When we were in Naples (FL, not IT) back last spring, we found a real, honest-to-God New York deli up north between Vanderbilt Beach Road and Immokalee Road. It was in a relatively new development that included shopping, offices, and condominums all together in the same buildings: The Mercato.
Comes now Instapundit pointing to a PJ Media article about a similar development in San Jose.
This is what is missing from most if not all of the recent condo developments in downtown Indy. I remember telling Sally when we drove through the Mercato that I could live in a place like that very easily. And there have been times when I have said I’d love to live in Downtown Indianapolis except for the fact that they roll the streets up at night most of the time, unless there’s a Pacers game (not this year) or a Colts game. Or maybe an Indians game.
The northwest corner of Downtown is just crying out for this sort of development, but all you fucking developers are building are condos with no amenities. And all the city is building is crap like the Heritage Trail (biggest waste of millions of dollars I’ve seen downtown in years). Why not build living and working communities, instead?
Oh…and make it affordable, OK? Much as I’d love to live there, I can’t actually afford to buy in the Mercato.
2 Replies to “The future…of Downtown Indianapolis? Could we be so lucky? (Nahh.)”
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I like the fine dining places downtown. However, I could never see living there. We’re talking about an area that I think only has one grocery store. And you’re complaining that it doesn’t have a New York Deli?
I’m sorry, but I’ve seen downtown, and it’s a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. And I’m not sure how much longer it will be a nice place to visit.
Having seen what I have of downtown, I’ll happily continue living here in the wide spot in the road where Ponderosa is still the best steak place in town.
No, sorry Dave, but you missed the point of the post. I’m saying that in order to draw people downtown to live, they need this kind of development. You can’t just build condos and hope people will move downtown. You need the rest of the community infrastructure to make that work — including gas stations, grocery stores, and little shops like we have out here in the suburbs (maybe including, hmm, a New York deli — which Shapiro’s ain’t). To date, nobody seems to want to do that except in little enclaves like Fountain Square and Mass Ave. Everything else is just, wow, here’s a bunch of overpriced condos and townhouses, why aren’t people moving downtown?
I would live downtown if downtown was what downtown used to be. In which case it would be worth living down there.