INDIANAPOLIS — Video Game Palooza and Hope Training Academy are among Circle Centre Mall's newest tenants, but they are not planning to go anywhere while the mall transitions into new ownership.
Hendricks Commercial Properties of Beloit, Wisconsin closed on its purchase of Circle Centre Mall on Thursday. The group, which also owns Bottleworks and Ironworks, is planning a $600 million renovation of Circle Centre.
"We've just seen some of the plans, and I think that their vision is just awesome," said Cara Barretto, who operates Video Game Palooza and Hope Training Academy alongside her husband Rick.
Video Game Palooza features games similar in age to Circle Centre itself, which opened in 1995. The money from the arcade goes to sister business Hope Training Academy, which trains kids for careers in science and technology.
"This is for the community, for our students, and from our hearts," Cara Barretto said.
Hendricks Commercial Properties CEO Rob Gerbitz said his plans for Circle Centre are also heartfelt.
He hopes to transform the mall into something resembling a neighborhood with the former L.S. Ayres department store building serving as the centerpiece.
"My goal is that L.S. Ayres will either be fully occupied or darn close to it by next year," Gerbitz said. "It's housing, office space, having people there all of the time."
Gerbitz said current tenants, such as Video Game Palooza and Hope Training Academy, will be able to stay through the renovations if they wish, even if the Circle Centre of the future looks far different from what Indianapolis is used to.
"The mall days are kind of over, certainly in a downtown like that," Gerbitz said.
