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Liz Durden, known in her community as “Miss Liz,” lived at Towne & Terrace townhome complex at 42nd Street and Post Road for 35 years. When the complex is completely demolished—a goal Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration wants to complete by early 2026—she said she will drive past whatever replaces the complex and say,” I used to live there, and it was a nice place.”
Demolition of eight more buildings in the 20-acre Towne & Terrace complex began on Monday with an official sendoff from city officials. One building previously had been razed. The current demolition project will leave 23 more buildings, which the city anticipates will be removed by spring 2026.
Towne & Terrace was built in the 1960s. Over decades, the complex fell into disrepair and became a hub for drug dealing and police calls for violence.
In clearing the site, the city is following a directive ordered by a receiver appointed by the Indiana Court of Appeals following a years-long legal battle and subsequent settlement between the city and Towne and Terrace Corp., the complex’s homeowners’ association.
Under the receiver’s order, the city was charged with acquiring the entirety of the complex, relocating its residents to new housing and carrying out a plan for demolition and redevelopment.
The city currently owns 239 of the 258 parcels at Towne and Terrace. Many of the remaining 19 parcels are vacant and have yet to be acquired from private owners.
The city has successfully relocated 100 households and continues to coordinate relocation with roughly 20 remaining households. The city expects full relocation for those households by the spring of 2025.
“I did not want to leave my home in Towne and Terrace at first, but the city’s relocation efforts have been a game changer for tenants and owners alike,” Durden said in a city media release. “They have significantly helped the community.”
In a previous interview with IBJ, Durden declined to say how much she received. But the city says it has paid as much as $157,000 for a resident’s unit, replacement housing costs and moving assistance.
With help from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the city has dedicated more than $14.4 million to the project. This includes total anticipated funding for property acquisition and demolition, relocation services, and maintenance.
The city’s Department of Business and Neighborhood Services awarded Denney Excavating, Inc. a $1.2 million contract for the demolition of eight buildings that began Monday.
The ultimate goal of the Hogsett administration is to redevelop the site in conjunction with the neighboring Oaktree Apartments site. In 2019, the city acquired the 300-unit Oaktree complex through eminent domain and razed the buildings.
City officials noted on Monday that crime in the Towne & Terrace area has decreased. For example, police runs decreased from 417 in 2020 to 240 total in 2023. As of Dec. 6, police had been dispatched to the complex 205 times in 2024.
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