So This Is The Kind Of Development The Mid-Town TIF Is Helping?

Remember all the sob stories about how badly the mid-town TIF was needed to bring development to areas of Indianapolis' northside that are supposedly struggling with redevelopment of struggling neighborhoods? The first beneficiary of that new TIF district may be an $18 million development project in Broad Ripple that includes a Whole Foods store, which is being proposed by the politically-connected Browning Investments firm. The proposed site is located within a block of the city-financed Broad Ripple mixed use/parking garage development near the village's busiest intersection. A petition drive to block $5 million in proposed TIF funding for the project has been launched. According to the petition found at the Change.org website, organizers complain that the 5-story, 35,000-square foot Whole Foods, which would be built only 100 yards from The Good Earth store, will have an adverse affect on local retail establishments. The petition questions why $5 million in TIF funds is being used to build another Whole Foods store less than two miles from an existing store. Residents are urged to contact Mayor Greg Ballard and their city-county council member, along with the Broad Ripple Village Association, which is backing the deal, to urge opposition to TIF funding for the project.



According to an Indianapolis Star article on the proposed new development last week, the developer is seeking the TIF funds to pay for drainage and sewage improvements at the proposed site. The owner of The Good Earth store expressed his concerns about the city providing economic incentives to a new chain store located so close to his store. That article notes that Sunflower Market closed its store on Broad Ripple Avenue shortly after North Carolina-based Fresh Markets opened up a gourmet grocery store at 54th and College. See, Matt Tully. This is who John Barth was really interested in helping when he fed those sob stories to you about why this mid-town TIF was created.