8 INDIANAPOLIS REGIONAL CENTER PLAN 2020 PLANNING DOWNTOWN�fS FUTURE TODAY PLANNING PROCESS All workshops followed a similar five-day format A town meeting was held to gather stakeholder input to which property owners and businesses were invited through a mailing.  This meeting was followed by a day of key person interviews, where individuals or organizations with a special interest in or knowledge of the study area discussed their thoughts and answered questions with the workshop team.  Using the information gleaned from the town meeting and interviews, in addition to team observations, the workshop team developed several alternative concepts.   These concepts were presented back to the community on the final workshop day.  The entire workshop process was open to the public and the Regional Center Plan website was updated several times daily during the workshops. The workshop teams consisted primarily of architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning students and faculty from Ball State University's College of Architecture and Planning. City of Indianapolis planning staff participated and provided support, as did several local design professionals.  Each workshop was led by noted design professionals from outside the Indianapolis area in an effort to bring new ideas into the team mix.  Bruce Race, FAIA, AICP from Berkeley, California and David Lewis, FAIA, AICP, RIBA from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania led the South Urban Design Workshop.  David Lewis returned to lead the East Urban Design Workshop in September, and Scott Truex from Ball State and Chris Calott from the University of New Mexico led the Northwest Urban Design Workshop. Babe Denny neighborhood, historically a Jewish-American neighborhood which became an important African-American center, was severed from neighborhoods to the south and today has suffered with residential demolitions and scattered business or light industrial development.  The neighborhoods to the east, including the Fletcher Place and Fountain Square areas, suffered similar relocations, but have survived in much better condition.  Other neighborhoods have been replaced entirely by commercial or institutional uses. Vision 3: Futures Not long ago Americans lived fairly close to where they worked and shopped.  What was not within walking distance was a short trolley or bus ride away.  Today, unfortunately, much of this has been lost.  Without an automobile, getting to work or to pick up groceries is a very difficult task.  Modern ways of living not sustainable and this vision looks to build a demonstration district where future architecture, technologies and ecology blend to create a new mixed-use community.  The traditional city grid system is maintained, with streetscape elements reinforcing it.  Many of the historic industrial buildings to the west are redeveloped into loft apartments and a retail/entertainment district.   Expansion of the corporate campuses of Lilly and Anthem Insurance are planned for as well.   The vision also incorporates a new sports facility on the banks of the White River, building off of White River State Park and taking advantage of the historic steam plant across the railroad SOUTH URBAN DESIGN WORKSHOP Vision 1: Urban Corporate Campus The East Street corridor between I-70 and the railroad tracks leading into Union Station has witnessed a significant transformation as three major corporate facilities have either expanded or relocated to the area. One of Indianapolis' biggest success stories is that of Eli Lilly and Company, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.  Lilly has invested millions of dollars in the Regional Center in its physical facilities as well as millions more in jobs and other economic activity.  Lilly's decision to remain Downtown has undoubtedly played a significant part in the rejuvenation of the area In the 1990s, Farm Bureau Insurance purchased an old rubber factory and converted the building into its corporate facility on the east side of East Street just south of the railroad tracks.  Another insurance company, Anthem Insurance, built two L-shaped structures for its operations on land between East Street and Virginia Avenue. The millions of dollars of investment and countless dollars of total economic impact made by these corporations has been a tremendous asset for the area.  The physical design and layout of the corporate campus, however, has severed the street grid and produced a very suburban feel to the area.  While the security needs of the corporations, especially drugmaker Eli Lilly, are very understandable, this vision looked at ways to continue investment in corporate facilities while maintaining a public, open orientation and preserving the city street grid. Vision 2: Mixed-Use Heritage Much of the land in the study area was primarily residential prior to World War II, with single- family homes lining most of the streets south of the Union Station railroad line.  Businesses could be found in clusters at larger intersections and as you went north toward Downtown and industry was concentrated along the White River.  Middle-class neighborhoods thrived due to their proximity to Downtown, where a vast majority of all people worked.  During the early 1970s, I-70 forced the relocation of hundreds of families and had the unintended result of severing neighborhoods in half.  The Concept sketch from the Regional Center South Urban Design Workshop of a new River District Study areas of the Urban Design Workshops 65 70 65 70 2200�f 4400�f 0 South Northwest East