INDIANAPOLIS — A beloved staple of the Glendale Town Center could soon be gone. In its place? Hundreds of apartment units.
If the plans go through, hundreds more people could be coming to the area, and that's sparking concern and excitement from many residents nearby.
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“They can’t just have shops and shops and nobody to shop," Dorithea Rhodes said.
Rhodes is the general manager at Dirty Dough, which sits in Glendale Town Center.
“I came here, it was still Glendale Mall," she told WRTV with a laugh. "We didn’t have a Target. We didn’t have any of this little strip that we got around here from the Old Navy to the Five Below. We had none of that.”
She's happy to see development continue in the area.
“They’re gonna have to have the apartments with the people to keep enjoying all this beautiful stuff they got going on," Rhodes said.
It's the same for the Department of Metropolitan Development.
“Housing is definitely something that DMD is happy to see proposed," Auboni Hart, Chief Communications Officer with DMD, stated.
A preliminary site plan filed by Kite Realty Group and Milhaus shows a roughly 240-unit multi-family development spread over several acres both in the center and caddy corner on Rural Street.
However, to build those residences, developers would need to demolish the Landmark Glendale 12 Theatre as well as take the space of an empty lot where the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market has been held in warmer months.
WRTV spoke with several people out at Glendale Town Center on Tuesday who said they were excited about the change. But, on social media, it's a different story.
Several threads on X, Facebook and Reddit show residents raising their concerns regarding the demolition, saying they don't want to see a beloved piece of Glendale Town Center torn down.
Hart wants to remind residents that these are only proposed plans, and blueprints could change as the plan moves through the city's approval process.
“We are definitely in a housing crisis right now, so seeing plans to build more units for people to live is a critical element that we do consider," Hart explained.
For those working and shopping at the center, it's a change they're welcoming.
“It feels good to know that a community is not dying out," Rhodes said. "You know, we gotta bring something to keep it going, something has to come.”
The plan will need rezoning approval before construction can begin. Hart said an initial public hearing has not yet been set, but leaders hope to get it on the agenda as soon as they can.
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Casey Zanowic is the In Your Community reporter for North Side Indy. She joined WRTV in July of 2025. Casey has a passion for storytelling and is ready to showcase impactful stories that make a difference in her community. Share your story ideas and important issues with Casey by emailing her at casey.zanowic@wrtv.com.
