INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A key figure in the original Circle Centre Mall project on Wednesday said the mall did the job it was meant to do and now it needs to change with the times.

John Krauss served as deputy mayor from 1982 to 1991 under the late Bill Hudnut. At the time, he said downtown was losing businesses and residents to the suburbs. Krauss said Hudnut’s decision to build the mall was spurred in part by Eli Lilly & Co.’s plans to build its headquarters.

“All their prospective employees and everyone else going to Lilly would have to go through something that was really not up to par,” Krauss said. “The image that we wanted was this is a way you can invest your time, your money, your family’s lives, and your future, and it’s got to reflect what your needs are.”

Krauss said by the time planning began in the early 1980s for what would become Circle Centre Mall, other cities in the United States were already investing heavily in large shopping malls. He said Indianapolis had to catch up or risk losing dollars to other cities.

“If we didn’t do anything, Indianapolis was going to be behind the dime and nobody would come here to invest in us,” said Krauss.

The project fell years behind schedule due to trouble finding anchor tenants and the recession of the early 1990s. Hudnut’s successor, Stephen Goldsmith, chose to move ahead with construction. It finally opened on Sept. 8, 1995. After that, Krauss said it paid dividends. He said it helped drive much of the subsequent redevelopment of downtown, including White River State Park, new residential developments, and new sports facilities.

“It fit in with a pattern. It was a puzzle and those were the last pieces,” Krauss said. “But over time, you’ve got to change what you’re doing, and this looks like a good chance.”

The growth of online shopping took a toll as the 21st century unfolded. Nordstrom closed its store in 2011 and Carson’s closed in 2018, leaving the mall without anchor tenants. Krauss said he considers the COVID-19 pandemic to be the final blow for the classic shopping mall business model.

Hendricks Properties’ plans for the mall include converting some of it into housing and open-air promenades while retaining substantial retail space. Krauss said he’s excited to see what those plans lead to. He said the Circle Centre Mall was a response to the needs of consumers at the time. Those needs have changed and he said the mall has to change to meet them.

“We still have conventions, we still have amateur sports, and we still have a large segment of people that live downtown,” Krauss said. “So, I think it’s great. Somebody has to come in with new ideas, fresh ideas, because the whole question is, ‘who is your customer and what does your customer want?’”