Final wrecking ball swings at Towne and Terrace complex

INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD and the city of Indianapolis would be hard-pressed to cite a more crime-ridden, dangerous complex than Towne and Terrace near 42^nd Street and North Post Road.

”It has been a property that has been riddled with crime, a lot of drug trafficking, and the residents who were living here, they deserved better, they deserved to be safe in their homes,” said Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor Aryn Schounce.

Towne and Terrace was the scene of more than a dozen murders over the last decade, as well as instances of drug dealing and squatters. This comes as city officials fought with the landlords and the homeowners’ association to fix up the property.

”It had to do with the neglect and the disrepair, slumlords, people just didn’t care,” said former resident Liz Durden. ”Some people didn’t want to live here because the economic challenges didn’t allow them to live anywhere else, so this was it for them.”

Ten years and $18 million after the city set its sights on Towne and Terrace, the last townhouse building in the 4100 block of Mount Vernon came crashing down, like 30 other buildings along Brentwood Drive, reduced to rubble and cleared for neighbors and developers to imagine what’s next.

”I know there’s history here for some residents who lived here for some time, but also there’s something new that needs to happen because the eastside has a bad name. It’s bittersweet,” said City County Councilor Rena Allen who is looking to combine the leveled Oaktree Apartments site just south on Post Road with any plans to redevelop Towne and Terrace.

”We’re working on the Quality of Life plan and so the Quality of Life plan actually would address these 38 acres because if you will recall we had Oaktree Apartments that had to be torn down and now we’ve got the Towne and Terrace and instead of doing one plan, now it’s gonna be one big old plan which covers 38 acres,” Allen continued

While residents were relocated with the assistance of the city, neighbors and community groups will be part of the process to chart a new vision for the property, said Schounce.

”That’s what the community is missing which is a mixed-use development that has housing, that has other amenities that right now are lacking in this far eastside community.”