Anderson + Bohlander was solicited by the City of Indianapolis and Downtown Indy, Inc. to study land use capacity and provide urban design strategies for the rapidly expanding Market East District. At the time, Mark East had been recently established as one of the newly defined Cultural Districts for the City. Focused on providing contemporary design and architecture, public arts, and programmed public space, many new significant projects were being planned or under construction. Anderson + Bohlander led the urban design process, providing a series of suggested building massing concepts for sites currently occupied by surface parking, under-developed areas, or aging facilities. Massing diagrams included phasing of near-term, mid-term, and long-term build out assumptions, and also included input from Walker Parking Associates for projected parking demands. American Structurpoint provided critical insight and analysis for projected traffic demands and strategies for one-way and two-way streets. The urban design strategies outlined in the report provided guidance for streetscape designs, pedestrian space, street trees and plantings, and opportunities for incorporating bike lanes. The plan reflects the City's desire to capitalize on the momentum of new development in the area by incorporating strategies for leading design and planning principles
