CEOs for Cities, a national network of urban leaders, brought a conference on livability to Indianapolis last October. There, experts from around the country worked with a local team to discuss broader issues for cities and hone in on keys project areas for improving livability in Indianapolis.

The two main focal points that emerged were “renewing our center” with Monument Circle and “reclaiming the strip” in the Lafayette Square/West 38^th Street area. In the six months since this livability workshop, local CEOs for Cities team members developed and launched the Monument Circle Ideas Competition. Others — including myself through Big Car and David Forsell at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful — have focused attention on Lafayette Square.

In November, these efforts have included a design charrette as part of KIB’s Monumental Affair program that brought urban planners together to envision a new Lafayette Square area and a Big Car project at Saraga Market that celebrated the diversity of the neighborhood through food.

While working in the neighborhood on the Saraga project with the ideas of the charrette still fresh in our minds, a few of us from Big Car spotted the then-abandoned former Firestone tire center on Lafayette Road just northwest of Don’s Guns in front of the mall.

The building seemed like the perfect place to do what the CEOs for Cities workshop called for as a goal for the Lafayette Square area: Make it “a place to cultivate community development and celebrate who we are.”

On a night after working at Saraga, we stopped by the old Firestone building and looked into the windows. A mall security officer drove up and asked us what we were doing. After we explained, he gave us the number at the Lafayette Square Mall office. We called the next day and began talking about using the 11,500 square-foot building. The mall soon offered the space to us to use at no charge (we have to pay for utilities). We signed the lease and took possession on March 16. We began programming Service Center for Contemporary Culture and Community in May.

In the meantime, we’ve planted a communal garden and are setting up a creativity lab where people of all backgrounds can create and learn together. This community space will include a small lending and reference library and a video room for sharing neighborhood stories. We’ll continue working through the building in phases, developing more exhibition and performance space as we find time and funding.

Big Car is very interested in connecting with volunteers, partners and sponsors who’d like to help. And we welcome ideas for programs and approaches at Service Center. Here are links to a presentation about Service Center and an information and sponsorship packet and a video about the space.