I was in the mall recently – first time in several years. It was eerily quiet. It can’t be doing very well at all, or I managed to pick the worst possible day to walk through there.

If the parking wasn’t the cheapest in town, I’d never set foot in the place. Even at that, I’m only passing through when I do.

Union Station lasted about a decade as a mall. After almost 15 years, perhaps Circle Center’s end is coming, too.

Can inner city retail stand on it’s own and sustain itself anymore?

Yeah, John, Circle Centre will survive. In tough times, the anchors are doing OK. Not great, but OK.

One of the city’s ugliest secrets for years, has been tax abatements/TIFs. In Washington Township, one abatement, shared with Carmel, was for the 96th St. bridge. The TIF district created for it, paid for the improvements a few years ago, but the district continued to collect the funds. Which means the schools and fire department and library did not. Neighborhood groups pushed hard, and got some relief for the schools, but only for one year.

This insane process has almost no police. I vote for the CCC. They’re goofy, but I can reach out and touch them and hold them accountable.

The MDC, as well as the zoning baords, ahve become checkbook zoning, with no accountability to the law or standards. It’s “Zoning on a Whim” done by unprofessional people. Inconsistent. Silly.

“Can inner city retail stand on it’s own and sustain itself anymore?”

It is like this: If people can’t or won’t go out and spend the money, then retail will fall. A certain blogger has stated that they think we should all sit down and see what the Pacers need in terms of a bailout. This blogger lived downtown, likely in a home valued at around $200K or more. So while folks like this can easily afford yet another 1-2% tax hike, folks like me can’t. My combined household income doesn’t even come close to six figures. Since I refuse to play the debt game, all my money goes into savings, very little is spent eating out.

At the rate things are moving, we are likely going to see additional taxes at the sales level. It may be just food and beverage, or it made be another blanket 1% on everything. Again, this money will go to bailout someone, likely an extremely wealthy individual, just to save downtown.

I actually went to Circle Center twice in the last six months. One time was on a weekend and they were busy, but lots of kids who likely are just hanging out. I was actually just cutting through to go to Weber Grill for a belated V-day celebration. I tried it, it was great, and I won’t be back due to the prices (this was actually a treat from mom and dad to the kids). The other time I went to the Colts store to buy some collectible ground up turf from the RCA Dome for a Christmas gift.

Prior to those two visits within three months time, I bet it had been around two years since I last step foot in that mall. I am totally done with retail shopping as it relates to malls. My neighborhood mall, Washington Sq. Ghetto, is a dump. If I got to any mall anymore, I drive the extra miles to hit the new open air mall up in Noblesville, Hamilton Town Center. Nothing like an outdoor mall to keep the kids away.

I guess we shouldn’t worry about Circle Centre though, when the Simon’s need yet another bailout, we will get yet another 1-2% tax hike on food and beverages to pay to keep the mall up and running. Gotta save that downtown mile square yea know.

Doe: retail developments follow customers.

When Circle Centre was built, Simon’s marketing folks, who are the best in the business, figured the mall would be about 60-40 local-tourist. It’s been exactly the opposite.

Which is good. Tenants are paying rent with money that is predominantly out-of-towners.
Restaurants and bars, ditto.

For quit some time, the non-monetary portions of the anchor leases were available for public view–recorded, as a lender requirement. They aren’t any more. For the record, Nordstrom has had a “sales-out” clause that would’ve let them leave every year since 2004. And they stay.

No retailer is doing as well as they’d like right now. Good retailers will survive, and the tenant mix at Circle Centre is appealing to conventioneers.

Teachers always have a contract. It would be better if they did not and let the ratchet work the other way until performance was actual. The “we want a contract” ploy does work on the less educated Indiana sorts.

Can anyone explain Pascal’s point in #5?

They shouldn’t have a contract so they can be fired easily if they suck?