Work on new community center set to start in International District
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The firm behind the ongoing redevelopment of Lafayette Square Mall on Wednesday announced plans to open a new community center in the neighborhood.
Sojos Capital, owned by Tampa-based real estate mogul Fabio de la Cruz, plans to spend about $1 million to retrofit the former Aldi’s grocery store at 3540 Commercial Drive, just east of Lafayette Road, into a neighborhood hub by the first quarter of 2024.
A ceremonial groundbreaking was set to take place Wednesday morning, with construction on the building’s interior expected to begin in the coming weeks. A construction permit from the state has been approved and a separate permit from the city is pending.
The nearly 15,000-square-foot building, about two miles south of the new Window to the World project (formerly Lafayette Square Mall), will be called the International District Community Center and offer employment resources, educational programming and access to various activities throughout the district.
Susan Decker has been hired as the community center’s executive director after more than two years of overseeing Sojos’ media strategy related to the Lafayette Road area redevelopment.
“There’s such purpose and meaning [to this role] that it gives me goosebumps thinking about it, because we’re constantly looking and thinking of what we can do and what makes sense for the community,” Decker said. “I think that’s something every neighborhood needs—and specifically our neighborhood, because it is so diverse—to be able to sit down at a table, bring in people from all different walks of life and say, ‘How can we accomplish this goal together?’”
The facility will work closely with other projects planned by Sojos for the area, including a new cinema and the Fabio Sports complex to provide youth with after-school programming opportunities.
The center is expected to feature partnerships with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department for public safety, the youth athletics-focused Indy Police Athletic League and Employ Indy.
Decker said Sojos is still in the “listening phase” in developing its plans for the community center, and not all programming will be determined by the time the facility opens. Rather, some offerings will develop organically through requests from the neighborhood .
Added de la Cruz: “For me, this is also a great way for us to find the needs of the neighborhood and address those, using the resources we have. That’s the way I see this community center working.”
Fishers-based RQAW is the architectural firm on the project.