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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Castleton-area homeowners, now is the time to help shape the future of your neighborhood.

Indianapolis officials want your input on a growing push for revitalization. The city is partnering with firm MKSK Consulting to study how the area could evolve.

“Really look at how the changing retail trends are impacting places like Castleton,” MKSK Principal Eric Lucas said. “Understand where there are strip centers that are quite vacant, how we can reposition those for different kinds of land use and redevelopment.”

MKSK is looking at housing trends and the way retail shifts to determine its impact on Castleton. The area has several assets in place that they look to grow, including the Castleton Mall. Lucas likened the area to that of Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio.

“Sort of a similar scale, and has similar attributes, with large transportation networks surrounding it, but has been developed in a more walkable format,” Lucas said.

On Tuesday night, MKSK and city officials held a meeting to showcase some of their findings and ask for more input from residents.

“People I see want to see a safe place to live. They want to see walkable space, green space,” said longtime Castleton-area homeowner Diane Hazel Jones.

“We enjoy coming to walk,” Carol Keller said of Castleton Mall, where she and her friends get exercise. “But if we had other places to walk, other places around, we would like it too.”

The Nickel Plate Railroad is being turned into a trail. Lucas said that can also be a driving factor in the revitalization process. Their studies show trails can increase home values by 15%.

“We can put a real focus on the Nickel Plate here and how to really leverage it and harness its energy,” Lucas said.

In many spots, there are vacant strip malls that can be reworked. They can act as a blank canvas for developers.

“Introducing the type of housing that people are interested in right now, that could be upper floor residential, lower floor retail restaurants,” Lucas said.

Roadways and connectivity are also vital. The consulting firm said many of the roads in town are not direct or can be confusing.

“Maybe a take little bit of pressure off of Allisonville Road and 82nd street because those two corridors are fairly congested,” Lucas said.

If you want to give your opinion to the city, you can by clicking here.