East side residents push for another eyesore to come down
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – In May 2008, a tornado ripped through East 38th Street and Mitthoeffer Road leaving an apartment complex and a strip mall in shambles.
Since then, the apartments were rebuilt; however, the strip mall remained in pieces. The roof is barely hanging on, doors left open, and residents say there is illegal activity going on inside the building.
“Why do we have to look at this,” said Charles Ingram, resident. “It is stopping growth in the community.”
Ingram and other residents are banning together to encourage code enforcement to tear the building down.
“It is just a location that is easy for no gooders to find no good to do,” said Pastor Darrell Sydnor, Rock of Faith Missionary Baptist Church.
The group is also working to tear down Oak Tree Apartments. Back in February of 2014, the Marion County Health Department shut down the apartment complex. Residents around the abandoned complex filed complaints about squatters inside the building, and small fires being set inside.
“Someone needs to speak out and use their influence to get it razed,” said Dr. Theron D. Williams, pastor of Mount Carmel Church.
District 14 Councilor, La Keisha Jackson, is leading the effort to address concerns with the strip mall.
A hearing for the strip mall is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 9:00 a.m., at the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services City of Indianapolis located at 1200 Madison Ave., Suite 100.
Currently the Oak Tree Apartments is going through the litigation process to determine what’s next for the complex.