Residents Creating Alternate Redevelopment Plan

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The latest proposed realignment of Holt Road would cause this new building addition to be demolished.

Photo by Linda Karn
(posted May 4)

The group of residents and business owners that gathered at Dotlich Industrial Park May 3 felt they had nothing to lose and everything to gain as they came together to create a redevelopment plan that will allow them to save their homes and businesses and accomplish the Speedway Town Council's goals for revitalizing the town's tax base.

Jo Ellen Dotlich encourage residents to put their ideas and drawings on paper to submit to local officials as an alternative to the Speedway Redevelopment Commission's Master Plan.

Residents from the Georgetown Mobile Home Park, facing possible eviction from their park if Georgetown Road is vacated, attended the meeting. "I feel like I am sticking my neck out to attend since the IMS owns the park", said eighty-one-year old Rita Birch. However, she decided to attend because she thinks she has the most to lose; her home.

It wasn't part of Birch's plan to worry about where she was going to reside at this age in life. "I was hoping to die here," she said. Birch has lived in her mobile home since 1966. It is the only home she has ever had.

Joyce Bishop said that vacating Georgetown Road would have dire consequences to Lafayette Square, especially since the new mall owner, Ashkenazy Acquisitions Corporation, is expected to make major renovations. She contends the road closure will strangle economic growth for Lafayette Square and Main Street. She also said that vacating Grande Avenue will hurt the businesses on Gasoline Alley. Bishop wants people to think beyond just their own business or home.

10th Street resident Scott Albrecht said that people can make a difference. He commended Dotlich for her courage to unite the people at the April 21 Speedway Redevelopment Commission meeting. He said the fight for a better plan is worth it because it might mean saving his house. Although 10th Street is not on the acquisition list, a future redevelopment commission could reverse their position.

Deb Wilcox contends the town is setting itself up for consolidation with the redevelopment plan by vacating Georgetown Road. She said the state has already set the wheels in motion for consolidation by shifting the new I-74 exchange to the west. People will not loop back around to come into the shopping center. They will continue to travel west on US 136 and so will the growth. The growth will follow the traffic pattern. As growth and economic prosperity continue to the west, the town will no longer be able to fund public safety and maintain its infrastructure.

Crawfordsville Road Partners purchased 19 acres in June 2007 to develop the area because the new interchange design will help them capture traffic heading west to 465. The property is not located in Speedway. Brent Benge said he selected the site because the new configuration will have direct access into his site.

Wilcox explained that closing Georgetown Road will be the death knell to Speedway's commerce by cutting off the north-south flow. "Nobody is stopping the IMS from building a hotel or an amusement park." She said the IMS could have done it 20 years ago with its existing property. Instead, SRC has developed an acquisition list to take small businesses to build a racing campus, a linear park and create more parking space.

Dotlich said the debt free 50 acre Speedway Industrial Park will be carved up due to the realignment of 16th Street and Holt Road. The 16th realignment takes out two industrial buildings and the realignment of Holt Road that enters into the roundabout will take out the other building and its new $800,000 addition. She doesn't understand why the SRC will not work with them to develop a racing campus since Pennzoil is one of SIP's tenants.

She said the 12 buildings are 100 percent occupied since the opening of the Snake Pit Saloon May 3. She finds it difficult to believe SRC President Vince Noblet said it would be cheaper to acquire SIP than to relocate gas pipelines at a cost of $2 million. She said the replacement cost for one building is closer to $5 million, plus $1 million to cover Pennzoil's moving costs. She said the roundabout at Holt Road and 16th Street is not necessary and would avoid taking out three other buildings. Her plan recommends 16th Street move to the north on the IMS property at the Brickyard Plaza. She said it would provide better access to the IMS' proposed hotel that will replace the shopping center. She thinks the second roundabout will prove dicey for the Marathon oil tankers to maneuver through.

Dotlich said the plans to reroute 10th Street to the north of Allison Transmission's parking lot dissect SIP's southwest corner. Even SIP's northwest corner is far from being spared with the SRC's plans to realign Polco Street with the IMS tunnel two entrance. This plan takes out Speedway Monogramming at 4601 W. 16th Street.

Dotlich explained if the SRC implements its road plans, it will eliminate 300 jobs in the industrial park with $4,759,800 of assessed valuation.

Wilcox contends the group can develop a plan that allows small businesses and residents to stay. "We can have our cake and eat it too."