$20M overhaul eyed for downtown Indianapolis mall
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A planned $20 million renovation of Circle Centre mall in downtown Indianapolis aims to modernize its look and add nonretail uses, including a potential residential tower.
The 20-year-old mall is managed by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group and has leased space to tenants such as Brown Mackie College and The Indianapolis Star newspaper to fill vacant areas.
Simon officials are looking "very seriously" at adding apartments or condos to the mall, either in the existing shell or as an addition to the two-square-block complex, but a decision hasn't been made, the company's president of U.S. malls, David Contis, told the Star.
Other possible aspects of the overhaul include adding and improving entrances to better draw in passers-by, new lighting and seating and upgrading the food court and restrooms.
Sherry Seiwert, president of the Downtown Indy promotion group, told the Indianapolis Business Journal that the plans could boost the mall's appeal to the downtown area's growing residential population.
"Maintaining and increasing retail density in our downtown remains a priority for us, so we are encouraged by Simon's plans for continued investment," she said.
The plan has yet to be approved by the mall's owners, a group of 19 businesses that invested in the project in the early 1990s.
A review of Simon's plan by Circle Centre Partners LP looks "very positive," and a decision on going ahead with the renovation will be made shortly, said Susan Ridlen, assistant treasurer at drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co., one of the mall partners.
The city might be asked to pay some of the renovation cost, although a request hasn't been made, Contis said. It is likely city officials wouldn't make a decision until after a new mayor is elected in November.
Circle Centre had an occupancy rate of 89.5 percent in 2014, with 96 stores and other tenants. Its biggest retail loss came when upscale department store Nordstrom closed its anchor store in 2011, leaving parts of three floors vacant on the southern end of the mall. Simon leased much of that space last year to the Star and its parent company Gannett, which moved about 800 employees into the mall.
Contis said improvements to the street-level entrances will make the mall more appealing to convention goers and other city visitors.
"Remember, half the customers who shop Circle Centre aren't from Indianapolis," he said. "In many cases, you walk right by it, and you don't even know there is a retail facility there."