A public restroom that served as an amenity for people experiencing homelessness in downtown Indianapolis has been temporarily closed.
The city purchased two restroom facilities last year and one was placed in the parking lot of the Indianapolis Old City Hall. That downtown location also serves as a safe, charitable distribution site provided by the city. Now the restroom is closed for repairs and upgrades.
The city is directing people to the newly added public restrooms on Monument Circle. Two similar units were installed for the Spark on the Circle program.
The restrooms and cleaning stations are made from shipping containers and offer a semi-permanent solution to the lack of public restrooms for people experiencing homelessness.
It took some time for the city to find a second location for the other restroom facility, which remains open. Last summer, community members spoke out against the placement of the restrooms in Babe Denny Park. It eventually opened this year on Kentucky Avenue near the White River and across from Indianapolis Fire Department Station 19. It is also a safe charitable distribution site.
The facility will reopen as soon as the vendor has completed upgrades.
The city spent more than $150,000 to purchase the two restrooms and handwashing units.
