INDIANAPOLIS — Circle Centre Mall in downtown Indianapolis will take on a new look in the future after the sale of the property to Wisconsin-based Hendricks Commercial Properties.
The company, which also handled the Bottleworks District redevelopment, will begin plans to revitalize and reshape the future of the mall.
“30-years-ago, Circle Centre Mall defined Downtown Indianapolis as we know it to be,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said. “The opportunity to reimagine Circle Centre, which sits on more than two city blocks at the heart of our community, represents a monumental transformation, and continues our commitment to strengthening the economic and cultural core of our state."
Once an agreement is finalized, the city, IEDC and Hendricks will work collaboratively to determine the scope of the redevelopment. Those plans will be subject to all State and City approvals to ensure the project meets all applicable requirements.
"The reformation and transformation of downtown has already begun," Hogsett said. “It’s the single most important thing that has happened for our downtown during my tenure as mayor. I think that you’d have to go back to the early 90’s when the Circle Centre Mall first opened.”
Jenna Lee works at R&R Barbershop and Salon. She says foot traffic isn’t enough for businesses still there.
“It’s busier in the summer, but it has completely died off. No one really wants to shop at Circle Centre mall anymore. We don’t really have the large businesses,” Lee said.
President and CEO of Hendricks, Rob Gerbitz, says he’s waiting to finalize the deal, then get approval for construction.
Gerbitz says conversations with tenants will not be left behind. They can be moved to temporary locations throughout the construction process.
“We don’t want to impact any of these businesses if we don’t have to, but it’s going to take us 18 to 24-months,” Gerbitz said. “We want this to be a world class destination.”
