Fate of 101 acres: blight or rebirth 2.26.11

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

It's large. It's near the city's center. And it could quickly become an eyesore unless the city intervenes.
So it was encouraging to hear Mayor Greg Ballard in his State of the City speech Thursday address plans for the 101-acre site where the General Motors stamping plant now operates.
Even more encouraging is Ballard's choice of former mayor William Hudnut to lead a commission that will study ideas for redeveloping the property. General Motors is scheduled to shut down the stamping plant in June, an outcome that not only would eliminate hundreds of jobs but also could spread urban decay through an entire area of the city.
Hudnut, who served Indianapolis as mayor from 1976 to 1992, has led similar redevelopment studies in about 15 cities. He'll work here with the Urban Land Institute, where he has served as a senior fellow.
The commission's work this summer will be critically important for two reasons. One, the size of the plant site will make it a magnet either for urban blight or rebirth. Two, if successful, the redevelopment plan could serve as a model for other neglected neighborhoods in the city.
To achieve that success, the commission will need not only the city's support but also the community's backing. Residents, business owners and others who have a stake in the area's redevelopment need to be actively involved in submitting and helping sort through ideas for the site.
The city also will need to help find money to pull off whatever plan that emerges from the commission's work.
Finally, the effort needs to be separated from the partisan politics that will intensify as mayoral and City-County Council elections draw closer this year. Whoever wins the mayor's office in November, whether Ballard or likely Democratic challenger Melina Kennedy, will need to follow through on the study commission's recommendations. So too must the council, regardless of which party is in charge after November.
Redeveloping Indy's urban core isn't a Democratic or Republican affair. It needs to be a priority for everyone who calls Indianapolis home.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110226/OPINION08/102260313/-1/7daysarchives/Fate-101-acres-blight-rebirth