Madam Walker Legacy Center breaks sky in pursuit of sustainability

• But collectively, they represent progress on a plan to protect and preserve an Indianapolis icon.

What they're saying: "We will always uplift the legacy of what we have been in the past," center president Kristian Little Stricklen told Axios. "But you have to figure out, how do we fit today? And that's what we're doing."

Zoom in: Set to open during Indianapolis' favorite month, the center's rooftop space is a "calculated expansion" designed to cement the nearly 100-year-old facility as a city anchor while ensuring long-term stability after years of financial uncertainty, Stricklen said.

• In addition to bolstering the center's ability to host events and drive revenue, the rooftop is being positioned as an additional space to be activated when Indianapolis hosts major, city-spanning events.

Flashback: A reimagined rooftop was originally intended to be part of a $15 million renovation funded by a 2018 grant from the Lilly Endowment.

Yes, but: Stricklen said deferred maintenance on the aging building left it in such a state that those funds were needed to make what already existed functional ahead of a Mike Epps-headlined grand reopening in 2021.

The latest: The center also recently established an $8 million endowment — a goal set years prior.

• Stricklen said before they could get there, they needed to get out of debt, and the real estate business.
• Selling a property at 501 Indiana Ave. to Arrow Street Development in early 2022 and a property at 719 Indiana Ave. to the Indiana University Foundation in late 2023 paid the bills and cleared the path.
• "We're able to invest in ourselves by creating this endowment that will then turn around and help us with oversight of operations which, from a nonprofit perspective, are the hardest dollars to raise," she said.

Between the lines: All of these moves are being made to support the core programming the center provides year-round.

• That includes the center's summer youth institute; collaborations with the Children's Museum of Indianapolis; the Black Santa Toy Extravaganza with Radio One, which provides toys to needy families each year; and becoming the host site for the Indy Arts Council's Art & Soul celebration.
• "In 2021, when I first came on board, our programming budget was only about $40,000, and now it's a little over $1.4 million," Stricklen said. "In under five years, we've been able to grow our programs. And I think those are the things that the community has been able to see."

What's next: Next year marks the Madam Walker Legacy Center's 100th anniversary and the final year of its current five-year strategic plan.

The bottom line: The Madam Walker Legacy Center is here to stay. But not without a lot of hard work.