had years ago simply pursued the basic approach of better policing and investing in infrastructure.