My latest just went up at Urban Indy. It focuses on the CityWay mixed-used development in downtown Indianapolis, which includes a few hundred apartments, multiple restaurants, a hotel, and a multi-level YMCA.
That’s phase one, at least. Now the developer is embarking on Phase Two, which will double the apartment units (to nearly 500), add some office space, more parking in a garage, an office building, and a relocated historic livery stable that the team hopes will serve as a fashionable retail/restaurant.
It’s great to see more density and mixed-use, but this time around, the retail proposal is somewhat lacking–all the more disappointing because so much of this phase sits along the Cultural Trail, Indy’s premier grade-separated, urban cycle/pedestrian path. But it’s probably just as much a financial decision as it is an urban design and aesthetic shortcoming, and while the developer of CityWay clearly has to build a model that works from a financing standpoint, it still means a long-term blight on the streetscape in a city that has more than its share. But there could still be clever solutions amidst the dross! Here’s hoping…tune in to Urban Indy and see what might be in store.
