Indianapolis, IN
Plan to fund purchase of Broad Ripple Family Center upsets Midtown leaders
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Midtown community leaders are upset with a plan to use money from the Midtown Tax Increment Finance District to fund the city’s purchase of the Broad Ripple Community Center.
Michael McKillip, executive director of Midtown Indy, says the plan was not done in good faith with the community leaders, who helped to create the tax-increment finance district.
TIF districts are typically used in Indiana redirect all tax dollars for the redevelopment of an area.
McKillip says the original purpose of the Midtown district was to use the money collected for needs that the community identifies. The Midtown TIF District has been active for 11 years.
“The community has worked to bring grocery stores to food deserts, to support health care opportunities, to support infrastructure gaps and socioeconomic dividing lines like 38th Street,” McKillip said Tuesday. “And if this proposal moves forward, it will be siphoned out and not available for any of those other community outcomes.”
Instead, the city is trying to spend $26 million to purchase the Broad Ripple Family Center before it has to start paying $1 million a year in rent on the facility.
McKillip says the city wants to use $22 million from the TIF. The district will only exist for 25 years, so, he says, buying the family center will dry up a lot of resources that community leaders earmarked for other projects.
“None of the residents or neighborhoods are opposed to the city acquiring the Broad Ripple Family Center,” McKillip said. “The frustration comes when, after three years of understanding the obligation, it solicited itself to buy the Broad Ripple Family Center, that the determination was we don’t have another solution. We’re going to take your money.”
Community leaders say the money would be better spent to redevelop 38th Street to make it a safer area to walk, bike and drive.
McKillip said, “38th Street has three of the region’s 50 most dangerous intersections. If you walk or bike 38th Street, you will not find one intersection with pedestrian infrastructure that is fully functional.”
McKillip says the model where money is spent in Broad Ripple and then additional money is spent in another area of Midtown to help Broad Ripple development has worked in the past.
“Well, the very first TIF bond issued demonstrated the model for how this TIF was supposed to work,” McKillip said. “About $5 million went to a grocery store and multifamily housing project in Broad Ripple called the Coil, and $1 million was spun off that project and came across the street to Tarkington Park.”
This proposal was before the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee on Monday but was tabled until the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
No one from the council was available Tuesday to comment on this story.
Midtown leaders have been encouraging community members to contact their city councilors if they have opinions on the spending.
An innovative technology company that enhances sound at live sporting events is looking to grow its operations in Indiana.
Valtteri Salomaki, co-founder and CEO of EDGE Sound Research, says his company is building end-to-end audio infrastructure that allows users to control how they hear live events. The new technology, he says, lets users enjoy real-world experiences through heightened sound.
Salomaki says the technology can be used at concerts, live sporting events, and at home. EDGE Sound Research works with sound from capture to reproduction. Salomaki calls it “a new way to create sound.”
The new technology also allows the user to turn materials, like walls, couches, or seat cushions, into sound by manipulating vibrations. Once the hardware is attached to a material, the user can hear sound coming from it. Salomaki says this will allow event-goers to “feel what the performer feels.”
Salomaki brought his idea to the Rally Innovation Conference pitch competition last year and walked away with a cash prize that allowed him to expand his research and development and create a new partnership with the Indiana Pacers.
Initially, he was just looking to network and share how his product could impact the Indiana economy, but Salomaki says the Rally Innovation Conference was crucial to the growth of his business. Since then, he has been able to create new partnerships and is now focused on building out the commercial arm of his business in Indiana.
INDIANAPOLIS — A celebration of Black LGBTQ+ pride was on full display on Monument Circle Saturday.
The BLQ+ Pride fest brought out hundreds of people as an opportunity to celebrate people of color who identify as LGBTQ+.
The celebration had vendors, queer health support organizations and entertainment.
WRTV
According to the Human Rights campaign, over 80 percent of black LGBTQ+ youth say they have experienced homophobia or transphobia in the black community.
Organizers hope the event serves as a reminder to queer people of color that they have a community in the city of Indianapolis.
WRTV
“Black pride is important because black LGBTQ people need safe spaces to feel loved and celebrated in the State of Indiana,” President of Indiana Pride of Color Belinda Drake said.
The Human Rights campaign also says that racism is an issue in the LGBTQ+ community.
Nearly 75 percent of black queer youth say they have experienced racism in the queer community.
Indiana Pride of Color is working to improve the quality of life for Indiana LGBTQ+ BIPOC communities.
Learn more about the Indiana Pride of Color organization, here.
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — After a five-year hiatus, the BLQ+ Pride Summer Fest event was held on Monument Circle on Saturday.
The event featured several shopping, entertainment, and eating opportunities.
“They are doing testing, we have food vendors, we have alcohol for the adults, we have folks who are selling merchandise,” said Belinda Drake, president of Indiana Pride of Color. “We have the ice cone shop for the kiddos, too.”
The day is created to honor and celebrate Black, Queer joy in the city and state overall.
One of the vendors who came out to sell items and celebrate alongside the community is Nakeya Harris, the owner of Meraki Mobile Boutique. Her shop carries women’s clothing items, with a specific focus on statement items with bright colors. She also carries jewelry and additional staples.
“I enjoy people expressing themselves and being free, so I wanted to be a part of that,” Harris said.
Local LifeJourney Church was also in attendance at the event. They aim to extend a safe space for worship to anyone interested.
“Today we are trying to reach out to communities of color and just say we have a welcoming space where people can come and be themselves
Though it is the first event of its kind since 2019, the Summer Fest is set to return to Monument Circle next year, and for many years to come.
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