How Well Is Indianapolis Performing Compared To Other Cities?

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Downtown Indy, Inc. says their team and city and community leaders revealed its latest research Thursday morning regarding Downtown data. They also say this research indicated the strength of Downtown during this morning's 2018 State of Downtown presented by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

According to Downtown Indy, Inc., organization leaders gathered Downtown stakeholders, business leaders, residents and civic partners for the annual event at the Eiteljorg Museum to discuss this Bold Barometer: how our Downtown is performing compared to peer cities and what we can learn from other cities' best practices.
Downtown Indy, Inc. says this meeting also served as a final effort to grow support from property owners for the formation of a Mile Square Economic Improvement District with a May 11 deadline.

According to a release sent to Patch from Downtown Indy, Inc., some of the data shared includes the following:

Livability of Downtown

• The number of Downtown market-rate apartments has doubled since 2010, for a total of more than 28,000 residents now living in our Downtown neighborhood.
• There are more than 3,000 new apartment units in the pipeline (Bottleworks, City Way II, Penrose, etc.)
• Curbed named Indianapolis in its list of 10 cities for affordable ownership. The median home value for a Downtown home is $274,000; Denver's median home value is more than $500,000; Minneapolis is more than $300,000; Cincinnati is just under $300,000.
• Vacancy rates of Downtown Class A and B apartments crept up to 6 percent in 2017, up slightly from 4.5 percent in 2016.

Working Downtown

• 7,271 new jobs have been added by new and existing businesses growing operations Downtown.
• 29 percent of all tech jobs in Marion County are located Downtown.
• In our survey of Downtown Indianapolis businesses, 61 percent affirmed that business was slightly (36 percent) to substantially (25 percent) stronger in 2017 over 2016.
• Indy was listed by Forbes as one of the Top Ten best cities for young professionals.

Downtown Experience

• Usage of Downtown Indianapolis continues to be very strong. Ninety percent of all residents surveyed visited Downtown, the highest percentage ever recorded.
• Central Indiana visitors came to Downtown nearly three times per month. They stayed around three hours and spent $71 per visit in 2017.
• In 2017, the number of parking spaces was 76,844, an all-time high, a 37 percent increase over the past two decades.
• Hotel occupancy remained strong in 2017 at 72.3 percent.
• 64 percent of all Downtown restaurants are locally owned.

Concerns from the 2018 Downtown Indy, Inc. biennial perception survey

• Residents surveyed aren't feeling as safe Downtown. The perception of safety fell to 55 percent. This still compares favorably to the 45 percent in the National Downtown Benchmark who feel that their downtown is safe.
• The rating of Downtown's perception of cleanliness dropped again this year, to an all-time low of 59 percent. The historical trend in these ratings has been on a slow decline. In an open-ended, follow-up question, those who gave low cleanliness ratings say that it is because of trash.

What's Next

• The data impacting Downtown sets the stage for the final push to cultivate support from property owners for the formation of a Mile Square Economic Improvement District. DII has now set a May 11 deadline. More than 45 percent of property owners have signed YES.
• To stimulate retail growth, Downtown Indy, Inc. is launching St'artUp 317, a competitive program that aims to match young brands and established businesses wanting to test a new market, along with startups and artists, with vacant and under-utilized first floor commercial space in Downtown neighborhoods. This effort, in partnership with PATTERN, is intended to initially create pop-up stores. The long-term goal of the program is to eliminate empty storefronts, increase local and visitor consumer spending and ensure that the Downtown neighborhoods continue thriving.

"I am delighted to report that the state of our Downtown remains incredibly strong with record development, which sets the pace for the rest of the city," said Sherry Seiwert, president of Downtown Indy, Inc., in a release. "The growth we see around our city did not happen by chance; it is the result of four decades of long-term planning and deliberate investment in our central business district. Today, the cumulative effects of this continued commitment is producing strong returns across all sectors of development."

Downtown Indy, Inc. says that since 2010, the number of Downtown workers has increased by 24 percent and the number of convention delegates visiting Downtown each year has increased by 36 percent.

According to the release, Seiwert also said that the number of Downtown residents will have doubled from 2010 to 2020 from 17,000 to an estimated 35,000.

"Density not only breeds success, but challenges, as well," reiterated Seiwert, in a release. "Since 2010, funding to clean sidewalks, plant flowers, expand foot/bike security patrols, reduce panhandling, etc. has remained flat, supported voluntarily only by dues-paying members of DII. Via the EID, we have a chance to address the gaps that if left unaddressed, could possibly undo some of the major strides that have become our calling card, namely Downtown's cleanliness. There is work to be done."

Following the presentation of Downtown data and statistics, Downtown Indy, Inc. said Brad Segal, President of Progressive Urban Management Associates, spoke on global trends and how our Downtown compares.

More information: 2018 Community Report.

Share your thoughts on this year's community report below in the comments section.

Photo credit: Rebecca Bream