Tuesday night’s vote by an Indianapolis Public Library committee has moved the Library one step closer to closing its Fountain Square Branch – a move dreaded by many in the Fountain Square community since the closure was part of a strategic plan unveiled in 2015.
At the same time, the Library’s proposed action clears the way for Indy Reads Books to relocate from its current home on the East End of Mass Ave to the space which sits directly on Fountain Square, across from the Fountain Theatre Building. The building housing the branch library is owned by Southeast Neighborhood Development.
If the full Library Board approves the branch’s closure at its Feb. 24 meeting, the Fountain Square Branch would end its run, which began in 1994, in May.
Indy Reads Books, meanwhile, would target an August opening at the Fountain Square location. Expecting soaring rents when its lease expires soon, Indy Reads leaders have been expecting to leave the Mass Ave location – its only home since opening in the summer of 2012.
The space owned by Southeast Neighborhood Development fits the bookstore’s needs because SEND is able to charge below-market rates for the key commercial space.
For more on this development, watch for the March issue of Urban Times, due to hit the streets on Saturday, Feb. 22.
