Construction Tests Patience in Fountain Square
INDIANAPOLIS — Residents and business owners in Fountain Square say ongoing construction is making it harder to get around the neighborhood — and harder for some businesses to bring in customers.
If you live, work, commute through, or like to visit shops in Fountain Square, you’ve likely been stuck in traffic, struggled to find parking, or decided that being in the area is not worth the hassle.
Construction on Shelby Street began about nine months ago as part of the Fountain Square Area Drainage Improvements Project. The $14 million project, led by the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, was designed to address long-standing flooding issues in the neighborhood.
During Phase Three of the project, crews carried out full road closures while working on drainage infrastructure, paving, and sidewalk and concrete restoration. Large sections of Shelby Street were closed, beginning with the southeast portion from Morris Street north to Cottage Avenue.
In August, Shelby Street reopened between Sanders Street and Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive following paving and sidewalk work. But, even with portions of the road reopening, residents and business owners say the construction continues to create challenges.
Cody Potter owns Wild’s Barbershop and previously lived in Fountain Square. He said he used to look forward to First Fridays — a monthly tradition that brings people into the neighborhood, but that the ongoing construction has made it harder to bring people together and get them into local businesses.
“Growing up in the area and living here for years, fewer people are out and about, and there are fewer businesses here on Virginia that participate,” Cody said.
The construction is also affecting people who simply want to visit the neighborhood.
Katie, a student at the University of Indianapolis, enjoys coming to Fountain Square to grab coffee at Bovacanti, but says she doesn’t come as often as she used to.
“Unfortunately, it’s just become more of a headache than it’s worth a lot of the time to come down here,” Katie said about the commute to Fountain Square.
She visited Fountain Square for the first time in three months on Wednesday.
It’s not just customers and residents that are feeling the impact.
Salon Honey sits in the heart of Fountain Square. Dani Chol, the salon’s manager, said she’s trying to stay hopeful, but the unpredictable road closures have made things difficult for her employees, customers, and herself. The closures can make it harder for her regular clients to navigate to their appointments, leading them to arriving late and stylists falling behind schedule.
“It’s been quite a mess out there and I feel like it’s also been a different road closure every day,” she said.
Cody, Katie, and Dani all say they hope the inconvenience won’t last much longer, however, more construction is on the way. After work on Shelby Street, Prospect Street, and Virginia Avenue is completed, another construction project is expected to begin in early 2027.