For Immediate Release: July 31, 2023
Media Contact: Max Wing | max@downtownindy.org
Downtown Indy, Inc. reports thriving Mile Square alongside boosted cleanliness and beautification initiatives
Recent trends underscore a cleaner and more vibrant Downtown with more than 10 months in City funding still to be utilized
INDIANAPOLIS - - As Downtown Indy, Inc. continues to invest in operations in the Mile Square, funded in part by an 18-month, $3.5 million investment, by the City of Indianapolis, month-to-month trends suggest a renewed sense of cleanliness and vibrancy Downtown. DII’s seven-day-a-week clean team, comprised of 36 full-time employees working multiple shifts across the Mile Square, has gone on the offensive with trash pickup, graffiti remediation, sticker removal, power washing, and more. Since Jan. 2023, the clean team has disposed of nearly 4,000 bags of trash, the weight equivalent of 200,000 pounds.
Work hours for the DII clean team increased 300% in 2023 over 2022 and continue to grow, totaling well over 30,000 since Jan. This is a direct result of the $3.5 million in City funding, allowing DII’s full-time clean team street ambassadors, in partnership with Helping Veterans and Families of Indiana, Inc., to grow from 12 to 36 with support from nonprofit Keys2Work and the Department of Public Works, as well as for-profit contractors. Sidewalks, storefronts, and highly frequented corridors are also noticeably cleaner and more inviting to residents and visitors that engage with Downtown Indianapolis. The clean team has responded to just under 5,000 vandalism cases in the Mile Square, ranging from graffiti on power boxes to stickers pasted on street polls. DII is also nearing a total of 200 city blocks that have received power washing treatment since Jan. 2023.
As DII approaches the seven-month mark in its 18-month pilot program, DII President & CEO Taylor Schaffer celebrates successes while keeping focus on the future, “The work our dedicated and hard-working clean team has accomplished in such a short amount of time is truly remarkable and essential to the vibrancy of Downtown. With 11 months still to go, DII will continue to push back on high visibility obstacles – trash, graffiti, and stickers – while further leveraging community partnerships and collaboration with Downtown stakeholders to do more. We are committed to ensuring Downtown is a safe, vibrant, and welcoming place seven-days-a-week and these crews are a critical part of that vision.”
In addition to the work of DII’s 36-person clean team, DII is expanding its partnership with environmental and community nonprofit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB). The second of three joint community clean-ups, centered around beautifying adjacent Downtown neighborhoods, will take place on Aug. 19 in the Cole-Noble District, just east of the Mile Square. Volunteers interested in participating can register HERE. This will be followed by an additional clean-up in the North Meridian neighborhood on Oct. 28, spanning across 10th and Michigan and Senate and Delegate.
To broaden awareness of the DII’s mission to Manage, Market, Activate, and Advocate the Mile Square, a series of short-form behind-the-scenes videos are being released on DII’s social media and website channels. The latest in the series highlights the work of DII’s clean team with leadership from Director of Operations Fred Carr. Click HERE to view the latest of the series and click HERE to view the first of the series focusing on the DII’s IMPD Bike Unit which has doubled its patrolling hours with City funding.
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About Downtown Indy, Inc.
Founded in 1993, Downtown Indy, Inc. is a public/private partnership existing to improve Downtown, and is also known as Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. As a private, not-for-profit organization, Downtown Indy, Inc. is uniquely positioned to address issues that affect the area’s growth and well-being. Downtown Indy, Inc. focuses on development, management, activation, and marketing to advance Downtown as a great place to live, learn, work and play.