Tearing down buildings to build up Indianapolis neighborhoods
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City leaders are looking to demolish another batch of unsafe buildings as a separate enforcement program for long-vacant properties nears the end of its first year.
Why it matters: Abandoned buildings can create fire hazards, attract squatters and criminal activity, depress nearby property values and impede neighborhood revitalization.
Driving the news: The Department of Business and Neighborhood Services (DBNS) accepted bids through Oct. 8 for its second unsafe-building demolition package of 2026. It targets more than 30 vacant homes, garages and commercial structures across Indy.
- They include a fire-damaged commercial building at 2611 E. Michigan St.; a house and garage at 1521 N. Warman Ave.; and a house at 3112 Station St.
- More than 150 structures were chosen for demolition under DBNS' Unsafe Building Program in 2024 and 2025.
What they're saying: "Blight begets additional blight within our neighborhoods, and that in turn decreases the quality of life for our neighbors," department spokesperson Dawn Olsen tells Axios.
- Removing those hazards, she says, gives people "more faith and pride in their neighborhood."
State of play: Indianapolis has significantly reduced its demolition backlog over the past 10 years, according to Olsen.
- A decade ago, roughly 500 properties were awaiting demolition. As of early August, the city had a backlog of about 50.
- The city cleared 41 structures in 2024 and 57 in 2025 and is on track for about 80 demolitions in 2026.
- The city put 107 structures out to bid for demolition in 2025.
- The recent uptick in teardowns was supported in part by an additional $3 million in city funding approved in 2024.
How it works: Demolition isn't as simple as sending in a wrecking ball.
- Olsen says processes like administrative hearings, public bidding and asbestos removal can take more than a year.
Flashback: Some of the city's biggest demolition projects in recent years have eliminated sprawling apartment complexes that plagued neighborhoods.
- Towne & Terrace, the 1960s complex near 42nd Street and Post Road, became a hub for drug activity and violence before the city began systematically demolishing its buildings in 2023 and finished the job in fall 2025.
- The city completed demolition of the long-vacant Courtyards at Roselawn Park on the northeast side in early 2025. The teardown cost nearly $386,000.
- In 2020, the city wrapped up demolition of the 19-acre Oaktree Apartments on the far east side after legal battles with its owners. The property had been vacant since 2014.
The big picture: Late last year, the city announced its Continuous Vacancy Program targeting properties that have remained noncompliant for roughly six years. It took effect Jan. 1, 2026.
- Owners with three or more consecutive repair orders and no meaningful rehabilitation efforts face an initial $500 penalty and fines of up to $5,000 annually.
- Roughly 60% of properties potentially subject to the program are owned by trusts or out-of-state entities, Olsen says.
- "The goal at the end of the day is compliance," she says. "We want to work with people and have them, you know, have safe buildings."
What you can do: Residents concerned about vacant, deteriorating properties can submit complaints through the Mayor's Action Center's RequestIndy service, prompting an inspection and potential enforcement.
What's next: Olsen says the department expects to demolish about 50 structures in 2027.