There is always something going on in Broad Ripple. Businesses come and go and this publication keeps us posted. Not only do I write this column but as a reader it is how I keep up with our community. I have a business location downtown as well so I look to Urban Times to keep me abreast on what's coming and going there. I am getting dizzy from all the changes. Downtown is on an apartment craze. Developers are building new properties in all price ranges. Suddenly it can be affordable to live downtown again. The condo building seems to be slowing in favor of apartments since the economy has taken a beating. There are some pricey apartments but then there are some that are affordable based on income.

Six years ago I remember when that concept was introduced for the blighted corner at 49th & College by developer Leif Hinterberger. Neighbors and the neighborhood association opposed it. Meetings were held regularly to discuss the "affordable" apartments that were proposed. No one, at the time, could get past that word. Would it be government subsidized and "low" income? Hinterberger introduced us to TIF (Tax Increment Financing) and tax abatements which needed explaining because no one was familiar with it. While he and his supporters did all they could to bring forward thinking to the neighborhood other developers moved ahead with city planners and politicians and lo and behold his model has sprung up elsewhere, most notably in a project called Trail Side in the 800 block of Mass Ave. It is a four story building with 60 plus affordable apartments, underground parking for residents and commercial space for lease on the ground level. It is directly across the street from our downtown storefront and was in the planning stages when I signed the lease so I missed out on the meetings prior to construction. It was built in a year and became ready for occupancy last May. The apartments are full but no takers on the commercial space below. Fellow merchants understand. Developers do not. Rent for commercial space has to be affordable as well. Parking for patrons has to be available. My observation shows that all of these new developments have ground floor commercial. Who do they think is going to fill it? Small retail business is drying up, as much as we tout "Shop Local". Everyone wants unique, quaint businesses that give charm and character to their community but small business is in trouble due to the economy, government regulations, internet competition and even lack of support. The proposed development at 49th and College also had commercial space on the ground floor. As a resident and a business owner of that area, that is dubbed SOBRO, I am sad that TIF, tax abatements and political interest seem so focused on downtown and the Fountain Square area. It is amazing the changes occurring there and the blight that has been replaced. But as I drive home from my Mass Ave. store north on College I pass that corner and I wonder if it still sits locked in controversy and financial stalemate. Other neighborhoods seem to get things done but this one resisted change and a bright developer with ideas that others have copied. I hope to hear soon that the gridlock is broken and that corner will have a new lease on life with Hinterberger at the helm after all these years trying to make it happen. Aah. . . politics.

I am out of the loop on the 49th and College corner now that I moved my store from there to 52nd and College three years ago. . . .a corner with a whole hot bed of activity and its own share of comings, goings and politics. We are so grateful to have our anchor business, Aristocrat Pub, back and running. They reopened this month after a devastating fire closed them for more than a year. It is so good to see lights and action again. The street is jammin'. Their new bar is beautiful and friendly as it is configured in a big square serving 60 taps. The dining room side is family friendly and hopping. They had some kinks to work out as they were slammed with business by those who couldn't wait for their favorite neighborhood haunt to reopen not to mention the curious from other areas. Things are settling and business seems rosy.

As the literal dust settles more is falling as another bar/restaurant (maybe two) will be opening across the street. Food columnist Jolene Ketzenberger from the Indianapolis Star reported in August that it was to be starting construction in September as a restaurant and bar opening in January but in September the Indianapolis Business Journal reported (that what once was zoned for and approved by Meridian Kessler Land Use Committee) has now changed direction and become two different named restaurants in the same building with a shared kitchen due to parking concerns of the neighborhood.

As for me, I'm just howling at the moon thinking is there no other use for old buildings but bars and restaurants? The old Monon Fitness Center at 5301 Winthrop has been proposed to be a microbrewery, beer garden and restaurant. It would seat 500 people indoors and out and accommodate another 500 for standing. The zoning hearing is December 13th. I grew up at 55th and Winthrop and that site used to be Lux laundry. It had a bad fire. This could be a big deal due to brown field issues. Couldn't that become affordable apartments in a residential neighborhood? Now we're dealing with more politics. Does anyone need pet therapy?