Black residents near Indiana Avenue want projects in tune with neighborhood
FREE NEWSLETTERS The Madam Walker Legacy Center anchors the Indiana Avenue Cultural District. (IBJ photo/Lesley Weidenbener)
Some Black residents want to play a bigger role in determining development along Indiana Avenue, following a local firm’s decision to scrap controversial plans for a massive multifamily project next to the Madam Walker Legacy Center.
The proposed $70 million development from Buckingham Cos. at 719 Indiana Ave. property owned by the Walker Center called for nearly 350 market-rate apartments, a substantial parking garage, and thousands of square feet of retail space.
But the proposal gained little traction and some significant opposition among neighbors. Among those challenging the development was the historically Black Ransom Place Historic District, a block north of the Walker Center, and a new group called Reclaim Indiana Avenue.