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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowWorkers have been removing plywood from downtown buildings, the first step in returning the Mile Square to the sense of normalcy that has been missing since the pandemic put the nation in lockdown in mid-March.
Yet while making storefronts visible again might be reassuring, we urge city leaders—Mayor Joe Hogsett chief among them—not to fall back into the complacency that has been all too prevalent in recent years.
One mega-trend—millennials’ and empty-nesters’ desire to live in dense, walkable urban areas—has fueled a downtown apartment explosion over the past decade that masked serious and worsening problems, including the decline of Circle Centre, the rise in homelessness and growing concerns with safety and security.
The failure to fully tackle those issues left downtown more vulnerable as it weathered 2020’s one-two punch of COVID-19 followed by violence spurred by outrage over issues of inequality for Black Americans.
Neither the former nor the latter has easy answers. For example, no one can say for sure when Americans will become comfortable attending sporting events or conventions—to mention two of downtown’s once-seemingly bedrock industries—and the damage caused by generations of systemic racism won’t be swept away by the recent reckoning.
But it’s already clear that effective solutions require an intertwining of those two issues, including an increase in affordable housing downtown and additional capital and support to foster more Black-owned businesses and more Blacks on the boards and leadership teams of downtown organizations.
Unfortunately, the pain wrought by the pandemic isn’t going to abate anytime soon. Downtown has seen a rash of restaurant closings, and more are sure to shutter in coming weeks, as the gradual return of office workers fails to offset the absence of convention customers. Circle Centre’s corridors are largely empty, and some top hotels remain closed.
“We need to do everything we can to help our retailers. They are in dire need of revenue right now,” Sherry Seiwert, president of Downtown Indy, said June 18 at her not-for-profit’s annual State of Downtown presentation.
That’s quite a statement for the leader of an organization whose roots are in marketing and promotion. But it is to Downtown Indy’s credit that, even before the pandemic, it had begun convening stakeholders to tackle some of downtown’s most vexing problems, an effort it recently expanded to include downtown’s rebuilding and recovery.
Much less visible so far is how Hogsett plans to tackle these challenges. In the first year of his second term, the mayor has an opportunity to make rebuilding downtown in a way that’s economically inclusive his signature achievement in office.
We hope Hogsett rises to the occasion, but his failure to thrust himself to the fore on other key downtown issues give us cause for doubt. For instance, even though Circle Centre spans two blocks in the heart of downtown and was the cornerstone of downtown’s renaissance—he’s been largely silent on repositioning the 25-year-old property to thrive for another quarter-century.
The challenge he now faces is far more sweeping. Decades of downtown progress hang in the balance. It is in situations like these that true leaders must show their mettle.•
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To comment on this editorial, write to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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Considering that Joe Hogsett told all police agencies to stand down and let protesters do whatever they wanted, He should have to pay for all of the damage downtown. Its completely unacceptable for a mayor to stop law enforcement from keeping private property from getting destroyed, Its funny the city county building and Im sure Joe’s house was protected. Law abiding citizens were under curfew by this clown, while he not only allowed, but condoned the destruction throughout downtown. A federal level law enforcement official told me that Hogsett told all law enforcement to Let them have their day/days and not to do anything to stop them. What a complete joke of a mayor. I think he should be sued for all of the damage and removed from office.
Bryan, enough with the tin-foil hat conspiracy theories. If a so-called “federal level law enforcement official” told you such an allegation, you should have no problem posting the name and position of the individual, after all he or she does not work for local government, so they would face no repercussions. But, of course, it is always “somebody’s hairdresser’s cousin told me….” with people like you.
I’ll save everyone some time; the only thing Pothole and the Democrats are going to do about downtown, is to hold out their hand for money for the foreseeable future. At least their Judge established that panhandlers are not a problem, so we have that going for us.
The appointment of a committee is not the total answer. The Mayor, the Council and the Department of Metropolitan Development must take a leadership role. The future health of Indianapolis is at stake with the dramatic changes in retailing, in work patterns, the removal of Criminal Justice activities and support all having a negative impact.
mayor Hogsett and the City County are incapable of any level of leadership. Pandering to the Marxist BLM movement that destroyed the downtown area is right in line with Democrat mayors in other cities. The absolute lack of foresight and having a plan in place to prevent the destruction of downtown property should be enough reason to recall this mayor and demand an emergency election. If the Prosecutor does not want to prosecute the animals that performed the destruction, then he should at a minimum hold Hogsett culpable for aiding and abetting a terrorist group.
It has been over a month and this (m)ayor has said virtually nothing other than I didn’t tell the Police to stand down, which we know to be not true. Though he may not used the words “stand down” he did tell the Police to give the protesters room to relive the pressure. Well what about the BLM/ANTIFA terrorist? They obviously got the same room to destroy city.
Well done mayor, well done!
He did tell all law enforcement to stand down, this came from a federal level law enforcement official here in Indianapolis that I know personally. Hogsett is a liar and a joke. This city deserves better and needs to demand better.
Again, you should have no problem posting the name and position of the “federal level law enforcement official” that you “know personally.” Repeating unsubstantiated rumors is entirely unpersuasive.
Really. What did people expect? Other than the Marxist riots he preformed as expected. As far as standing down, the county Republicans stood down for Hogsett and didn’t support the Republican candidate. Get a real mayor.
Hogsett—Bad for Indianapolis.
Mayor Hogsett: we now have business re-opening crisis, riot linked vandalism, broken windows, and monument defacing, and two murders on Canal walk to compliment your dufus leadership!
Surely Hoosiers will not have to wait for your committee recommendations to salvage safety, civility, & property values! Our police force is up to the challenge of stronger enforcement on the streets if given sharp leadership. Get this going!
Excellent comments, all. ‘Good to see Hogsett’s feet being held to the fire.
Please share any numbers IBJ has that led to your conclusion of a “rise in homelessness” Anecdotally, people may find that hard to believe during a decade of economic expansion and historically low unemployment. If you have solid numbers, that would help. “Panhandling” on the other hand – often of the highly organized, professional type – seems to this 15 year downtown resident – to have BOOMED under Hogsett. It’s important as journalists that you make this distinction as a failure to do so fails the city AND those actually struggling with homelessness.
Good luck with this. It’s going to take 20 years for downtown to recover. Hogsett will be no help. He’s been a terrible mayor. He didn’t even really want a second term. In no sense is he a leader. It took decades to make downtown great and the envy of many other cities. Hogsett’s uselessness has allowed all those decades of efforts to be trashed in days. Indy should get rid of this idiot.
Chicken Little, is the sky still falling? First, there was civil unrest in just about every big city and even in many medium and small ones–this was a NATIONAL phenomenon. Second, coronavirus has had a far bigger impact on downtown and the local economy than a few nights of protests, and it is a GLOBAL phenomenon. Third, as a result of coronavirus, many people are still staying home or at the very least staying nearby, which impacts downtown especially, and this is a NATIONAL issue. No one thinks that all the efforts over the decades to (re)build downtown Indianapolis was “trashed in days,” except for hysterical people like you. Downtown will rebound once we as a nation get the coronavirus pandemic under control, and it will not take 20 years. Though, if people such as yourself refuse to address the real problem and participate in the solution, then it very well may take 20 years, or longer.
Civil unrest was not a phenomenon, it was very well orchestrated and funded Marxist revolution. Financed by some of the most wealth people in the world, to destroy western civilization, capitalism (except for the very wealthy), the nuclear family and destroy the local Police department to get centralized control at the federal or even global level. BLM/ANTIFA and the rest of the radical groups are just pawns in a sinister game.
This was not some snowflake millennial radicalized at the local university going downtown beating in window, start fires and looting business. These are hired professionally trained thugs for a specific outcome.
In Indianapolis it has worked you have a mayor who can’t lead himself out of a flaming bag of feces at odd with the local Police force and a city council who supports defunding the Police, while there is a slaughter (mostly young male Blacks) going on every night inside the Indianapolis murder corridor.
caller: my nephew has been shot and is dead
911: would you like to schedule an appointment with mental heath worker for the second Tuesday of never……………………..
Defund the Police is a recipe for anarchy.