Madam Walker Legacy Center to ‘break sky’ on rooftop space INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Tension arose at a meeting Wednesday about the future of Washington Square Mall. Attendees, tenants, and a representative of the mall’s owner raised concerns with the city government after learning about an early redevelopment discussion. The meeting focused on the first step in predevelopment planning but quickly turned into a broader conversation about communication and who should be involved. City leaders announced the first step in predevelopment planning for Washington Square Mall to be a site study to determine what needs to be addressed before possible redevelopment. The mall is for sale, but no buyers or plans to redevelop exist at the moment. The site study would not use tax dollars. “Sewer, things like electricity and water and the design of the roads, the bike trails, the IndyGo and how does that work, and what does a site capacity and test site look like of what that could be,” said City-County Councilor Michael-Paul Hart, a Republican. But tenants at the mall raised concerns about transparency, saying they had no knowledge of the meeting until the night before. Several people question what decisions, if any, were already being made and who was included in the process. Tenants who still operate inside the mall say they came to make one thing clear: The mall is not closed. While many say they support possible redevelopment, they worry the public talk about it is leading people to believe businesses inside have already shut down. “It hurts are lot of the businesses. Because we’ve been here for 28 years, it hasn’t hurt us, but many of our customers have been calling and asking and checking on us and saying, ‘Hey what are you going to do because we heard that the mall is closed?'” said Sean Grant, owner of RS Menswear. “I had to literally go out and get another location for my business, along with the one I have at Washington Square just because I can’t afford to feed my family, just because no one thinks we’re open,” said Anderson Cavilear III, owner of Cornival Popcorn. Midway through the meeting, Keith Lee, who represents the mall’s owner, Durga Property Holdings, said he was unaware the meeting was taking place and expressed frustration over how it was being conducted. He said he did not approve of the site study, but did say he would consider selling the property. “If a person comes and says I want to buy the property, I’m going to buy the property. I’m going to look at all them people who are the tenants, and as long as they’re protected, I’m going to say, ‘I’m fine,'” Lee said. Several attendees echoed that message, saying those most impacted just want a seat at the table early and not after decisions are made. “In business, we need transparency because in budgeting and preparing for the future, if we don’t know what’s going to happen we can’t prepare,” Grant said. Hart says the site study will go forward, and the study will begin Feb. 18 and have 90 days to complete it. “It’s my intent is to find somebody who wants to take this mall, and put it in a position that’ going to be vibrant for the east side, and right now, it’s not vibrant.” ...read more read less