RICHMOND, Ind. – Nearly two years into the Revitalize Richmond initiative, major redevelopment efforts continue to reshape downtown Richmond.
The five-year project, launched in 2024, is part of a $100 million strategic funding partnership through Lilly Endowment and Earlham College. The initiative is transforming historic buildings into new businesses and apartments.
“This initiative is all about bringing that life back to downtown,” said Dakota Collins, Director of Community Relations at Earlham.
Approved in 2023, the project started at the very beginning of 2024. It will be considered complete by Dec. 31, 2028.
Over the next several years, about 265 apartments are expected to be added to the downtown area, with a focus on bringing more urban style living to Richmond.
“These are going to be filled with a lot of different people. We’re talking about empty nesters who no longer need a larger home. We’re talking about young professionals just getting their own place for maybe the first time,” Collins said.
He added that downtown living naturally attracts cafes, restaurants, and shops. Historically, Richmond hasn’t had enough downtown residents to support those businesses.
“And so it's a chicken and the egg situation, but we're trying to do both at the same time,” Collins said. “When we talk about large employers trying to attract employees, moving them from other places to Richmond, their first stop is to come downtown and see what's going on.”
Revitalize Richmond is organized around three pillars: activate, build, and connect.
AP Development and Flaherty & Collins are developers on the project. AP Development is renovating five historic buildings downtown. This includes the Knollenberg’s Building, which has been around since the 1880s and was a former department store.
“It’s a huge piece of Richmond’s history, and it’s been empty for decades now. We want to bring that life back,” Collins said.
Restoration plans also include the BMO Harris Building 10th and Main, commonly called the “cheese grater,” along with the nearby Hittle Building. The goal is to keep these buildings looking familiar but refreshed. The goal is to preserve the character of these structures while giving them new life. At the BMO site, the current metal façade will be removed to reveal the original early-1900s stonework.
“A lot of people don't necessarily see as they drive by because it's brown and unattractive and just something that you wouldn't necessarily notice unless you're looking. But when you do take a chance to look at it, it is a gorgeous, very cool building and it's also been empty forever,” he said.
The project recently completed work on the Readmore Building, refinished inside and out by Richmond Neighborhood Restoration.
“They put in such incredible quality and care into this building and have given us an example of what a downtown could look like, if we took that and did it 50 times over,” Collins said.
The project’s planning involved local stakeholders from the beginning. Earlham and the city convened a community-based steering committee, and three working groups followed, involving 50-60 participants in total.
An equitable development advisory team was created to evaluate ongoing projects and identify potential risks.
“We’re constantly looking at how projects like this could unintentionally do harm to the community rather than the good that we anticipate,” Collins said.
Getting projects across the finish line has taken longer than expected, but Collins added that Revitalize Richmond is not intended to be a final endpoint.
“I doubt a finish line even exists, but this is a launching pad to get us to the next point or even to get us to a tipping point where things start to happen a little bit more naturally,” he said.
Collins said the initiative fits into a much larger set of housing needs across the community.
He noted that Richmond requires a wide range of options, from affordable and subsidized housing to urban market-rate apartments, single-family homes, and owner-occupied renovations in established neighborhoods.
“This is one piece of the puzzle,” he said.
The project’s focus downtown is specifically aimed at strengthening market-rate living options. Collins also pointed to major developer investment as a positive sign.
“To have two different development companies both AP Development and Flaherty and Collins… investing tens of millions of dollars of their own money is really to me proof of market viability for these projects,” Collins said.
Beyond housing and retail, new community spaces are also part of the revitalization. A makerspace planned for 10th and Main aims to open in 2027, offering equipment and resources for residents to experiment, learn, and build.
"This is really about supporting creativity in all of its forms," Collins said.
Revitalize Richmond is also contributing to the Whitewater Gorge Activation Plan led by Richmond Parks and Recreation. Funding is going toward invasive species removal, accessibility improvements, and efforts to reconnect people to the river. The plan is also introducing kayaking and canoeing opportunities along with this project.
Collins noted that the downtown initiative aims to encourage college graduates to remain in Richmond, creating pathways to establish both professional and personal lives in locally.
While construction continues, Collins said the most impactful way residents can support revitalization is by choosing to spend time and money downtown.
“When you're doing your holiday shopping or when you're going out to eat, go downtown, check out local restaurants and local shops, start there when doing your shopping. Be active downtown, come to the festivals and do things,” Collins said. “That is the single greatest way to be involved. Not only is it a huge benefit to you, but it also allows us to report a lot of great metrics back to the funder.”
