Businesses in downtown Indianapolis suffered millions of dollars in damages as a result of last summer’s riots.
Banks in the area were among those that were hit hardest, and it’s why Jeff Hendrix of the National Bank of Indianapolis has petitioned the city’s Historic Preservation Commission for permission to install roll-down steel shutters on the windows of the company’s headquarters at the intersection of Market and Pennsylvania Streets near Monument Circle.
“It is not our intent to roll these down nightly but only as needed for civil unrest or severe weather,” Hendrix told the Commission during its February 3rd meeting, as reported by Fox 59.
“They look a lot better than the boards,” Hendrix added. “During the May event, the boarding up of downtown just…we had a lot of our employees not even want to come downtown for fear of their self.”
Hendrix said the commission and downtown business owners may have to make a choice between security and esthetics, warning that, “I think this is gonna happen in the future again.”
As noted by WIBC host Tony Katz Tuesday, Hendrix has a point.
“The city still has not done a good enough job in helping small businesses and encouraging people to return to downtown Indianapolis.
“But as someone on the commission mentioned, what happens when you hear a whisper that something is coming and you roll down your steel shutters for the weekend? That doesn’t encourage people to frequent businesses in the area because they don’t feel safe.
“Yes, the look this presents creates an issue. But the business owners aren’t responsible for the hellscape that our city has become, they’re fighting it. The need for steel shutters is a conversation about the city. The riots and the way the city handled things in the wake of the riots has made these business owners nervous, and rightfully so. They’re looking to protect their investment. Our city’s leadership should have a shared interest in that.”
Click the link below to listen to Tony’s full commentary.
