Old Centrum now in hands of Historic Landmarks Foundation

Top priority is fix-up, but study also under way for future uses

Stabilization efforts are now under way to prevent further deterioration of the Old Centrum, the Old Northside

Old Centrum has been closed since March 2008

landmark which is now owned by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.

At the same time, the statewide preservation organization has launched a formal study to determine the best future for the high-profile building which dates to 1892 when it was built as the home of the Central Avenue Methodist Church.

“We want to determine the best use of the property – and figure it out in fairly short order,” said Marsh Davis, president of Historic Landmarks Foundation. Davis said that not only is the building a key part of the city’s history, but its importance is magnified by its visibility not only along the high-traffic Central Avenue but also because it sits next to Interstate 65.

“The top priority is to save it – but then figure out what to do with it,” he said. To accomplish that goal, Historic Landmarks has engaged Development Concepts, Inc., the local firm which developed the Martindale on the Monon project and is in charge of redeveloping the old Central State Hospital property. DCI also steered the Mass Ave Commercial Development Plan.

Davis said that he doesn’t know what the results of the formal study will be, but he thinks the building “can be special as a center for the community, for symposiums, for the performing arts.” He also sees a strong educational component in the building’s future.

That idea is not far from the goal of its previous owner, the Old Centrum Foundation, which closed the building in March 2008 after housing several not-for-profit organizations. But it lost its founding organization and most visible tenant, the Central Avenue United Methodist Church, in December 2005 when that congregation merged with Lockerbie Square United Methodist Church.

Davis said the first priority is repair of a collapsed ceiling inside the structure. Other priorities include the abatement of asbestos and lead, as well as a major cleanup.

Looking to the future, he said the plan should serve the building as well as the goals of Historic Landmarks. He added that he plans to work very closely with neighborhood organizations to ensure that happens.

“This is a major save for us,” he said of the historic preservation organization which took formal title of the Old Centrum from the Old Centrum Foundation in late February.