INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD reported 223 homicides in 2022. Indianpaolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said that number is down from the year prior, and continuing that trend remains one of his top three priorities for the new year.
Hogsett said reducing gun violence comes with a focus on growing the peacemaker program.
The mayor, who took office in 2016 after serving as Indiana Secretary of State and U.S. attorney, also wants to invest in infrastructure. The City-County Council passed a $1.1 billion investment plan in 2022 to fund road, bridge, sidewalk and drainage improvements over a five-year period.
His third priority is quality of life. This includes projects like resurfacing aging roads. In addition, $80 million has been set aside from a Lilly Endowment grant to also help transform 42 of the city's 212 park properties.
Hogsett is also putting a renewed focus on the city's homeless population but admits that providing wrap-around services continues to be a concern.
"Permanent housing units have to be found," Hogsett told 13News. "We have to place people who are currently homeless in the permanent supportive housing, but most importantly is the $5 million to $10 million that we are investing in the supportive services to help people stay housed."
Last year, the mayor said the city saw a 9% decrease in the number of unsheltered residents.
Overall, the city and private investors have earmarked $3.8 billion for downtown development projects. One focus is to convert empty buildings into residential space in coming years.
In addition to building conversions, the city's downtown resiliency strategy investments focus on adding to the housing supply, encouraging mixed-use economic development, activated public spaces and pedestrian-focused infrastructure.
13News is also working to learn more about the future of Circle Centre Mall. The city and state, as well as Simon Property Group, are talking to developers now. They expect to make an announcement this year.
"Malls everywhere are struggling, particularly in urban areas. We have to think differently and more creatively about how that space can be used," Hogsett said.
The existing mall property's primary role could emerge as residential, commercial, mixed or even a concert venue.
Jail 1, or the old Marion County Jail, will sit for at least another year until the forensics lab can move out. A new state-of-the-art lab is going into the east side Community Justice Campus.
A developer is currently working on revitalizing Jail 2 and the processing center on the east side of downtown, but the plans for the Jail 1 property, as well as the downtown heliport east of the old jail, are unknown.
The Federal Aviation Administration must first decommission the heliport. 13News hopes to learn what will go into that space once it becomes available.