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Chipping away at that urban decay is
Indianapolis crucial because neighborhoods are the
foundation of any city. The condition of our
neighborhoods neighborhoods -- and the commitment to
them from residents who live there -- will
battle blight help determine whether Indianapolis
prospers or withers in the years ahead.
"You know why the Near Eastside is doing
so well? They were organized, and they
were ready to receive the help," Mayor
Written by
Greg Ballard said of the residents. "Other
people aren't necessarily as ready to
Erika D. Sm ith
receive it as we would like them to be."
12:22 AM, Feb. 20, 2011|
Of course, not every neighborhood in
Drive east out of Downtown Indianapolis, Indianapolis is in bad shape. Far from it.
and signs of urban decay are easy to find: But as the city prepares to put forward the
best possible face for next year's Super
Boarded-up houses. Crumbling sidewalks. Bowl, visitors won't have to venture far from
Storefronts ensconced in security gates. Downtown to find neighborhoods unlikely to
Potholes that will gut a car's underside if hit make it on any postcard.
at the wrong speed or angle. Teddy bears
stacked by the roadside as memorials to Travel in any direction from Lucas Oil
shooting victims. People selling everything Stadium and within minutes, you'll end up
from rugs to baby strollers on their front in a neighborhood where blight has set
lawns to help make ends meet. down deep roots.
But something else can be found below the Advertisement
surface: hope.
The Near Eastside -- with its striking new
community center, pockets of renovated
homes, bike lanes, co-op grocery store
and an art gallery that offers yoga classes
-- represents, in many ways, the art of the
possible for struggling neighborhoods in
Indianapolis.
The neighborhood isn't perfect, but it's
getting better. Many neighborhoods can't
say that much.
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To the northeast and northwest, said of the city's infrastructure. "It comes
neighborhoods such as Martindale- under short-term budgetary and political
Brightwood and Haughville are dotted with pressure to not take care of the roads and
abandoned houses, unkempt lots and the sidewalks on a year-to-year basis. And
reputations for violent crime, even though I understand that. We feel the pressure,
theft and vandalism are more common. too."
To the southwest, neighborhoods such as The city recently surveyed more than
Mars Hill and Maywood are stocked with 1,100 residents to help prioritize
aging, single-family homes. Massive community development efforts.
industrial plants, some shuttered, surround
these bedroom communities near the South The results overwhelmingly tagged the
Side Landfill. Until the city recently fixed the demolition or rehabilitation of abandoned
problem, flooding wracked the area when properties as a top priority. Residents also
it rained. cited needs such as assistance for home
repair, more home ownership, street
improvements, sidewalks, crime
Decades of decay
awareness, mass transit and more youth
centers.
The decline of Indianapolis' neighborhoods
isn't new. In fact, it was decades in the Some of those problems are being
making. But recent population shifts, as
addressed as part of the mayor's
shown in data from the U.S. Census Bureau, RebuildIndy program. The Department of
have made matters worse. Public Works has in recent months spent
$55 million on resurfacing roads, repairing
"The problem is, Indiana is cheap," said sidewalks and bridges, and demolishing
Aaron M. Renn, an urban planning expert
abandoned homes. An additional $32
and former Hoosier.
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When it comes to infrastructure,
Indianapolis has always done the "bare-
bones" minimum, he said. Sidewalks were
never built in large swaths of the city.
Potholes the size of craters have been
allowed to form on roads and in alleys.
And, under orders from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the city
only recently has begun moving to fix a
sewer system that sends raw sewage into
rivers and streams when it rains.
"It's been neglected for so long," Ballard
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million will be spent on infrastructure this By creating neighborhoods with distinctive
spring. personalities, Renn said. Walkable e
nvironments with small shops,
But doing everything that needs to be done coffeehouses, bars and grocery stores can
to repair or replace the city's infrastructure make older neighborhoods attractive,
would cost $1.5 billion and take years to especially to young people.
complete. Only a fraction of the money
needed is available now. "We really need to create these urban
spaces," Ballard said. "Indianapolis is an
In the meantime, residents are bypassing urban area. We don't want to be the
Indianapolis' urban core for the suburbs. suburban area."
According to census data released this Retaining residents and attracting
month, the five fastest-growing counties in newcomers is a difficult task, however, for
the state all are neighbors of Marion neighborhoods already in a downward
County. spiral.
Hamilton County's population jumped 50 Residents have to be involved, organized
percent, and Hendricks County grew 40 and vocal. They have to come up with a
percent since 2000. Marion County grew common vision to grab the attention of
about 5 percent. public officials and business leaders.
The shift, experts say, has been driven by "The neighborhoods have to articulate their
jobs, housing and quality-of-life issues own destiny," Williams said.
such as schools, parks and lower crime
rates.
Near Eastside
"People are moving out of Center Township
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and going to suburbs, and that leaves
empty properties," said Olgen Williams,
Indianapolis' deputy mayor for the Office of
Neighborhoods.
At last count, there are 9,000 to 10,000
abandoned houses in Indianapolis. Last
year, the city demolished 675 of them, and
it plans to tear down at least 250 more this
year.
How else can Indianapolis stem the
suburban tide?
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Heather McMullen, an unassuming, brown- Bike lanes run along New York Street,
haired 33-year-old, seems a little out of houses are being redeveloped off North
place on Rural Street. She is, in fact, a Jefferson Avenue and a string of stores
longtime suburbanite who moved away have opened along the new East 10th
from what she calls a sea of "cookie-cutter" Street business corridor.
homes to a place with more soul.
There's McMullen's shop, the Little Green
That led her to Englewood, a Near- Bean Boutique; the Made for Each Other
Eastside neighborhood near Rural and community art gallery; The Turntable
Washington streets. She owns a house that Shoppe; and Pogue's Run Grocer, the city's
has been there for decades and is first food co-op.
surrounded by neighbors who've been
there almost that long. "I couldn't have asked for a more
successful opening. Business has been
"There's nothing ornate about my home," steady," said Greg Monzel, general
McMullen said. "But I live in a community. I manager of the co-op, who also lives on
live where people know my name." the Near Eastside.
Increasingly, community is a buzzword on The residents' efforts have been
the Near Eastside. Long given a bad rap recognized and rewarded.
for having an inordinate number of
abandoned houses and all manner of The neighborhood is the home of the 2012
crime, the neighborhood is making a Super Bowl Legacy Project -- a distinction
comeback. that will help lead to the building of a
community recreation center on the
It started in 2008, when hundreds of campus of Tech High School.
residents met to figure out the best way to
use community development funds from a
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tax increment financing, or TIF, district.
"What do we call a good quality of life for
our community? What does that mean for
us?" said James Taylor, executive director
of the John H. Boner Community Center.
They came up with a list of seven priorities,
from housing redevelopment to education
to connectivity to economic development.
The results of their efforts are readily
visible.
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"There's a saying in community Fountain Square for nearly three years,
development circles that perceptions of a describes the neighborhood as a place
neighborhood have to change before the where she can walk to a local coffee shop
neighborhood changes -- and there's and run into people who know her name.
some truth to that," Taylor said. "This is a And despite stereotypes about crime, she
place that's on the move, that's up and said, people tend to look out for one
coming. And all of sudden, reality begins to another.
follow that."
"It's our 'Cheers,' " the 29-year-old
commercial real estate agent said. "It's a
Fountain Square
great neighborhood. All my neighbors are
awesome."
The Near Southside neighborhood of
Fountain Square knows all about
But with housing, Fountain Square remains
perceptions. It's been up, down and is hit or miss. Street after street is lined with
rising again. small, single-family homes. Some are well-
kept, down to precisely placed decorations
The neighborhood was once a thriving on the front door. Others have yards
center of retail, dining and entertainment.
strewn with trash, old furniture and
Its decline began in the late 1960s, and children's toys. Some are abandoned.
the construction of the interstate
compounded matters, dividing the
"When we moved in, the Realtor said, 'Well,
neighborhood. For years, residents left and this is one of those neighborhoods that
businesses closed. could go either way,' " said Elizabeth Ryan,
who moved to Fountain Square with her
Today, though, Fountain Square is a haven family about 13 years ago.
for artists, entrepreneurs who live above
their businesses, and an eclectic mix of
bars and clubs. Advertisement
There's a palpable energy here, and much
of it has emerged recently with the opening
of businesses such as Pure Eatery, White
Rabbit Cabaret, Square Rootz Deli and
Siam Square.
The neighborhood is one of the city's
designated cultural districts and soon will
become a stop on the Indianapolis Cultural
Trail.
Catherine Esselman, who has lived in
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Today, she and her husband are pleased. of the mine would mean even more dust
The neighborhood has gone from a place and noise. The Maywood Manor
with a lot of noise and fights to one where Neighborhood Association is fighting the
neighbors sit on each other's porches and proposal, but Cooley says not enough
help each other move furniture. residents are involved.
Even her mother-in-law, who for years Farther west, in the depressed
refused to visit because she envisioned neighborhood of Mars Hill, residents say
Fountain Square as crime-ridden, is a property crime is a constant concern.
convert.
The VFW 908 along Kentucky Avenue lost
"Ask her now, and she'll say, 'This is such a more than $10,000 when a burglar stole
great neighborhood,' " Ryan said. "But ask the post's safe -- twice. Appliances also
her 10 years ago, she was crying." have been stolen from the post.
Still, most people in the neighborhood are
Mars Hill/Maywood
nice, said Dave Spaulding, the post's
commander.
On the Southwestside of Indianapolis,
conditions aren't as promising. "If you need assistance and they see it,
they're the first ones there," he said.
As in other neighborhoods, residents of
Maywood and Mars Hill tend to live in Despite the struggles of Mars Hill and other
older, single-family homes. Some houses areas in the city, Cathy Burton, president of
are well-maintained; many are not. the Marion County Alliance of
Abandoned properties are common. The Neighborhood Associations, sees reason to
potholes are so bad that driving is a
hope for a revival of more neighborhoods.
jarring, rim-rattling experience.
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Rows of industrial plants add dreariness to
the landscape. Blasting at the Kentucky
Avenue Mine unleashes noise, shaking and
dust.
"It's just like an earthquake," said Willie
Mae Cooley, a Maywood resident for nearly
50 years. "It moves the pictures on the wall
and moves things on the mantle. You kind
of have to make sure that nothing is on the
edge of the shelf."
She's concerned that a planned expansion
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Residents are beginning to care about their
neighborhoods again and show it. People,
she said, are looking for an anchor in rough
economic times. They're looking for
something they can control and change.
"For several years, there was kind of a
feeling of almost helplessness," she said.
"We have to believe that (neighborhoods)
will improve. We have to."
Call Star reporter Erika D. Smith at (317)
444-6424.
Related Links
Near-Southside area has seen better days
Beyond the Big Game: What's after the Super
Bowl?
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