Stabilization efforts are now under way to prevent further deterioration of the Old Centrum, the Old Northside landmark which is now owned by Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana.
The statewide preservation organization took formal title of the Old Centrum from the Old Centrum Foundation in late February, with an eye toward what Landmarks President Marsh Davis calls “its highest and best use.”
The Old Centrum Foundation closed the building in March 2008. The original structure built in 1892 was home to several non-profit organizations, but in December 2005 lost its founding organization and most visible tenant, the Central Avenue United Methodist Church.
Historic Landmarks Foundation has engaged Development Concepts, Inc., the local firm which developed the Martindale on the Monon project, to help determine how the massive building could be used in the future. Among the hopes is that the performing arts could be part of the building’s future.
First things first, however. “For a building of that importance,” Davis said, “we need to save it – but then figure out what to do with it.”
A more in-depth story will appear in the March issue of Urban Times.
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It is so good to see the old Centrum being repaired. I did what I could but there was only so much I could do.