Source: PHOTO: WISH-TV
INDIANAPOLIS — Circle Centre Mall first opened in 1995 as a way to attract people back to downtown Indianapolis.
In a way, the city is facing the same problem today in the wake of the COVID pandemic, recent violence, and other problems that have kept more and more people away from the city.
Former deputy mayor John Krauss, who served under Bill Hudnut from 1982-1991, says the city can rely on Circle Centre Mall to do the same thing again, but in order to do that it needs to change with the times.
The mall was an idea of the Hudnut administration, but a recession in the mid-90s and trouble finding anchor tenants put the project years behind schedule. It would eventually be Hudnut’s successor Stephen Goldsmith who would follow through with the project to the end.
“If we didn’t do anything (back then), Indianapolis was going to be behind the dime and nobody would come here to invest in us,” said Krauss of the first idea of Circle Centre Mall. “It fit in with a pattern. But over time, you’ve got to change what you’re doing, and this looks like a good chance.”
On Wednesday it was announced that the mall was bought by the property management firm Hendricks. It is part of a public-private partnership with the city of Indianapolis to revamp the mall into a new mixed-use facility with shopping, restaurants, living space, and other uses.
In all, it’s a roughly $600 million investment between the two in future plans for the mall.
“I think it’s great,” Krauss said to WISH-TV. “Somebody has to come in with new ideas, fresh ideas, because the whole question is, ‘who is your customer and what does your customer want?’”
Krauss warns that the new investment in Circle Centre will only work if city leaders and Hendricks both understand what current customers’ needs are.
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Krauss: Circle Centre Can Serve Original Purpose Again With Revamp was originally published on wibc.com
