NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- It may not look like it now, but Colonial Manor used to be a hot spot in New Albany.
"This was the place to cruise,if you were a high schooler," New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan said.
As the years have passed, development moved up Charlestown Road, taking restaurants, retail and people with it.
Mike Smith stuck it out. He rents out sections of Trader's Market to Hoosiers selling toys, memorabilia and bikes.
"These people are retired," Smith said. "This kind of supplements their income, and they've been doing it for several years."
Smith attended a recent meeting, where suggestions were made about what to do with Colonial Manor.
"At the meeting, we presented six different options, and that's just a starting point," Gahan said.
Renderings of apartments, condos, restaurants, patio homes and mixed-use space were all presented.
Renderings show 6 possibilities for the future of New Albany's Colonial Manor
"It's going to take the council to be engaged," Gahan said. "It's going to take the neighborhood to be engaged and follow us through the process."
City Councilman Al Knable said he hopes there's more to the plans.
"I'm not knocking anything that's been done so far, but if they say this is the end point, and we're going to pick one these six, I would say, 'No, we've got a lot more work to do,'" Knable said.
He suggested perhaps a new fire station could do the city well or maybe an independent movie theater, like Baxter Avenue Theaters in Louisville.
Whatever happens, most are in agreement that change is needed at Colonial Manor, change that could restore what was once a hot spot to its glory days.
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