Circle Centre Mall

Circle Centre Mall is an urban indoor shopping center undergoing redevelopment in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.

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Circle Centre Mall is an urban indoor shopping center undergoing redevelopment in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Initially envisioned as a catalyst for urban revitalization since its opening in 1995, the mall has undergone significant changes over the decades. It is currently poised for a major redevelopment to transform it into a mixed-use, open-air complex.

History

Planning and Construction

The concept for Circle Centre Mall emerged in the late 1970s as a response to the declining retail sector in downtown Indianapolis. Mayor William Hudnut supported the idea, promoting a public-private partnership to revitalize the area. ^{1 2} In April 1979, Hudnut and Melvin Simon & Associates announced the completion of a study that proposed a two- or three-story mall between Meridian Street and Capitol Avenue. The design aimed to connect existing department stores such as L.S. Ayres at Washington and Meridian streets and William H. Block at Illinois and Market streets. However, rising costs and complex negotiations delayed the project’s progress. ² The proposed $100 million mall was to be located north of Washington Street, with an entrance at the southwest quadrant of Monument Circle. ⁵

Securing real estate on the north side of Washington Street proved challenging. The Goodman family, owners of the Goodman Jewelers Building and several adjacent properties east of Illinois Street—including the Taylor Carpet Company Building and the Selig’s Dry Goods Company Building—sought involvement in the project. ^{2 5 6} Their valuation of their properties and vision for the mall differed from those of the developers. Consequently, the city chose to relocate the project to the south side of Washington Street.

In 1983, the city began acquiring the necessary properties. One of the key acquisitions was the Occidental Building, located at the southeast corner of Washington and Illinois streets, which housed L. Strauss & Co. The building was purchased for $2.8 million. Strauss relocated to the new Claypool Courts at the northwest corner of the same intersection, but the company went out of business before the mall opened. ² The acquisition of other parcels was completed by 1989. ⁶

The Jerde Partnership was initially selected as the design architect in 1985 but was replaced in 1991 by Ehrenkrantz & Eckstut Architects. ^{2 5}

By the end of 1990, most demolition work on the site had been completed. However, Simon & Associates failed to meet the December 1 deadline for a permanent agreement due to incomplete financing. ² Despite this, the city proceeded with contracts for excavation and the construction of underground garages and retaining walls.

On September 17, 1991, a revised plan and model for the mall, which included the future Artsgarden, were unveiled. ² Eight days later, the city signed an agreement with Circle Centre Development Company, a consortium of twelve local firms, to secure $100 million in financing by March 1, 1992. A subsidiary of Simon & Associates served as the general partner. Delays in finalizing the financing led Mayor Stephen Goldsmith to declare a moratorium on further city involvement. As a result, large portions of the site remained excavated but undeveloped for over a year.

The original $100 million cost estimate rose as the project expanded and timelines lengthened. By March 1983, the projected cost had increased to $125 million. It climbed to $400 million in December 1986 following the addition of 1½ city blocks to the project. ² Costs continued to rise: $500 million in October 1987, $560 million in January 1988, and $650 million by March 1988. By June 1991, the estimate peaked at $1 billion, though later that month it was reduced to between $500 million and $750 million. By November 1994, about a year before the mall’s opening, the projected cost had decreased to $325 million.

Circle Centre Mall officially opened on September 8, 1995, with a final cost of $307.5 million, excluding the $12 million Artsgarden. ^{2 17} Of that total, $55.0 million was allocated for site acquisition, $10.3 million for site improvements, $62.2 million for construction, $27.4 million for a parking structure, $124.0 million for tenant improvements, and $28.6 million for soft costs. Financing included $187 million from the City of Indianapolis (including federal grants), $75 million from equity partners (Circle Centre Development Partners), and $45 million in construction loans. ^{1 7}

Early Success and Challenges

The original concept for Circle Centre Mall included connecting the existing L. S. Ayres and William H. Block department stores and adding one or more department stores not yet present in Indianapolis. In January 1988, Saks Fifth Avenue announced plans to construct a 90,000-square-foot store at the northeast corner of Washington and Illinois streets. However, in July 1990, amid a financial downturn, the new owners of Saks stated that no new stores, including the proposed Indianapolis location, would be built for at least three years. ²

In April 1989, Nordstrom announced it would open a store at the mall. Initial plans had designated the Occidental Building at the southeast corner of Washington and Illinois streets as the site for the fourth anchor. However, Nordstrom proposed a three-story, 200,000-square-foot structure—too large for the original location—so the store was instead placed in a newly constructed building on Meridian Street between Georgia and Maryland streets. ²

Block’s department store changed its name to Lazarus in 1988, following its acquisition by Federated Department Stores the previous year. ² In June 1992, Lazarus announced it would close the downtown store, which ceased operations at the end of January 1993. Updated plans had envisioned Lazarus occupying a new building on the southwest quadrant of Monument Circle. Although the company expressed continued interest in being part of the mall, it ultimately did not return.

On April 4, 1991, May Department Stores announced that its L. S. Ayres subsidiary would not participate in Circle Centre. The downtown Ayres location closed in the spring of 1992. In June of that year, Parisian announced that it would open a store in the mall, occupying the first three floors of the former Ayres building. ² As a result, when Circle Centre opened in 1995, it had two anchor stores: Nordstrom and Parisian. ^{1 2}

In July 2011, Nordstrom closed its Circle Centre location due to declining sales, as many of its customers had shifted to the company’s newer store at The Fashion Mall at Keystone, which had opened in 2008. ⁹ After three years of unsuccessful efforts to attract a new anchor tenant, an agreement was reached for The Indianapolis Star to move its offices into 100,000 square feet of the upper levels of the former Nordstrom space. The move was completed on September 29, 2014. ¹⁰

In 2007, the Parisian store was rebranded as Carson Pirie Scott after its acquisition by The Bon-Ton Stores in 2006; the name was later shortened to Carson’s. In December 2014, the city agreed to reduce the store’s rent by $300,000 annually through January 2018. Nevertheless, on January 31, 2018, Bon-Ton announced it would close the store, leaving the mall without any anchor tenants. ¹¹ Carson’s closed permanently on April 29.

In February 2018, Simon Property Group announced a multimillion-dollar renovation of Circle Centre Mall to be carried out over the following two years. ⁸ The project included upgrades to restrooms, flooring, lighting, elevators, and entrances. The third-floor food court was redesigned to include lounge areas, banquette seating, and community tables to attract additional restaurant patrons.

The Regal Cinemas at Circle Centre held its final screenings and closed on October 31, 2024. ¹²

Redevelopment Plans

In April 2024, Hendricks Commercial Properties finalized the acquisition of Circle Centre Mall in downtown Indianapolis, initiating a $600 million redevelopment project to transform the declining indoor mall into a vibrant, mixed-use, open-air destination. ^{18 21} The redevelopment plan includes 400,000 square feet of restaurant, retail, and entertainment space, 100,000 square feet of office space, and 300 residential units, focusing on creating a pedestrian-friendly environment that integrates with the city’s urban fabric. The city and state have pledged at least $64 million in tax credits and loans to support the project. ⁷

The project will be executed in phases. The first phase will target the south-end block bordered by Illinois, Meridian, Georgia, and Maryland streets and is expected to be completed by 2028. ¹⁹ The entire redevelopment is projected to continue through approximately 2033. Plans include dismantling most of the existing central interior corridor and replacing it with an outdoor, elevated promenade surrounded by four-story buildings. ^{19 20}

The mall’s main concourse, food court, and access to the World of Wonders parking garage will remain open.

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Tenants

When Circle Centre Mall opened in September 1995, it featured two anchor stores—Nordstrom and Parisian—and 88 additional stores. Of those, 22 were restaurants and food service establishments, 30 were clothing and shoe stores, and seven were recreational venues, including movie theaters. ⁷ By 2018, only one anchor store remained—Carson’s—and the total number of stores had increased slightly to 90. Of these, 26 were restaurants, 58 were retail stores, and six were entertainment venues. ¹³

Non-retail tenants occupied a significant portion of the space. The Indianapolis Star used 100,000 square feet of the former Nordstrom location. ¹⁰ Brown Mackie College, which moved into approximately 25,000 square feet on the fourth level in 2011, ceased accepting new students in 2016 as it began shutting down operations. ^{14 15} The Simon Youth Academy, an Indianapolis Public Schools Choice School for 11th and 12th-grade students that opened in 2015, today occupies about 5,000 square feet on the fourth floor. ¹⁶

Tenant	Type	Opened	Closed
Nordstrom	Department Store	1995	2011
Parisian / Carson Pirie Scott / Carson’s	Department Store	1995	2018
Abercrombie & Fitch	Apparel	1995
Ann Taylor	Apparel	1995
Banana Republic	Apparel	1995
Barani Shoes	Footwear	1995
Bentley’s		1995
Big Easy	Dining	1995
The Body Shop	Health & Beauty	1995
Brookstone	Electronics	1995
Brown Mackie College	Services (School)	2011	2016
Cacique	Apparel	1995
California Cafe Bar & Grille	Dining	1995
County Seat	Apparel	1995
The Disney Store	Toys & Hobbies	1995
Doubleday Books	Entertainment & Media	1995
Eddie Bauer	Apparel	1995	2021
Enzo Angiolini	Footwear	1995
Express	Apparel	1995
FAO Schwarz	Toys & Hobbies	1995
Farmer’s Almanac		1995
Field of Dreams	Specialty Retail (Sports Memorabilia)	1995
Finish Line	Footwear	1995
Garden Botanika	Health & Beauty	1995
Great American Cookie Company	Dining	1995
Indiana News	Books & Media	1995
The Indianapolis Star	Services (Newspaper)	2014
Kitchen Express	Home Goods	1995
Johnny Rockets	Dining	1995
Junkyard		1995
Lane Bryant	Apparel	1995
Lerner NY	Apparel	1995
Limited Too	Apparel	1995
Ralph Marlin		1995
United Artists Theater/Regal Cinemas	Entertainment (Movie Theater)	1995	2024
Sam Goody	Entertainment & Media	1995
Simon Youth Academy	School	2015
Spaghetti Factory	Dining	1995
Sports City Cafe	Dining	1995
Steward & Co.	Dining	1995
Sweet Factory	Dining	1995
Starport/Tilt Studio	Entertainment (Arcade)	1995	2024
Victoria’s Secret	Apparel	1995
Warner Bros. Studio Store	Toys & Hobbies	1995

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Gallery

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Sources

1. “Circle Centre Mall.” Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, Indianapolis Public Library.
2. “Circle Centre Mall – A time line of the development of the mall (1979-1995).” Indianapolis Star,  2003.
3. Olson, Scott. “Hendricks Closes on Purchase of Circle Centre Mall.” Indianapolis Business Journal, 19 Dec. 2023.
4. Alund, Natalie Neysa. “Circle Centre’s Profit Gets in the Way of Change.” Axios Indianapolis, 20 Dec. 2023.
5. Lankford, Susan. “Circle Centre Mall.” SAH Archipedia.
6. “RetroIndy: Circle Centre Mall.” Indianapolis Star, 4 Sept. 2013.
7. “Project Reference File: Retail – Circle Centre Indianapolis, Indiana.” Urban Land Institute. July–Sept. 1996.
8. Briggs, James. “Circle Centre mall to get ‘multimillion-dollar renovation.'” Indianapolis Star, 19 Feb. 2018.
9. Schouten, Cory. “Nordstrom closing Circle Centre store.” Indianapolis Business Journal, 26 May 2011.
10. Swiatek, Jeff. “Moving to the Centre: Star will be ‘integrated and engaged’ with the community.” Indianapolis Star, 14 Sept. 2014.
11. “Carson’s to close location at Circle Centre Mall.” WISH-TV. 31 Jan. 2018.
12. “Circle Centre Mall movie theatre is permanently closed.” WRTV Indianapolis, 5 Nov. 2024.
13. “Center Directory.” Circle Center Mall, 2018.
14. Galer, Sara. “Brown Mackie College to offer classes at Circle Centre Mall.” WTHR, 11 Jun. 2011.
15. Briggs, James. “Brown Mackie College to close Circle Centre location in Downtown Indy.” Indianapolis Star, 10 Jun. 2016.
16. Turner, Kris. “Simon Youth Academy planned for Circle Centre mall.” Indianapolis Star, 11 Mar. 2015.
17. Wiseman, Katie. “The Circle Centre Mall was sold for redevelopment. What was in the mall when it opened in 1995?” Indianapolis Star, 29 Apr. 2024.
18. “Hendricks Commercial Properties Acquires Circle Centre Mall.” Hendricks Commercial Properties, 16 Apr. 2024.
19. “Editorial: Circle Centre Redevelopment Promises to Transform Downtown.” Indianapolis Business Journal, 12 Apr. 2024.
20. “Transformative Vision Unveiled: Circle Centre Mall Set for $600 Million Redevelopment.” Black Indy Live, 15 Apr. 2024.
21. “$600 million redevelopment of Circle Centre Mall moves forward.” WTHR, 1 Apr. 2025.