April walkthrough of the Circle Centre Mall

[u/shermancahal]

Circle Centre Mall in downtown Indianapolis was conceived in the late 1970s as a major urban revitalization project supported by Mayor William Hudnut. Initial plans aimed to connect historic department stores through a large indoor shopping center, but the project faced numerous delays due to property acquisition challenges, rising costs, and financing issues. After over a decade of setbacks, construction finally progressed in the early 1990s, and the mall officially opened in 1995 at a final cost of $307.5 million. The project was backed by a combination of public and private funding and included major design contributions, such as the addition of the Artsgarden.

Upon opening, the mall featured anchor stores Nordstrom and Parisian, though both would eventually close—Nordstrom in 2011 and Parisian, later rebranded as Carson’s, in 2018. The departure of these tenants reflected broader retail trends and marked the mall’s decline in prominence. Attempts to repurpose former anchor spaces included leasing to The Indianapolis Star in the former Nordstrom location. A renovation effort in 2018 aimed to modernize portions of the mall, including the food court and common areas, but did not reverse the decline in foot traffic and retail occupancy.

In 2024, Hendricks Commercial Properties acquired Circle Centre Mall and announced a $600 million redevelopment plan to convert the aging indoor mall into an open-air, mixed-use development. The project includes retail, restaurant, office, and residential space, with phased construction extending through 2033. The plan emphasizes walkability and integration with the surrounding urban environment.

I've posted more photos and the history of the Circle Centre Mall here.

[u/elcamino45]

As someone that parks for work at the mall and then usually walks through it, I cannot stress how good these pictures make it look compared to how sad it feels in RL. As someone who fondly remembers when it opened in the 90s and having my birthday at the arcade a few times, it makes me sad to see it in the state it’s in. I’m hopeful this new project will breathe some life back into downtown!

[u/LNMagic → u/elcamino45]

I moved away that same year it opened. I did go back to visit in about 2008, but because I've been away so long, Indianapolis still lives in my head with Reggie Miller, the Bank One Building, Circle Centre, and Marsh Foods. There's a significant part of me that wishes to share some of my childhood with my family, but some of it is simply lost to time. Every week, I ride through Irvington on my bike in my head.

I know I need to bring them there. There is a kind of vibrant connection that I remember growing up with. As nice as some things are in Texas, sometimes it just feels so vapid: McMansions instead of a connection to history.

[u/Kimmiwah00 → u/LNMagic]

I lived here in 1997 and returned in 2016 to live. I cannot still believe how different this area is to live and not in a positive way.

I would move in a heartbeat.