BROAD RIPPLE — A long-vacant apartment building in Broad Ripple is drawing renewed frustration from neighbors after many noticed the building had boarded up several windows and doors.
The Monon Court Apartments, located at the northeast corner of 61st Street and the Monon Trail, has sat vacant for several years. WRTV visited the complex on Monday and talked with neighbors who said the lack of changes has raised questions.
“This has been such an eyesore for us for many years,” Cheryl Depp, a nearby resident, said.
Depp and her family have lived near the complex for about eight years.
“I would say this has been like this for at least four years," she said. "They put up the boards along the bottom maybe a year and a half to two years ago.”
Boarded-up windows and aging brick stand in stark contrast to nearby high-end homes, new townhouses and revitalized complexes.
“We've got high-end residences over here, and down at the end here with Van Rooy, we have the townhomes and obviously a lot of the bungalows. I mean, two streets over, you have million-dollar properties," Depp explained.
Monon Court hasn't gotten the same treatment.
“I know that other residents just keep hoping that they're gonna do some construction or tear them down and do something with them," Depp said. "But they've not yet, sadly.”
Some neighbors worry the neglected property could pose safety concerns.
“It could definitely be concerning,” Lauryn, who lives across the street, said. “You never know who’s going in and out.”
Others just want answers as to why it's still empty.
“I don’t know who actually owns them, and I don’t know how long they’ve been vacant," DeWayne Harris, who lives nearby in another Monon complex, said. "So big question, good question. I’d like to know the answer as well.”
Buckingham Companies owns the building. According to the Broad Ripple Village Association, back in 2022, the company received approval to demolish the structure and replace it with a new, larger complex.
However, in November 2024, the company scaled back its plans, citing changes in the housing market. The Broad Ripple Village Association told WRTV the new plan was to rehab the existing building, add a small clubhouse/leasing office and put tenants back in.
Rehabilitation was scheduled to begin in spring 2025.
Nothing has happened yet.
In April, BRVA reached out to Buckingham for an update on the project. The company told them:
“The plan shared in November was ‘an option among others that we are exploring.’ We have not received a confirmed timeline or details for when—or if—that project will move forward.”
We emailed Buckingham Companies for more information and also went to their offices to get some answers. No one was at the offices when we were there, so we left a note with reception.
No one has gotten back to us at this time.
Residents told WRTV they just want to see something done.
“I think the bones are here, so they could really make them very classic,” Depp said. “If they don’t want to do that, tear it down and build something else with retail on the bottom. I believe fully that this neighborhood would greatly support that.”
We'll keep updating with more information when we get it.
