UrbanTimes ARCHIVES This document contains these stories from past issues of Urban Times (or its predecessor, The Lockerbie Letter): FROM JULY 2006: Page 2: IHPC favors plan to make Mass Ave an historic district Page 2: Metropolitan Development Commission vote makes it official. From July 2006: IHPC favors plan to make Mass Ave an historic district Commercial corridor to Final approval comes on June 21 be part of an updated HE CHATHAM ARCH AND TMassachusetts Avenue Area Historic Chatham Arch district, Preservation District came into official exis- tence on Wednesday, June 21, following a for- pending MDC approval mal vote by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission. With that vote, the new territory involved in HE MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE corri- the proposed district came under immediate dor is poised to become an historic purview of the Indianapolis Historic preservation district, following a Preservation Commission. At the same time, unanimous vote June 7 by the the previously existing Chatham Arch Historic T Preservation District came under updated Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission. One final hurdle remains – a vote by the guidelines the Chatham Arch Neighborhood Metropolitan Development Commission, sched- Association had sought to better cope with the uled for June 21 after deadline for this issue of burgeoning Downtown growth. Urban Times. A positive vote by the Metropolitan For more background, see other stories in the “Archives” section of www.brookspublications.com. Development Commission would end a formal three-year effort spearheaded by Riley Area Development Corp. and Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., as part of efforts to carry out the east and north. Massachusetts Avenue Commercial Development Edward English, chair of the historic preserva- Plan. tion committee, said the Mass Ave effort was Almost lost in the newsworthiness of the launched to provide a uniform set of guidelines Massachusetts Avenue protections is the fact that for the rapidly growing Massachusetts Avenue the effort is being wrapped around a significant corridor, and to ensure that growth is compatible update of the 24-year-old Chatham Arch Historic with the nearby Chatham Arch and Lockerbie his- Preservation Plan. toric districts. The existing Chatham Arch district includes the A major target of the effort, English said, was 600 and 700 blocks of Massachusetts Avenue – the former Coca-Cola bottling plant, considered a but the new “Chatham Arch and Massachusetts great example of Art Deco design. Indianapolis Avenue Area Historic Preservation District” will Public Schools, which owns the facility, is now be a significantly larger area, stretching from the currently considering offers for the property’s southwest end of Mass Ave at New York and sale. Delaware streets to Interstates 65 and 70 to the Other landmarks within the new historic preser- The new Chatham Arch and Massachusetts Avenue Area Historic Preservation District (outlined in blue) includes the existing Chatham Arch district along with the Mass Ave commercial corridor. The district also includes much of the area east of College Avenue and north of Michigan Street, but with far less-stringent day-to-day regulations in recognition of the lack of historic value of most of the build- ings in that light industry and warehouse district. The territory is being included with a look ahead to the future; residential conversions have already begun in that area. vation district include the Murat Centre, the Association engaged an update of its own historic Athenaeum (already protected through a covenant preservation plan. Association leaders believed held by Historic Landmarks Foundation of their plan needed to better address the changing Indiana), the Stout Shoes building and the pressures caused by the dramatic growth of the Hammond Block flatiron building at the corner of Mass Ave corridor. Mass Ave and New York Street. Two historic The two efforts were originally separate, but churches – Roberts Park United Methodist and St. were eventually combined to hasten Mary Catholic – are not included within the dis- the process of bringing the Mass Ave corridor trict. into the mix. The recent boom along Mass Ave is also the Supporters of the landmark proposal crowded major reason the Chatham Arch Neighborhood into the IHPC hearing room, with brief comments in support of the project coming from English; Storage Corp. was countered by IHPC administrator Chatterbox owner David Andrichik; Chatham David Baker’s explanation that the properties in that Arch Neighborhood Association President Kim area east of College and north of Michigan Street, Lucas; Lockerbie Square People’s Club Vice- dominated by non-historic warehouses, were not sub- President Pete Howard; and Terry Sweeney, vice- ject to the same regulations as the historic structures in the heart of the district. president of Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. There were, however, two remonstrators. “We have really lightened up on day-to-day regula- Tim Collignon of Marsala tions” in that portion of the district, Properties, LLC, asked that the Baker said, noting the structures in 300 block be removed from question have no intrinsic historic the district because of the value. He said those areas were Metropolitan Development IHPC’s ‘turf’ being included to protect Lockerbie Commission’s recent approval and Chatham Arch in the future. The addition of the Massachusetts “Someday – it could be 50 years of a 10-level mixed-use build- Avenue corridor marks the third new terri- ing between the Masala build- tory for the Indianapolis Historic from now – those buildings will go ing and the Hammond Block Preservation Commission since 2001. away and something else will be “flat-iron” building. There are 11 historic preservation dis- there,” he said. “That’s what we’re He also said he had never tricts – with Lockerbie Square becoming concerned about.” been contacted about the his- the first in 1967 and the Old Northside the In the final weeks of the process, second 12 years later. in fact, a triangular zone along toric district proposal, despite Chatham Arch became an historic dis- the committee’s report that it trict in 1982; a comprehensive plan to Interstate 65 was removed from the had made at least five revise that historic plan led to the expan- proposal. IHPC officials cited a attempts, by letter and tele- sion into the newly approved Chatham “legal complication” for the action phone, to contact every proper- Arch and Massachusetts Avenue Area that removed the area east of Fulton ty owner involved in the plan. Historic Preservation District. Street between North and Walnut streets. Also removed was the tract As for the 10-story building, Historic preservation districts of land at North and Fulton streets, IHPC administrator David Lockerbie Square (1967) Baker said IHPC had no the former home of Corinthian Old Northside (1979) authority to review such proj- Baptist Church now being developed Fletcher Place (1980) ects until the district status was as condominiums. Chatham Arch (1982) established. He did say, how- The Chatham Arch and ever, that should any changes Fountain Square (1984) Masachusetts Avenue Area Historic be made to that new project Lockefield Gardens (1984) Preservation District would become once the district is established, Herron Morton (1986) effective immediately upon approval those changes would come Wholesale District (1990) by the Metropolitan Development within IHPC’s jurisdiction. St. Joseph (1991) Commission. - Bill For Ed English and other Woodruff Place (2001) Brooks historic district supporters, the Irvington (2004) controversy surrounding the Conservation Districts 10-story project is evidence of Fayette Street (1995) the need for additional protec- Ransom Place (1998) tions for Mass Ave. They also point to the demolition of the New Augusta (1999) Corinthian Baptist Church at Cumberland (2005) North and Fulton streets as IHPC also has authority over eight additional evidence that his- individual properties, including the Hilbert toric reviews are needed. Circle Theatre, the Kemper House at The other dissent came from 1028 N. Delaware St. and the Ruskaup-Ratcliffe House & Store the other end of the district. in Cottage Home. The objection by Haydon Hapak of Hogan Transfer.