MAY 13-19, 2022
The owners of the Willows Event Center, tucked into a White River oxbow just north of Broad Ripple, want to redevelop the site with more than 250 apartments and town houses. Mickey Shuey reports on the tidal wave of opposition to the project from prominent and well-heeled local residents who fear the project is too big and could exacerbate traffic hazards along a tricky portion of Westfield Boulevard. Also in this week’s issue, Dave Lindquist outlines a new program encouraging Indianapolis employers to pay workers at least $18 per hour, based on the theory that higher wages will result in lower staff turnover and higher productivity. And we honor the city’s top physicians, researchers, volunteers and community health providers in IBJ’s annual Health Care Heroes awards program.
Front PageBack to Top
Neighbors fight dense White River development near Broad Ripple
The siblings who own soon-to-close Willows Event Center on Spirit Lake want to redevelop the site into more than 250 apartments and town houses.
Read MoreElectric vehicle commission is setting stage for industry growth in state
Members are conducting research on everything from the capabilities of Indiana’s current auto manufacturers to potential opportunities for research and development within the EV product industry.
Read MoreTop StoriesBack to Top
$18 starting wage touted to employers as a big plus
The Indianapolis Airport Authority, National Bank of Indianapolis and Mays Chemical Co. are three of 24 local employers participating in the Good Wages Initiative launched April 25 by not-for-profit EmployIndy.
Read More
Indy hosts summer-long NBA 2K League esports season
The league wants to draw fans to its studio inside Pan Am Pavilion to watch the games and engage with players, whose teams are mostly associated with NBA franchises.
Read More
Q&A: Cooking school for kids opening second location
In 2015, Stephanie Drewry launched a children’s cooking school in her home, with the vision of eventually opening a brick-and-mortar location. Two years later, she opened Sprouts Cooking School in Carmel. A second location is on the way.
Read More
Mike Lopresti: Newest Colts players bring interesting backstories
The new wave always reflects the hope of spring, so best to get to know the fresh faces, and not just for their statistics or 40 times or spot on the depth chart.
Read More
Local developer plans new headquarters, restaurant in Broad Ripple
Avenue Development plans to construct a four-story office structure in the middle of the 6500 block of Cornell Avenue, directly west of the Monon Trail. The building would include a first-floor restaurant from a well-known local operator.
Read More
Equestrian exhibition center, high-end home development proposed in Westfield
Plans for the development include a 69-acre equestrian exhibition center and 25 or so custom home lots priced at $1.2 million and up.
Read More
Apartments added to hotel proposal on south side of downtown
The development team behind a hotel planned for a parcel across from Shapiro’s Delicatessen in downtown Indianapolis is adding about 60 apartments to the mix, as well as a rooftop restaurant.
Read More
Duke Realty rejects $24B Prologis acquisition bid, deeming it ‘insufficient’
Prologis, one of the world’s largest real estate investment trusts, said it has been trying to acquire Indianapolis-based Duke since November. Duke said in a written statement issued Wednesday that those buyout efforts simply haven’t been good enough.
Read More
UIndy’s Robert Manuel named president of DePaul University
DePaul University’s board unanimously voted to select Manuel, 54, at a meeting on April 21 but the decision was not announced until Tuesday. The school said it picked Manuel after “an extensive national search.”
Read MoreFormer Merrill Lynch broker Buck ordered to pay $7.5M in damages to former client
Thomas Buck built a reputation as one of the state’s top financial advisers before being sentenced to prison for securities fraud in 2019.
Read MoreFocusBack to Top
Westfield firm gives farmers a drone’s eye view of crops
Taranis is part of a new but rapidly growing industry offering agricultural mapping services and the ability to monitor vast swaths of cropland in minute detail, helping landowners maximize yields.
Read MoreJohn Emanuele: How to make the most of agricultural research, patents
Agricultural innovations may be protected for limited periods by one or more sets of intellectual property laws.
Read MoreAg-tech company Solinftec working to launch farm-field robot
Brazil-based Solinftec has had operations in West Lafayette since 2019. The company is now working to launch a robot that would continuously roam agricultural fields and collect information farmers can use to improve their operations.
Read MoreOpinionBack to Top
Editorial: Kudos to two excellent leaders moving on to new adventures
Ryan Vaughn is leaving the Indiana Sports Corp. for a job in the private sector, while DePaul University in Chicago has hired away University of Indianapolis President Robert Manuel.
Read MoreLesley Weidenbener: Real estate tops coverage priorities
Statistics show the IBJ readers are intensely interested in real estate, so the newsroom has reporters who spend considerable time covering the residential market, retail projects and commercial development.
Read MoreTodd Rokita: Expanding liberty, empowering families key to economy
Hoosiers understand that strong families are the foundational building blocks of any free society.
Read MoreJenny Boyts: Indy Pride is committed to collaboration, healing
While Indy Pride continues to build relationships rooted in collaboration during this Pride season and beyond, we remain steadfast in our commitment to continue fighting for the safety and security of marginalized communities and those actively fighting against police brutality.
Read MoreSamantha Julka: Returning to work? Your office needs a refresh.
It’s not appropriate for people to return to a workspace that hasn’t changed since March 2020.
Read MoreMickey Kim: Rising rates: How it happened—and why
Low interest rates spur economic growth by making it cheaper to borrow and spend. Conversely, higher rates can slow an overheating, inflationary economy.
Read MoreCecil Bohanon & Nick Curott: Remnant Trust among Indy’s hidden treasures
Founded in 1997, the trust owns and maintains a collection of over 1,500 first or early editions of great books and manuscripts, mostly published before 1900.
Read MoreLetters: Council doesn’t deserve raises funded by taxpayers
IBJ editorial writers missed the point of my argument on pay increases for the Indianapolis City-County Council [“Editorial: It’s time to allow a pay hike for city-county councilors,” May 6]. They should listen to my shows on WIBC and not base an editorial on one tweet. This is the fourth time in seven years that […]
Read MoreLetters: Law will lower utility bill taxes
At a time when costs are increasing across the board, Hoosiers will soon benefit from the elimination of a special tax on utility bills. The repeal means monthly savings for all customers beginning July 1. The Utility Receipts Tax and Utility Services Tax is currently a 1.46% addition to energy bills based on usage. The […]
Read MoreLetters: Keep running columns by Shabazz
I enjoy and appreciate Abdul-Hakim Shabazz columns in IBJ. I hope you keep asking him to write on future topics. In previous IBJ columns, he has referred to the story about “a mighty thin pancake that don’t have two sides” [“Abdul-Hakim Shabazz: A resolution for 2022—keep an open mind,” Forefront, Jan. 14]. That tells us […]
Read MoreIn BriefBack to Top
Indiana Sports Corp. leader Vaughn leaving job for private sector
Ryan Vaughn, who has led the Indiana Sports Corp. since 2014, plans to resign from his role as president on July 1. There has been speculation that Vaughn might someday run for mayor.
Read MoreNursing home operator dropping eight Indiana locations, including Indy facility
A Warsaw-based nursing home operator plans to terminate its operating leases at eight Indiana locations—including one in Indianapolis—affecting nearly 700 employees.
Read More
Ascension St. Vincent to build small hospital near Purdue
The Indianapolis-based health system said the new hospital will bring inpatient and emergency care into the city of West Lafayette for the first time.
Read More
MDC rejects rezoning effort for $40M residential project on city’s south side
The city’s Metropolitan Development Commission on Wednesday voted 6-0 against a recommendation for Homestead Development LLC’s rezoning request for 13.6 acres at 7525 McFarland Blvd. for more than 300 residential units.
Read MoreIndyGo partners with Via Transportation on accessible ride-share pilot
New York City-based Via Transportation Inc., which last year pulled out of the ride-hailing industry to focus on public transportation services, will lead the program.
Read MoreForefrontBack to Top
Rep. Todd Huston: Status quo won’t fix state’s hospital cost crisis
The lack of urgency in addressing high hospital prices in Indiana by the vast majority of not-for-profit hospitals is intolerable.
Read MoreDennis Murphy: Solving problem takes providers, insurers, policymakers
IU Health has committed to align our pricing with national averages for commercial insurance by Jan. 1, 2025, generating more than $1 billion in savings to patients and payers.
Read MoreGloria Sachdev: Study shows it’s time to act on health care prices
Indiana prices are higher than those of all our neighboring states.
Read MoreDana Black: We can’t sit by while we’re stripped of basic rights
What is certain is that silence and complacency are not an option for those of us in the struggle for all people.
Read MoreDeborah Daniels: Being senator doesn’t qualify you for the presidency
Today’s Senate is not the great deliberative body of past reputation.
Read MoreRep. Ed DeLaney: Democrats need to ‘pound the table’ to improve state
[The supermajority] is always in need of someone to attack. The tactic is clear: Create an enemy, attack it.
Read MoreJennifer Wagner Chartier: It’s high time to end slating
Marion County has been trending Democratic for some time, which means many of our primary elections are actually general elections.
Read MoreMarshawn Wolley: Slating, if it lives on, must be changed
Whatever the brave new world is shouldn’t undermine candidates who lack means and connections in the process.
Read MoreDr. Richard Feldman: Schools should join Juul suit to recoup expenses
The company deliberately and methodically deployed a multifaceted plan to addict a generation of adolescents to nicotine.
Read MoreAbdul-Hakim Shabazz: There are jobs to fill. Give immigrants a chance.
We need to make it easier for immigrants to come here and get the jobs the rest of us are not going to do.
Read MoreShariq Siddiqui: We must protect philanthropic organizations to thrive
Not-for-profits play an important part in our economic and social fabric.
Read MoreCurt Smith: ILADD makes a difference in lives of disabled adults
The need is great, and the demographics of this population suggest housing needs will only grow for those able to live independently.
Read MoreBrian Schutt: Dynamism starts at home
While not all kids will become founders, the entrepreneurial mindset … is an essential element for their contribution in whatever vocation they pursue.
Read MoreClaire Fiddian-Green: Here’s how to improve state’s education outcomes
Our top two priorities should be strengthening Indiana’s teacher preparation programs and enrolling more high school graduates in post-secondary education.
Read MoreBrad Rateike: If you’re going to be a mentor, do so with candor
Tough love, if administered with true ‘love,’ is often the best way to deliver advice that might (or might not) take root.
Read MoreWhitley Yates: How to avoid commodifying color
You can have diversity programs to intentionally increase representation without leaving a group of people feeling misused.
Read MoreKaren Celestino-Horseman: Context is everything on social media
Lack of context is the problem with Twitter and any other social media platform that limits the number of characters that can be used.
Read MoreSpecial SectionsBack to Top
2022 Health Care Heroes: Unit’s care goes beyond treating illness
In August, a team of Riley physicians, advanced practice providers and nurses began making plans to provide care to hundreds of minor refugees after their families evacuated Afghanistan to escape the Taliban’s takeover of the country. But their care went beyond treating illnesses.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Organization helps Indiana inmates reenter communities
The CareSource Reentry Program takes a case-management approach, in which CareSource criminal justice liaisons begin working with offenders while they’re still in prison (60-90 days before release) by conducting classes to educate them on the Healthy Indiana Plan.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Indiana-based autism therapy center serves thousands
Kim Strunk started Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers in Kokomo in 2005.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Platform helps clinicians tailor therapy
Dr. Don Brown started LifeOmic in 2016. The company’s product, the Precision Health Cloud, is used by IU Health’s Precision Genomics Program to improve molecular tumor diagnostics.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Program allows sick patients to finish recovery at home
IU Health launched the Hospital at Home program and offered it as an option to stabilized COVID-19 patients in order to open beds for sicker patients.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: FDA-approved drug lights up ovarian cancer during surgery
Philip Low, founder of On Target Laboratories and Purdue University’s presidential scholar for drug discovery, invented Cytalux.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Doctor found testicular cancer cure
Dr. Lawrence Einhorn is credited for revolutionizing testicular cancer treatment in the 1970s, leading to a 95% cure rate today.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Doctor battled cancer while preventing COVID spread
Dr. John Christenson battled cancer while leading Riley’s work to prevent the spread of COVID.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Family doctor continues to treat patients in hometown
Dr. John Woodall began practicing family medicine in Anderson, his hometown, after leaving the Air Force in 1972.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Director led city’s pandemic response
Monica Heltz is the public health director for the city of Fishers, which launched its own public health department during the pandemic.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: IU professor studies HIV, Hepatitis C prevention
Greg Carter works under the umbrella of harm reduction; much of his research has focused on identifying barriers to HIV screening and creating community-based HIV prevention interventions.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Psychologist’s work with vets improves their quality of life
Scott Janke treats veterans who have entered the Indianapolis Veterans Treatment Court, which provides help to veterans involved in the criminal justice system who are dealing with addiction, mental illnesses and injuries.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Volunteer aims to hit 10,000 hours
Sally Freeman greets surgical services patients, takes them to the pre-op area, directs families to post-op after their loved one is out of surgery, and helps keep the waiting rooms neat and tidy.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Chair helped to consolidate IU foundations
Anne Nobles was an early champion for integrating individual fundraising entities at 16 IU Health hospitals into the singular IU Health Foundation, which launched in 2018.
Read More2022 Health Care Heroes: Pair serves as ‘backbone’ of Eskenazi volunteer effort
Cynthia Chowning and Jonita Shaw have more than 400 hours of volunteer time with Eskenazi Health.
Read More