Feature
16th Street project shows what Indy can do 6.20.11
INDIANAPOLIS STAR
A more prosperous Indianapolis begins with revitalizing our neighborhoods, creating jobs and making our city fully prepared to participate in the 21st-century economy.
This week I stood with members of the high-tech business community, our economic development professionals, and our Riverside and United Northwest Area neighbors to announce a truly transformative development.
Bush Stadium has been the subject of redevelopment efforts since the Indianapolis Indians moved to Victory Field 15 years ago. Sitting as a decaying reminder of its proud past, Bush Stadium is now poised to anchor a renaissance of urban living.
The stadium will be transformed into 118 apartments, and a brand new apartment complex with 132 additional units will be built on the site as a result of a $22 million investment. Additional land on the site will be set aside for the development of commercial space.
One of the most important benefits of the Bush Stadium redevelopment, moreover, is the placing of Bush Stadium back on the property tax rolls. The Bush Stadium apartments will mean hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to our city's budget, helping to keep our property and income taxes low.
Whether it is police or parks or our schools or our libraries, we need to find additional resources for our most crucial public services. With property taxes finally at a predictable and constant level, we need to keep them there for the benefit of residents and businesses.
Our city's continued economic success will depend on making Indianapolis' tax climate attractive to economic development and investment.
Everyone can see that we are investing in our neighborhoods at unprecedented levels through our RebuildIndy initiative.
So, at my direction, RebuildIndy is dedicating $3 million for a complete redesign of Indiana Avenue near the Bush Stadium site.
This money will create a signature avenue through some of our city's most historic neighborhoods, serving as a pedestrian-friendly gateway from both 10th and 16th streets.
Our investment in infrastructure will mean much more than new sidewalks and better roads. It will make areas such as Riverside and the United Northwest Area -- and so many others around Indianapolis -- more attractive to economic investment and job creation. And, as has been proven in cities around the United States, a revitalized neighborhood has a forceful impact on lowering crime.
Aside from the bravery of our law enforcement officers, nothing fights crime like robust economic development and job creation.
I've made it my mission to make Indianapolis as attractive as possible for job creation -- especially the job creation potential inherent in our new 16 Downtown Technology District.
Indianapolis is situated perfectly to be a destination city for high-technology enterprises and the jobs they create.
The 16 Downtown Technology District is surrounded by some of the world's finest medical and biotechnology facilities. The IU School of Medicine, the second largest in the country, is blocks away.
Indianapolis has twice the nation's average in bioscience jobs and is one of the nation's top four life sciences leaders, as defined by number and concentration of life sciences jobs.
The combined investment in new state-of-the art medical facilities in close proximity to 16 Downtown Technology District, which include Wishard Hospital and Indiana University's Neurosciences Center, is $874 million.
This is how it all comes together for Indianapolis. For the past three and a half years, we have neither tired nor wavered from our fight for the best economic deals for Marion County taxpayers.
We are competing well against cities across the nation in terms of new job commitments. We are demolishing eyesores like Keystone Towers in an effort to reduce urban blight, bring hope to neighborhoods, and put more properties, more businesses on the tax rolls.
We are taking empty parking lots, like the one being turned into the North of South development, and making them thriving centers for work and play. We have enlisted the help of former Mayor Bill Hudnut in our effort to find a suitable reuse for the GM stamping plant so that we don't bequeath the next generation a problem we could very well solve today.
Bush Stadium and its $22 million redevelopment is just the latest example of our vision for a revitalized Indianapolis. The 16 Downtown Technology District is just the latest example of what Indianapolis has to offer to the rest of the world. The Indiana Avenue streetscape is just the latest example of how we are investing in our neighborhoods like no other time in our city's history.
And, truly, we've only just begun. We must always be ready to innovate, to compete, and to win jobs for Indianapolis.
I’m honored to serve as Mayor of our great city. Every day I work to represent all the citizens of Marion County . . .