Closing Time for Chatham Park? Yet Another (Probably Final) Hearing for the High-Quality Infill Development
Posted by Eric McAfee in Neighborhoods, New Development on Apr 27th, 2017 | 14 comments
I’ve covered the evolution of the Chatham Park proposal multiple times on this blog, so it might seem like overkill to feature it yet again. But it isn’t.
Why not? Because it hasn’t gone away. After multiple presentations before the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission (IHPC), it remains in an ambiguous state, neither approved nor disapproved. The IBJ covers the latest attempt thoroughly. And, after the early-April meeting, it remains tabled, awaiting further changes until it meets the IHPC’s standards. In the meantime, we all get to look at the withering old school building, which...
The Chatham Arch Question Gets an Answer
Posted by Eric McAfee in Neighborhoods, New Development on Jan 30th, 2017 | 34 comments
The time for Chatham Arch has arrived.
This Wednesday, February 1, at 5:30pm, on the second floor of the City-County Building, the Department of Metropolitan Development’s monthly agenda will include the applications for 855 N. East Street and 812 N. Park Avenue—the old Indianapolis Day Nursery Association building and more recently the home of the Todd Academy School. First announced by Kevin in November of last year, this is the same site upon which I wrote two lengthy articles called The Chatham Arch Question. Part I focused on the mismatch between historic preservation and density, showing...
The Chatham Arch Question, Part II: What Are the Consequences of Low Density Just a Mile from the Heart of Downtown?
Posted by Eric McAfee in Neighborhoods, New Development on Jan 11th, 2017 | 39 comments
In the first half of this two-part series I looked at the prevailing mentality articulated by some of the most influential members of the Chatham Arch neighborhood, evidenced by the Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association (CANA) and its near-unanimous opposition to the redevelopment of a long-vacant charter school site at 9th and East Streets, into a mix of townhomes, single-family, and apartments with retail. Essentially, CANA argued that this proposal’s density was out of synch with the character of the nationally-registered Chatham Arch historic neighborhood, which largely consists of modest...
The Case in Greenwood: Why America Deserves Its Retail Blight.
Posted by Eric McAfee in New Development on Nov 1st, 2015 | 32 comments
The local media thoroughly covered the City of Greenwood’s announcement that it had finally secured a developer for the site at the southeast corner of the I-65/County Line Road interchange—a tract where numerous proposals had come to light, most prominently featuring a Cabela’s. But, time and time again, none had materialized…part of the aftermath of the sour economy. Well, as of October 28, Gershman Partners announced its plans to develop the tract into over 700,000 square feet of retail.
The announcement did not include any primary anchor tenants, suggesting that at this point it remains a...
Kilroy’s Bar coming to Broad Ripple?
Posted by Curt Ailes in Neighborhoods on Aug 25th, 2011 | 40 comments
Have you ever heard of “bad development”? Have you ever heard a developer or commercial center utter the words, “We do not want more of this economic development”? Now you have, because this is exactly what the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) along with a host of partner organizations and citizens are saying; and with good reason.
The case of Kilroy’s trying to open a new bar in the Broad Ripple Village has popped up on the local radar from time to time over the past couple of months. They hope to take the place of the Cardinal Fitness located just to the west...
