INDIANAPOLIS - A struggling Indianapolis shopping center is trying to help revitalize a neighborhood by giving free rent to a non-profit group.
A community center will open next month in front of Lafayette Square Mall on the northwest side of Indianapolis. It used to be a place for buying tires or getting that rattle under the hood fixed.
"It's designed to be used. It's just a different use," says Jim Walker the executive director of the non profit Big Car.
Now the former Firestone Tire Shop in front of Lafayette Square Mall has a new tenant. Big Car is aimed at turning the empty space into an arts and culture center. And it's not costing them a dime.
"If they weren't giving us the space, this wouldn't be happening," says Walker.
Big Car is the same non-profit that took the once empty Murphy Building in Fountain Square and did the same thing.
"5 years ago, 10 years ago, people didn't really feel comfortable with Fountain Square," explains Walker. "They called it Fountain Scare too," he adds.
Walker is referring to the reputation the Lafayette Square has earned in recent years with crime and high vacancy rates.
"It shows the community that it can be something new and something different. That it isn't just the mall," explains Judy Donner with The Lafayette Square Area Coalition.
Community organizers have tried to re-brand the area as an international marketplace with its more than 150 ethnic restaurants and international grocery stores.
The center is just one more piece.
Walker isn't bothered by nay-sayers who say this initiative can't put a dent in Lafayette Square's reputation. Instead he points to an already thriving community garden they've been able to build up in front of the service center on top of mere concrete.
"We can do anything," says Walker.
The community garden is designed to be just another element to draw visitors into the new center.
"There's growth and there's re-birth on top of asphalt," Walker says.
A rebirth, Walker hopes will spread to the Mall and beyond, bringing people either back to Lafayette Square or there for the first time to see what can happen when you get creative.
