First it was Firehouse Pizza. Then it was the beloved El Camino Real. And now the Dairy Queen. These weren’t just restaurants in Noblesville— they were places rich with community, where customers weren’t just customers, but family, and owners appreciated each customer like they were their first. Emphasis on the “were.” Now these places are going to be figments of history, faint memories of Noblesville’s past as new construction projects storm the streets of Noblesville. But is the cost of losing these places worth it in the end? 

The new construction going up around Noblesville is tearing apart many aspects of the city that made Noblesville such a special place, one small business at a time. The choice to destroy the heart these businesses brought to the area and build a roadway over it was a blatant waste of 10 million dollars under the auspices of the Pleasant Street Project. Many residents, including several NHS students, feel that this project isn’t so pleasant, such as NHS junior Carson Cannatella. 

“I feel as though these new changes are all artificial,” said Cannatella. “As much as the expansion is great, that small town feel and all these old landmarks have been torn down to encompass new homes.” 

Take a visit down to these now abandoned buildings that were once active with life and you’ll see messages posted from customers and the owners, all saying goodbye, not because they want to, but because the city forced them to. How is that fair? These places were loved by the people of Noblesville, and if the interests of this same group of people were valued, these businesses would still be in operation. 

These construction projects are a gamble, throwing away money in the hopes that something good comes out of it. But how are the people of Noblesville supposed to have high hopes for this project when this project only means more potholes, more traffic issues, and more broken hearts?

Noblesville was built off of this sense of community. When you take away the culture that we have created here, you take away why this city is so memorable, and why it stands out from the rest. When standing near those now abandoned buildings— adorned with messages and notes from crushed customers and grieving business owners— you can’t help but feel an overwhelming absence of what was made here, and fear of what is to come. The Noblesville small town we once knew is dying, one construction project by one. Is a round-a-bout worth losing places that made Noblesville, Noblesville?