Group Pegs Indy’s ‘Next Great Places’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowLocal Initiatives Support Corp. Indianapolis has selected three neighborhoods to take part in its Great Places 2020 initiative. The organization will work with several partners over the next six years to address local challenges, including poverty rates, pollution and obesity.
November 21, 2014
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Indianapolis revealed three areas designated as Indianapolis' next Great Places. Known as Great Places 2020, the initiative is a visionary community development project to transform strategic places in Marion County neighborhoods into dynamic centers of culture, commerce and community by the City's bicentennial. The three places are East Washington & Oxford; 38th & Illinois; and West Michigan & King.
“Through Great Places 2020, we want to revitalize town centers across Indianapolis,” said Bill Taft, executive director of LISC. “These centers will serve as vibrant focal points of neighborhoods that will provide identity and inspire renewed confidence in the future of the housing, businesses, and institutions that surround them. We can't wait for these neighborhoods to begin their transformation.”
For this initiative, LISC is joined by four implementation partners – Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, Indy Chamber and the City of Indianapolis. Great Places 2020 will guide each area through a six-year process, helping to address current neighborhood challenges, including high levels of pollution and obesity, high unemployment and poverty rates, population loss to neighboring counties, and low graduation rates.
The Great Places 2020 initiative has attracted support from many civic, corporate and philanthropic partners. Seven sponsors have been identified – JPMorgan Chase Foundation, BMO Harris Bank, Buckingham Foundation, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of REALTORS® and Reconnecting to Our Waterways. Great Places 2020 will organize investments within each Great Place into four outcomes — Livability, Opportunity, Vitality and Education (LOVE). Together, investments in these four outcomes will tangibly elevate the people, institutions and places at the “heart” of each selected place.
“As an original investor in the Great Places 2020 initiative, we are thrilled to help LISC launch its next phase to increase economic development opportunities and improve the quality of life for Indianapolis residents,” said Al Smith, chairman, Chase Indiana. “Creating strong, vibrant neighborhoods is critical for the success of our city and all of us.”
East Washington & Oxford
This neighborhood has taken the initiative to invest in human capital and to reclaim abandoned spaces like the Mallory campus with a vision for a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood welcoming residents and visitors alike.
38th & Illinois
Serving as a bridge between downtown and the north side, this diverse neighborhood is undergoing transformative changes to Tarkington Park and its surrounding commercial spaces that will appeal to residents of varying incomes.
West Michigan & King
With aims to enhance its connectivity to downtown Indianapolis even further, this Near West place enjoys a growing IT business sector and a commitment from area businesses to create a sense of place from cradle to career.
The implementation partners will provide each neighborhood with urban planning, real estate and marketing consultants who will help build plans designed to enhance quality of life and spur private development. Other philanthropic, civic and private partners will also engage with each Great Place to make significant social and capital investments.
The first three Great Places were chosen in August 2014 by a committee of 37 community leaders following a comprehensive selection process. As their revitalization plans formalize, LISC and its implementation partners plan to solicit applications from additional neighborhoods in hopes of adding three additional Great Places.
To learn more about each selected Great Place and Great Places 2020, visit www.GreatPlaces2020.org.
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About Great Places 2020
Great Places 2020 is a visionary community development project to transform six strategic places in Marion County neighborhoods into dynamic centers of culture, commerce and community, preparing Indianapolis for unprecedented success as it enters 2020. Philanthropic, civic and private partners will engage with neighborhoods to make significant social and capital investments to enhance quality of life and spur private development. Learn more by visiting www.GreatPlaces2020.org.
Source: Local Initiatives Support Corp.