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Businesses near downtown Indianapolis concerned about crime

Businesses near downtown Indianapolis concerned about crime

Aleah Hordges | News 8 at 6 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — People in the 16th Street corridor want to see efforts made to revitalize the area after an armed robbery at a CVS early Friday morning.

Several armed suspects robbed the store at 16th and Meridian streets and took $100 worth of drugs just after 3:30 a.m. Friday, according to a police report. No one was hurt, and no arrests had been announced as of Friday night.

The city has made efforts to revitalize parts of the street near the Monon Trail, and local developer Onyx and East is building a multimillion dollar housing project.

“With the new homes and the new neighborhoods popping up and also the new big businesses that are starting to come back in the neighborhood. For instance, there’s a couple of businesses that have 100-200 employees and just moved into the neighborhood, which is good for our business, which is good for the community, and it’s good for jobs,” said Derek Ramft, who manages a Greek’s Pizzeria at 1601 Columbia Ave.

However, some people tell News 8 there’s more work that need to be done on 16th Street west of the Monon.

Jim Campbell, an employee at Queen Bee Vintage, said crime is one of his concerns: The business was robbed a few weeks ago. He’s hoping more storefronts can come to the area.

“I’d like it to be a place where people would walk during the day; on the weekends, you go out shopping. In other cities, you see that. A lot of the neighborhoods have little cafes and things like that,” Campbell said.

Campbell also said the street is densely populated with homeless people and would like the city to make the busy road more inviting.

“I know there are a lot of places already for homeless people, but there’s obviously not enough because this neighborhood, especially in the last year, or maybe less, has become more densely populated with homeless people, and I would like the city to do something about it,” Campbell added.

IMPD said they have a designated mobile unit to specifically help with people across the city who struggle with homelessness.

News 8 has reached out to the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development for details about possible future efforts in the 16th Street corridor.

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