Indianapolis' eastside revitalization
I live on Indy's east side and have been interested in the redevelopment and revitalization of the area for a long time. The area is rich in history and has long been a destination for the blue collar worker in this area. Here is a link to a good article that appeared in the "Indy Star".
In recent years, the area has witnessed a major decline in population and many of the properties are not generating any tax monies; they sit boarded and abandoned. Washington Street, a major thoroughfare for this area has experienced businesses closing their doors and moving to the strip malls.
With the announcement of the 2012 Super Bowl coming to Indianapolis and the planned practice facility at Tech High School comes renewed hope that the neighborhoods east of downtown will once again be a place that offers safe and affordable housing.
It is going to take more than improving the area's infrastructure to bring this area back; it is going to take a massive effort from our IMPD to rid the area of the mostly drug related crime that has ravaged the area. It is going to take investors and private citizens to have a vision for what the area once was and can become again. It is going to take businesses to want to move back to the area to give the area residents a reason to stay and spend their money. It is going to take a visionary to develop Sherman Park (the old RCA plant) to attract commercial / industrial business back to the area to give the residents a place to work.
Count me as being on-board for the neighborhoods.