My latest is available now on UrbanIndy.com–about the possible loss of terrific retail space at the Barnes and Thornburg building. Though it’s probably only of local interest, I’ll mention it because of its opportunities for great photographs (provided I had a good camera and was a good photographer). Here’s the outside of this historic building:
And here are a few of the inside:
It’s a great space, fronting South Meridian Street in the heart of some of the city’s nightlife in the Wholesale District. It was last occupied by Borders Books, but closed a few months before the firm went out of business completely, meaning that it has been vacant for about 18 months. Yet the owners are now thinking of removing it from the lease and instead converting it into a giant lobby. Admittedly it’s an albatross for the owners while it remains unleased and dusty, but if it becomes nothing more than an elegant lobby, it is essentially common space for the building’s largest tenant: the Barnes and Thornburg law firm. And won’t this largely preclude the sort of street life that South Meridian Street has capitalized upon? I recognize that this may be something that the tenants in this building don’t want to encourage, but it begs a more critical question for the management: won’t this use shut it out of revenue generation permanently?
I urge commenters to offer their own thoughts and suggestions for an optimal use of the space at the Barnes and Thornburg. Read the full details on the Urban Indy website, thanks as always for reading, and comment wherever you like.
