Articles

Redevelopment plans threaten Gasoline Alley

Business owners along the fabled Gasoline Alley north of Rockville Road think a proposal to close a north-south road linking
them to the front door of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will have devastating effects.

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Town of Fishers considers new form of government

Sitting in gridlocked traffic along Interstate 69, Fishers residents might already think of their town as
a city. This sprawling suburb of 65,000 people certainly looks nothing like the burg of less than 1,000 it was three decades ago.
But down at the municipal government complex, Fishers is still a town, just as it was incorporated in 1891.

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Arts advocates seek money from Indy government

The Arts Council of Indianapolis is leading talks with city councilors, Deputy Mayor Nick Weber and the chiefs of top cultural
organizations about how to create a bigger pot of revenue for the arts.

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Appeals pay off for biz owners

More than one in four Marion County commercial and industrial property owners has appealed its property tax assessments this
year, and the challenges often are paying off in a big way.

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Transit isn’t just an expense; it’s an investment

The Metropolitan Development Commission gave Indianapolis area transportation planners the green light Nov. 12 to do an expedited
study that would show locations, cost and potential ridership for mass transit routes region-wide.

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Leaders analyze Denver’s commuter transit

 Sixty Indianapolis-area business and civic leaders visited Denver Oct. 19-21 as
part of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce 2008 Leadership Exchange and paid close attention to public transportation, especially commuter trains.

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Reader suggests IBJ journalists probe officials’ assertions

The airport authority should not assume a 3-percent growth rate because of the new airport, and the FFA Convention was not
as wildly successful as reported. Mayor Peterson shouldn’t be held out as a good example of a mayor who supports public transportation.

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‘Rollcrete’ might provide alternative to pricey asphalt

Cities and counties are looking for alternatives to asphalt as the price soars for the oil-based material and threatens
to bring paving projects and contractors skidding to a halt. The city of Indianapolis may have just found
one viable alternative that goes down like asphalt: roller-compacted concrete, or "rollcrete."


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Mayor’s Action Center might be privatized to cure chronic woes

Maybe it’s a stray dog rooting through your garbage. Perhaps someone has abandoned a car amid the potholes riddling your
street. Either way, Indianapolis offers a one-stop shop for irate residents to complain. Just dial the Mayor’s
Action Center at 327-4MAC. Then get ready to wait. And wait. So long, in fact, that close to half of the
MAC’s callers hang up in frustration.

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Sports Corp. made city a sports giant, but real estate plans fell short

Construction of Pan Am Plaza in the mid-1980s was a major step in the evolution of Indianapolis into a sports town worthy
of hosting a Super Bowl. But the office building, parking garage, skating rinks and public gathering place came up short over
the years in other ways for both taxpayers and developer, the Indiana Sports Corp.

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Flood of appeals expected after rushed biz property-tax assessment

In 2005, assessors valued the 559-acre Indianapolis Motor Speedway at $34.4 million for property tax purposes. According to
the latest Marion County reassessment, it now has a market value of $170 million. Thousands of other businesses also would
see extraordinary spikes in property values, according to an IBJ analysis of the latest assessment data.

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