‘An eyesore’: Eastsiders push for redevelopment of former prison
INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Elizabeth Castle drives past what was the Indiana Women’s Prison almost daily. She lives a block away in the Willard Park neighborhood on the near east side.
“I have heard of teenagers shooting guns and hiding in the old prison building according to neighborhood emails and have seen people wandering around the remains of buildings,” Castle said.
Neighbors say the long-vacant Indiana Women’s Prison site is in terrible shape, and they hope the city can assist them in redeveloping the property.
“The site is just sitting there, gradually deteriorating,” said Will Pritchard, a member of the Indiana Women’s Prison Alliance, a group advocating for redevelopment.
“Sometimes the windows are open. Sometimes there’s holes in the roofs. It’s often not mowed. It’s collecting trash around the site.”
The Indiana Department of Administration, the agency that maintains and manages all state property, owns the property, which has been vacant for seven years. The Women’s Prison was relocated to the west side in 2009, and the eastside property became a reentry facility for the Marion County criminal justice system until closing in 2017.
The Indiana Department of Administration’s website states the grounds are mowed by maintenance crews every three to four weeks, weather permitting.
Neighbors think city is better positioned to manage property
The alliance and several surrounding neighborhood organizations are calling for the state to transfer ownership of the property to the city, believing the city is better positioned to plan the property’s future.
Pritchard believes, after speaking with city officials, that Indianapolis is open to receiving the site from the state. He said the city has more experience working with neighborhoods and has plans for eastside redevelopment. He has heard the state might also be interested in transferring ownership to the city in exchange for an unidentified property currently owned by the city.
The Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development declined to comment.
“It’s probably the biggest, dilapidated vacant site on the east side, and it is owned by the state of Indiana, which is really outrageous when you think about it that a site with that reputation is actually owned by the state government,” Pritchard said.
The future of the site is unclear. Molly Timperman, a spokesperson for the Department of Administration, said the state isn’t ready to make a decision on what to do with the site. When it is, “we are happy to have a community conversation,” she said.
Pritchard lives in Woodruff Place, one of three neighborhoods surrounding the former women’s prison. The alliance has asked the three neighborhoods — Willard Park, Woodruff Place and St. Clair Place — to write letters in support of the property transfer. The alliance has also requested a meeting with the Department of Administration and the mayor’s office.
He hopes to come to a resolution before Gov. Eric Holcomb leaves office, worrying that the clock will restart under a new state administration. Neighborhood leaders and the state haven’t always seen eye to eye.
The state has demolished most of the buildings at the former prison except for a few, including the chapel, administration building and a few dormitories. The state had set aside money to tear down the remaining buildings, but the neighborhoods blocked the demolition.
Pritchard said the state needed the neighborhoods’ approval to demolish the remaining buildings because they are classified as historic. The neighborhoods aren’t ready to give that approval until they know more about plans for redevelopment or reuse.
“We don’t want to give our approval to tear down the buildings, because we don’t trust that the DOA will build something on the site that’s conducive to the surrounding neighborhoods” Pritchard said. “And we’re not convinced that they will include the neighborhoods’ input, either.”
Regardless, Timperman said the money that had been set aside to demolish the remaining buildings was used for other state projects and is no longer available.
What the neighborhood wants
A few years ago the alliance conducted a survey asking residents what they would like to see replace the abandoned site. Requests ranged from houses, to a workforce development training center to a grocery store.
“They have not said to the state or to the mayor’s office, ‘Here’s what we want to see there,’ because there’s such a diversity of views,” Pritchard said. “Their primary request is, their only request is to involve us in the decision.”
Castle says the space has a lot of potential. She envisions mixed-use space for housing, entertainment and exercise.
“My greatest concern for the property staying vacant is at best a missed opportunity for the near east side,” Castle said. “And at worst, an eyesore for all the neighbors around and potentially an enabler for criminal activity.”
Mirror Indy reporter Darian Benson covers east Indianapolis. Contact her at 317-397-7262 or darian.benson@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @HelloImDarian.