Fountain Square is closer than you think – and it needs you this summer

By Craig Von Deylen
President, Deylen Realty

If you live in Hamilton County, you probably already know Indianapolis is investing in itself in a big way this year. The city’s 2026 infrastructure program totals roughly $279 million: new bus lines, rebuilt bridges, safer interstates, and a major drainage project that has Shelby Street and Virginia Avenue torn up in Fountain Square.

That last project is something this neighborhood has needed for decades. The pipes going in under Shelby will finally address the flooding that has plagued the area for generations. It’s the right investment, and it’s long overdue.

But here’s something Hamilton County residents may not realize: Fountain Square is just a short drive from Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, and Noblesville. And right now, in the middle of that construction, the neighborhood’s restaurants, shops, and music venues are open and ready for you.

I bought the Murphy on Virginia Avenue in 2009 when it was sliding toward foreclosure. I’ve watched Fountain Square come back the way it always has: one reinvestment at a time, across generations of people who decided this place was worth the trouble. The people who make this neighborhood great are still here, still working, still welcoming guests.

What a construction project like this needs to succeed – truly succeed – is for people to show up before the ribbon-cutting, not just after. The first success is when the pipe is in the ground and the road reopens. The second, and the one that matters most to the neighborhood, is when people come back and find the places they loved still standing. That second success depends on customers walking through the door now.

The city has done its part to keep access open – businesses are reachable, deliveries are getting through, and parking is available a block away. The rest is up to the rest of us.

Magdalena is shucking oysters on Shelby. HI-FI is booking shows in the Murphy. Black House Cafe is pouring coffee every morning. From Hamilton County, you’re talking about a 25- to 35-minute drive to one of Indianapolis’s most distinctive and vibrant neighborhoods – and your visit this weekend genuinely matters to the people who work there.

Walk past the equipment. Park a block over. Come before the ribbon-cutting.

Fountain Square has been through harder things than a construction season. We’ll come out the other side with better streets, a stronger foundation, and the same tight-knit community that made this place worth investing in. We just want you with us when we get there.