Just a quick reminder – there’s a meeting tomorrow at Catablu on Broadway at Noon. Â The meeting concerns redevelopment of Broadway and is known as “The Broadway Corridor Project.” Â The meeting is aimed at property owners and businesses along Broadway.
Article on the WANE-15 website:
Big plans for Downtown’s Broadway
Report by Matt McCutcheon, WANE.[…] A group of about half-a-dozen business owners along Broadway wants to transform the main artery into a major downtown attraction. Sidewalk construction that’s already taking place could soon just be the tip of the iceberg.
[…] That’s why members of “The Broadway Corridor Project” want to transform the area into a village like Broad Ripple in Indianapolis.
[…] Several parts of Broadway have already been redeveloped over the years. A prime example of that is the Catablu Restaurant. It was an X-rated movie theatre in the mid-1980s… ordered to be closed down by a federal judgment. Now it’s a five-star restaurant, celebrating 10-years of business.
“It was a lot to get open! We had to do a huge renovation. When we walked in 10 years ago, we looked up and we saw the sky,” said Catablu creator Maureen Catalogna.
Catalogna and her husband rebuilt the building, while building a successful business.
They believe the historic nature of Broadway is one of its prime assets.
“There’s so much that can be done because there’s great architecture on this street,” said Catalogna.
[…] “With the baseball stadium and the condos and the retail development, the time is finally here that Broadway will get the boost that it needs,” said Schaper.
“This is a perfect compliment to be able to expand the concept of urban living. We really need that kind of grassroots private enterprise to kind of get the initiative rolling and then have the city try to help to get together, help organize it, and try to be a good partner,” said City Council Member Tim Pape.
[…]Â “I don’t expect to see Broadway turning into a glittering gateway within six months, but I certainly think that with 24 to 36 months, that the whole character and tone and perception of Broadway will transform dramatically,” [Steve] Shine said.
[…] What happens at that meeting could determine a variety of things, such as who will be involved, the city’s involvement in the private partnership, and what’s needed to redevelop the area.
Related website:
Broadripple Village in Indianapolis
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Stephen: Two of my children have owned homes in the Broadripple area in Indi – one has purchased her second home there and the other has moved to Fishers. I checked with them when the planned meeting of the business people along our Broadway was announced. I wanted to know if and how the city development department in Indi had been involved with what they have done with their “downtown area”.
My son checked with business owners for me , asking about this, and the answer was “very little involvement” – they responded that the city did, at their request, do some improvements to the infrastructure – sidewalks, street repairs et al , but the city was not involved with financing of facade inprovements, tax abatements for improvements or direction of their activities. They also indicated that they are happy with the way things have turned out – all owners accomplished those things that they could justify WITHOUT being a burden to the taxpayers. The comment was made that if it could not be justified, it was best not done – they attributed the long-term success of their area to adherance to this principle.
My son also indicated that the main reason for the results was because of the unused Monon railroad right-of-way had been donated by the railroad to the city(or county) and the interest of the shop owners in improving the physical appearance of the neighborhood – “keep it clean- don’t allow broken windows to exist – et al”
If the Broadway business owners can avoid dependance on our redevelopment department, I feel they will do fine, and return Broadway to it’s old glory.
Hi John,
Sounds a bit like what were seeing in the Wells Street Corridor with the newly announced WAM! Judi Wire and the crew have some great plans for that area and seem to be all about seeing them to fruition.
I have never been to Broadripple in Indianapolis. I’d be curious to know how long the stretch is and how it compares to Ft Wayne. Also, how much area they are going to include in the project. Thing about the area is there’s a lot of residential mixed in with the commercial so it would be interesting to see how that compares.
Maybe I need to take a roadtrip to Indy? Anyone want to ride along? Seriously, I’m going to try to attend tomorrow. Not sure if they’ll let me in as I’m not a property or business owner, but I’m betting they’ll be glad to have the coverage. I’ll try to report tomorrow afternoon or evening.
Thanks for your comments, John!
Stephen: Sorry-I thought most everyone in our town was acquainted with Broad Ripple.
It’s an approximate 10 square block area centered at Broad Ripple Blvd. and North College Ave. surrounded by a residential area(THE place for young adults to live in Indi!). The residential area is on the SE, South & SW sides of the business area, with Broad Ripple Park (which includes a large, fenced doggie park) – with a U-bend in the White River on the North side and one of the old canals on the West side. Butler University lies just Southwest of this area. The old Monon Line railroad tracks, including bridges over the river and main streets runs from N-NW to S-SE through Broad Ripple and has been converted to the Monon Trail, a walking, running, in-line skate, bicycle, et al path open to all – and well used.
I would be happy to take you along for a visit sometime when I go to see my kids.
Hi John,
Yes, I would enjoy visiting the area! I’ve not explored a lot of Indy.
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the meeting this morning. I couldn’t get going this morning – still dealing with some leftover stuff from the accident. I am going to try to find out a bit more about the project though and will report here on the blog.
Thanks for your comments and the info!
Stephen