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Hendricks seems to be the most thorough and transparent high quality developer we’ve ever had in Indy! Good luck to them and the project!
Efforts to destroy the cities established interconnected network of skybridges and tunnels by arbitrarily eliminating and converting enclosed skybridges to “open air” is very misguided and nonsensical.
Indianapolis created this connected network to attract and retain business, conventions, & events to our city during the harsh weather seasons.
Having worked and planned events in downtown Indianapolis in the December thru March months, these enclosed interconnections are vital and necessary.
+1. Attended several of the large kids travel sports tournaments that take over the entirely of the Convention Center and LOS. Being able to stay indoors and go to the Convention Center is a positive that out of state folks look at as a reason to stay downtown.
Most urban designers will tell you those sky bridges are anathema to good urban planning. They kill the foot traffic at street level. They create dark dirty places underneath that never get any cleansing rain.
They are like the mullet haircut of urban design, useless and outdated.
I believe we need both.
People who stay downtown will walk around at street level later to go to dinner and be downtown, but they’re not going to stay downtown and pay more for a hotel if they have to walk three blocks in the cold to get to where they are going. They’re doing to save $$$ and stay in a suburb and go eat at some restaurant near the hotel.
I think Hendricks is the best developer we could have found for this project but I don’t agree with their decision here.
I like Hendricks, but I’m wary of destroying the interconnected downtown walkways, which are a rare and appreciated amenity. If I can enter from the TJ Maxx near my office, I can get to my seats in Lucas Oil Stadium without going outside or needing a coat or umbrella. I can get within a few feet of so many other places, including Victory Field. I wish that system could have been improved and sanitized rather than given up.
You do this as you pass by businesses and store fronts that would welcome the foot traffic.
Might as well build an Interstate downtown… Oh wait we already did and it’s taken 50 years for the city to recover from that bit of “urban renewal”.
I don’t believe Toronto struggles as a city because of the vast network of underground tunnels the city has.
Likewise, Minneapolis has long had both a skywalk system and ground-level retail. Both/and, not either/or.
I’m hopeful that most of the entrances to the place are not like the rendering of the Illinois and Washington St. entrance shown in this article. If not, oxygen tanks and EMTs need to be located at them.
Your mobility concerns will be addressed with ADA compliance.
I guess “Wholesale Works” is out?!? That would continue the tradition of Iron Works and Bottleworks.
“Traction Yards” is a little bit of a stretch, since the original Traction terminal was a couple blocks away, but it is distinct.
Has there ever been a large scale multi-use development like Circle Centre that has had to be ripped down and rebuilt from scratch in less than 30 years?
Columbus City Center Mall opened in 1989, closed in 2007 and was torn down in 2009. So, it only lasted 20 years compared to Curcle Center’s 30 years.
The Hoosier Trolley Company has been restoring abandoned Interurban cars for years in northern Hamilton county. It would be nice to see one of them with its own permanent display within the property. Talk about authenticity!
Good idea!
Not sure why portions of the mall could be maintained. The glass arcade is beautiful design feature what a waste to destroy. The enclosed mall does provide the enclosed connection to all the hotels and convention center not sure why a portion of this could be maintained. We live in a cold climate and providing shelter in inclement weather conditions is a must. There needs to be a compromise in the design to keep portions of the existing mall to maintain the walkway systems in the downtown and not destroy in its entirety.
We generally have a 4 month winter, which doesn’t always justify the costs or use of total enclosed walkways. The northern cities have at least 6 and/or more months of cold and windy weather. Minneapolis began the enclosed walkways back in the 1970’s and they quickly became a trendy model for other cities like Indy. We tried it here and turns out they aren’t a total necessity. The Hendricks design is not just to get us to the mall and keep us there like the original mall design intended. With the exception of a new potential wind tunnel as seen in the Wash-Illinois rendering, the variety of both indoor and outdoor walkways is the diversity of experience so many folks preach for.
We may not need the enclosed walkways but they are a nice amenity for downtown and since they already exist its a shame to lose them. Agree with everyone here, great design by Hendrich’s but please consider keeping enclosed walkways!
Kevin, we may “generally” have a 4 month winter, but this year it started in November…if it stretches to April that’s 6 months here too. (Or are you now preaching global warming will eliminate our cold winters?)
Aren’t the IndyStar offices on the northwest corner of Meridian and Georgia St. rather than the southwest corner? It’s the southwest corner of the current Circle Center.
The renderings of the project show very low profile buildings, almost village type. I feel the project should be denser since it is in the center of a urban area.
February 17, 2024: (map of downtown skywalk network)
In downtown Indy today? Escape the cold by using a skywalk to get to NBA All-Star events
https://www.yahoo.com/news/downtown-indy-today-escape-cold-145931598.html
If you look at this map of the existing downtown skywalk network you will see that Circle Center Mall is a connecting hub between several hotels and the convention center and Lucas Oil stadium.
The skywalk network is being expanded to connect the new Hilton hotel tower to the convention center plus the Simon hotel & Fever Practice facility to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
This skywalk/tunnel system needs to be improved and expanded in a thoughtful way.
https://www.visitindy.com/meetings/planner-tools/guides-maps/
What we had will be more appreaciated after it is gone . Who will be removing the snow and treating icy walkways in those open wind tunnels ?
The same people who do it now everywhere else? Geesh. People act as though snow and ice are impediments to daily life. Our downtown is compact enough to not rely on skywalks in the way that a city like Minneapolis might. And the skywalk system in MPS, contrary to what some here would have you believe, is not all it’s cracked up to be. As people who have actually used those “people tubes” will tell you, it is not at all uncommon to encounter human waste, trash, homelessness, non-working lighting, leaks and more. Winter here is 3 months, December-February. Rarely does one encounter weather extreme enough outside those months, to justify maintaining a year-round skywalk system. There are plenty of cities that encounter harsher winter weather than Indy and manage to maintain business without the investment in a skywalk system. Ultimately, what is built here should be for the people that call Indy home, not the overzealous stage moms and mini cheerleaders wearing enough make up to make a drag queen blush as they scurry between their hotel rooms, a mall food court and competition sessions in the convention center before making their way back to suburbia. The hyperbole surrounding opening up the mall and a couple of skywalks is a bit ridiculous.
There’s a reason the JW is able to charge $1200 a night for the upcoming cheerleading event, and I can guarantee you part of the reason is you can walk from the hotel to event and stay indoor.
Exactly why they think it’s a good idea to make them open air remains unclear.