New Park Status, Upgrades Help Reclaim Indy’s Lugar Plaza

INDIANAPOLIS — In the years following the 2020 pandemic, the heart of downtown Indianapolis faced an uphill battle.

Lugar Plaza, situated directly outside the City-County Building, frequently made headlines not for civic gathering, but for a compounding crisis of public drug overdoses, fights, and unaddressed mental health emergencies.

Today, a strategic redesign, heightened security, and a brand-new official status are paving the way for the green space to be reclaimed by the community.
The turning point began when officials officially designated Lugar Plaza as Indianapolis’ newest city park. The transition granted law enforcement broader authority to address disruptive behavior.

“It allows us to adjust some of the behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol, sleeping, being in the park after dark, and it gives us an opportunity to engage with those individuals and disrupt some of those activities,” said IMPD Downtown District Commander Shane Foley. Foley noted that police have already made multiple arrests by conducting ordinance violation investigations, effectively removing individuals with outstanding warrants from the property.

The physical environment received a major overhaul as well. Giant swings and tiered wooden seating were removed to discourage loitering, and public address announcements were installed to guide individuals without shelter toward proper social support systems.

The security and architectural changes have successfully restored a sense of peace, prompting the Downtown Indy Alliance and the Big Car Collaborative to launch “Spring into Lugar.” Running three days a week over the lunch hour, the initiative brings food trucks on Tuesdays, live music and games on Wednesdays, and live performers on Thursdays.

Taylor Schaffer, President and CEO of the Downtown Indy Alliance, emphasized that the lively programming serves as a vital bridge for corporate employees returning to the office.

“To be able to have programming that then invites them in, invites them to stay, and really ensures that this public space in downtown… is really one that we are able to use,” Schaffer said. “We consistently hear from our corporate partners that they have a need to have people in the office, that they are bringing people back to the office, maybe not five days a week, but certainly with more consistency throughout the week.”

While “Spring into Lugar” is scheduled to run through June—and potentially as late as October—police emphasize that their work isn’t just about pushing crime out of sight. Commander Foley stressed that the ultimate goal is eradication, not relocation.

“We want people to use the park in ways that are productive, responsible and lawful,” Foley said. “When we disrupt the behavior here, it goes elsewhere and we want all parts of downtown, all parts of the city to be safe. We don’t just want it to move. We want to address the illegal behaviors.”