Here's the thread to post anything about the urban development of Indianapolis and the surronding metropolitian area.

Anyways here's the latest news on the Market Square Towers:


The Market District expands with former Bank One structures

INDIANAPOLIS – Market Square Partners announced today that it has purchased the former Bank One garage and operations center. The transaction was finalized earlier today. Terms were not disclosed.

The garage will be incorporated into the Market District redevelopment, offering 1,680 parking spaces for owners at The Residences at Market Square and downtown patrons. It will be connected to the north condominium tower by a sky bridge. Denison Parking, a local parking management firm, will be the new operator of the garage.

There are no immediate plans for the former operations center, which includes about four acres of space. Market Square Partners will work with the City of Indianapolis to include the building as part of the master plan for the Market District.

“The addition of these two properties provides 10 contiguous acres to ensure a comprehensive urban redevelopment plan for the near east side,” said Mike Comparato, project director, Market Square Partners. “This further expands our public/private partnership with the city to make Market Square work for Indianapolis.”

Market Square Partners is transforming the former site of Market Square Arena.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for this fall for The Residences at Market Square, a highrise luxury condominium community. The first phase will include a 29-story tower and 217 condominiums built on the northern half of the property. The Shoppes at Market Square will include 100,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, and the Market Commons will include a 1.5-acre green space and public gathering area.

and

Demand pushes towers higher
Condominiums on site of Market Square Arena climb to 29 stories and will include $2 million units.

By Rob Schneider
rob.schneider@indystar.com
July 1, 2004

Demand for $300,000 high-rise condominiums was so strong that developers of twin Downtown towers are adding seven floors of units, including some that will carry $2 million price tags, at the site of the old Market Square Arena.

Construction of the first tower is expected to begin in the fall, and plans now call for 29 floors -- one short of the Riley Towers' 30-story buildings.

The second tower also is expected to be expanded to 29 stories.

"The intent is to have twin towers. We expect it to be 29 (floors), or awfully close to that," said Don W. Currise, an associate vice president with CTE Engineers and project manager for the Residences at Market Square.

Original plans called for the first tower to include 200 units; with the additional floors, that number grows to 217.

On the upper floors, 4,500-square-foot condominiums -- larger than many suburban homes -- are expected to sell in the $2 million price range, said Kate Flock of Flock Realty, the firm handling the sale of the units. The average price of the condos, many of which will have 9-foot ceilings, will be $312,000.

"The demand has been wonderful. That's part of the reason for the expansion," said Flock. "The higher up you go, the more excited people get about what's possible in the upper levels."

"People understand we're not just putting up a midrise building with some condos in it," said Kurt Flock, also of Flock Realty. "This is the centerpiece of a whole new market district."

Beginning May 1, people have been able to reserve units with a $2,500 refundable deposit. Precise figures weren't available, but more than 150 people reserved units on the first day the sales office opened. Since then, a unit is reserved about every day.

Developers also are expanding the retail space from 75,000 to 100,000 square feet over the entire project, including plans for a 30,000-square-foot urban market or grocery store. O'Malia's Food Markets' Downtown store has about 35,000 square feet.

The project also is to include a host of other retail and commercial outlets, including a fitness center, home-furnishings store, coffee shop, high-end restaurants, a bank and apparel shops.

The expanding condo towers, along with the acquisition of the adjacent, 1,680-space Bank One parking garage and the Bank One operations building, have pushed the project's price tag from $140 million to $175 million, Currise said. The developer takes possession of the Bank One properties today.

The developers were expected to ask people who already had put down deposits to begin signing sales contracts today. But that has been pushed back to mid-August as final floor plans are adjusted to reflect minor changes such as more balconies and some terraces for outdoor patios, Kate Flock said.

The development must sell 50 percent of the units in the first tower before construction can begin. "We expect to have that done by fall and break ground in October," Kate Flock said.

Not only was the demand for housing stronger than anticipated, the same was true for retail space, Currise said of the square footage being added.

The project is divided into two phases, with the first part including one tower and two other mid-rise buildings with commercial and residential units. When that is completed, the developer will acquire the other half of the property from the city and build the second condo tower and another midrise building. There is no exact timeline yet for the expected second tower.

Plans call for the Bank One Operations Center to eventually be torn down, freeing up four acres for retail and residential uses.

If the demand is there, the Operations Center site is large enough to accommodate another one or even two towers, Currise said.

Call Star reporter Rob Schneider at (317) 444-6278.

Here's a comparison of the old towers to the new towers:

Height
• Old plan: 22 stories in each tower.
• New plan: 29 stories in first tower, roughly the same in second.

Units
• Old plan: 200 units in the first tower.
• New plan: 217 units.

Retail
• Old plan: 75,000 square feet across entire project.
• New plan: 100,000 square feet.

Cost
• Old plan: $140 million.
• New plan: $175 million.

I'm glad it was upped to 29 stories!

They've been running ads in Indianapolis Monthly, here's some renderings:
http://residencesatmarketsquare.com/images/pic-about2.jpg

http://www.flockrealty.com/intro/marketsquare/pic2/Day2.jpg

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/2815msa.jpg

I hope that's peach and not pink on the towers!

Anyway, here's a good article, looks like Trump's heading to town...

Indy Star

Trump beats out Bird for last Indiana casino
French Lick attraction is expected to open in 2006 with 640 jobs

By Tim Evans
tim.evans@indystar.com
July 21, 2004

FRENCH LICK, Ind. -- Celebrity-businessman Donald Trump landed his second Indiana casino Tuesday, beating basketball legend Larry Bird and an Indianapolis partnership for a license in Orange County.

The Indiana Gaming Commission voted 4-2 to award the contract to operate the French Lick casino -- the state's 11th and final casino -- to Trump Indiana after nearly an hour of debate, mostly over Trump's financial problems.

Commission members Marya M. Rose, of Indianapolis, and Dr. I. Maurice Ndukwu, of Chesterton, voted against Trump. However, both said later they think the company's finances will improve and that it will be able to deliver what it promised to the residents of the Springs Valley, about 120 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

Trump's $108 million proposal includes payments of $10 million to help renovate the area's two historic hotels, $5 million to local government to make needed infrastructure improvements, such as a sewer plant expansion, and annual payments of at least $1.25 million to a local economic development fund.

The casino, which would open in January 2006, is expected to employ 640 people and take in an estimated $85.3 million in gambling revenue its first year.

But it was as much Trump's reputation -- enhanced by his Emmy-nominated performance on "The Apprentice" -- as his money that appeared to help sell locals.

The vote came about two hours after the local Historic Hotel Preservation Commission voted unanimously to recommend Trump's plan for the casino, to be built next to the French Lick Springs Resort hotel.

Moments after the vote, a polka band struck up "Happy Days Are Here Again" in a ballroom adjacent to the commission meeting. Hotel officials laid out a spread of hors d'oeuvres and pizza.

Commission member Rose said she was being conservative because plans to improve the finances of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts are not final, although company officials said a reorganization would give it a strong balance sheet this year. When the refinancing is completed, Trump will no longer be majority owner of the company but will remain as chairman of the board and a powerful figurehead, said Robert Pickus, executive vice president of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts.

"Trump did the extra work. They got out in the community and talked to the people that are going to be impacted," said commission member Ndukwu.

Trump's other Indiana casino is in Gary. Trump Indiana is a unit of New York-based Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

The company is negotiating a plan that would result in an affiliate of Credit Suisse First Boston investing $400 million in Trump Hotels, which has $1.8 billion in debt. In its annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March, Trump warned of several "risks and uncertainties," including the completion of the plan.

Robert Boykins, chief executive of Boykins Lodging, which has owned the French Lick Springs Resort since 1998, called it "a great day." He said a casino was the only possible savior for his facility and the nearby West Baden Springs Hotel, both of which flourished in the first half of the 20th century -- because of illegal gambling.

"This area died when Las Vegas legalized gambling in 1949, so it is kind of cool that it has finally come back around to this," Boykins said.

Orange County Development, the group associated with Indiana Pacers President Bird, did not make the commission's cut to the final two. Bird was not actively involved in the project but had pledged money for the Orange County Community Foundation. Commissioners gave the group low marks for its unwillingness to meet the panel halfway on some demands.

Voting in favor of Trump were Donald Raymond Vowels, of Evansville; Ann Marie Bochnowski, of Munster; Thomas F. Milcarek, of LaPorte County; and Robert Barlow, of Madison. Dale Gettelfinger, of Floyds Knobs, recused himself because he has indirect business connections with an individual tied to the Trump group.

The other losing applicant was Lost River Development, a partnership of Indianapolis-based Lauth Property Group and Merit Management. Lost River impressed commissioners but lacked the marketing prowess of Trump's casino network.

Both losing groups left without commenting.

Pickus said ground-breaking would be in the fall, with Trump turning the first shovel of dirt.

From the Indianapolis Star:

Northeast transit line gets nod
Area leaders vote to focus on route to Hamilton County


By Matthew Tully
matthew.tully@indystar.com
July 22, 2004


Indianapolis area leaders voted unanimously Wednesday to focus on a Downtown-to-Hamilton County route for the area's first rapid-transit line.

Confronted with worsening traffic problems around Fishers and Noblesville, the officials set aside consideration of routes to the Northwestside and Indianapolis International Airport.

With a potential price tag of $850 million and several more hurdles to clear, such a system is at least seven years away.

The leaders -- members of the Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council -- stressed that questions about funding and a specific route remain and that they are still in the planning stages.

But with Wednesday's vote, local planners will now spend the next eight months studying routes within the northeast corridor more intensely.

They will consider varying modes of transportation, including rail transportation -- light rail, commuter rail or possibly an elevated people mover -- and buses with reserved lanes.

"We have to accept that mass transit is the way to travel," said Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear. "It's kind of foreign to us here in the Indianapolis area. (But) at least we're looking at the future."

A rapid-transit system would be costly and possibly result in a new tax on gasoline. But there was little argument Wednesday that traffic congestion is an environmental, economic and quality-of-life hazard.

Mike Dearing, manager of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization, pointed to the widespread support for Wednesday's move.

With the endorsement of mayors from Greenwood to Carmel, Dearing called the vote, "probably the best indication that the region has committed to a viable regional transit system."

Wednesday's vote was important for many reasons.

It kept the project on track for potential federal funding and served as a public display of support for rapid transit.

It targets an area that Carmel Mayor James Brainard said has suffered daunting traffic woes. Thousands of Fishers and Noblesville commuters travel the I-69 corridor between I-465 and Ind. 37 every day.

"We are looking at the area that has the worst congestion in the whole area," he said.

It is also an area that already has an existing rail line from Downtown Indianapolis to Fishers, Noblesville and eventually the northern Hamilton County town of Atlanta.

While Carmel is not a part of the first corridor being studied -- thanks in part to the paving of the Monon Trail, which was formerly a rail line -- the city could be included in transit system extensions in the future.

Moreover, Brainard said, traffic is a regional concern, affecting whether businesses relocate here.

Indianapolis officials said 20,000 to 30,000 people per day would take a transit system from Hamilton County to Downtown Indianapolis. That number would be on the higher end if, as many leaders suggest, the system were connected to the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Dearing said the project is eligible for $425 million in federal funding. If that number doesn't increase, an equal amount would have to be raised locally.

The sticky funding issue was not settled Wednesday, but Brainard said a gasoline tax is the most practical local funding option, as it hits those using the area's roads.

Melina Kennedy, the Indianapolis economic development director, said a more extensive transit system, touching the airport and other points, would be beneficial.

But she said it is not yet clear that the area can even support the project between Downtown Indianapolis and Hamilton County.

"We would all prefer to have our cake and eat it, too, and see the entire region be covered at once," she said. "But you have to start somewhere."

For now, Philip Roth, a senior planner with the Metropolitan Planning Organization, said planners would work to bring choices about routes and transit systems to leaders by March.

If one plan is selected, years of environmental studies, federal funding requests and design studies will follow.

Under the best-case scenario, the first riders would board a rapid-transit system in 2011.

That looks good, but the problem is that it won't happen until 2011, which gives the suburbs plenty of time to sprawl some more.

Here is a link to the new "midfield" terminal that is currently under construction in Indianapolis:

http://www.newindairport.com/

here are some stats for the current airport facility. Indy is not a hub to any airline, though ATA is based here and Northwest just announced they were doubling their service in Indy. Once the new terminal is built, I am sure that ATA will have a huge stake in traffic in and out as it i always expanding service from Midway (which is now at a mx).

Indianapolis Airport Authority (IAA)
Established as a municipal corporation by the State legislature in 1962, the IAA is responsible for owning, developing and operating airport facilities in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The Authority is governed by a board whose seven members are appointed by the Mayor of Indianapolis and officials of Marion County and Hendricks County. IAA facilities include Indianapolis International, Metropolitan,
Mt. Comfort, Eagle Creek, and Gordon Graham Field airports and the Downtown Heliport.


Indianapolis International Airport is also home to



Indianapolis International Airport

Opened September, 1931
Time: GMT - 5 (in the greater part of the State). Daylight Saving Time is not observed. Click Here for accurate local Indianapolis time. Provided by WorldTimeServer.com.
797' feet above sea level
Occupies approximately 7,700 acres
Terminal has 33 gates, approximately 673,000 square feet of space
Parking garage has 1,800 spaces. Surface lot has 450 spaces, remote lots have 6,665 spaces and Business Class 1,450. Corporate Connection lot has 550 parking spaces. Total parking capacity - 10,915 vehicles.
Served by 10 major and 10 national passenger airlines


2003 Activity % Change from 2002

7,360,482 million passengers
7%


280 Daily aircraft departures (average)
-1%


204,059 operations
-1%


38 non-stop destinations (average)
9%


980,694 mail and freight (in tons)
-1%


5,060,500 landed weight (lbs.)
-1%

I think the new airport is great news for Indy, I hope we can attract a large airline to base a regional hub out of.

That looks good, but the problem is that it won't happen until 2011, which gives the suburbs plenty of time to sprawl some more.

I'm sick and tired of living on the westside while all the rich suburban Hamilton County bastards get light rail and shit.

^ Agreed, it is the same way when the Interstate was closed, the Northside was given coach buses to be taken to work, the Southside was given normal IndyGo buses.

And the plans for the new Colts' stadium:

City quietly studying designs for Colts stadium
By John Fritze
john.fritze@indystar.com

City officials are reviewing designs for a new Indianapolis Colts stadium drafted by three architectural firms hired earlier this year to help determine whether a new Downtown arena is feasible.

Computer designs, 3-D models and cost estimates for a 70,000-seat stadium have been in the works for months, but officials in Mayor Bart Peterson's administration refused to make the designs public.

The Capital Improvement Board, the city body overseeing the RCA Dome, requested the designs in March and paid three firms $35,000 each for their work -- even as city officials insist they have not decided whether to replace the 20-year-old dome.

"We were really looking to get ideas and feedback as part of the feasibility assessment," said Fred Glass, president of the quasi-governmental board and one of the city's top negotiators in talks with the Colts.

"It truly is an assessment piece, not an implementation piece."

Talk of a new stadium, kept under wraps for months by city and Colts officials, is now directly linked to developing plans to expand the Indiana Convention Center -- a necessary move, the city has said, to stay competitive in the convention industry.

In a March 25 letter, the board asked four firms to submit design proposals by May. The letter asked those firms to keep several assumptions in mind, such as:

• A new stadium would have a capacity of 63,000 -- adjustable to up to 70,000 -- with 120 suites and 7,500 club seats. That compares with the RCA Dome's 57,890 seats and 104 suites.

• The arena would have a fixed roof instead of a retractable roof -- like the kind in use at Houston's Reliant Stadium. The letter, however, suggests designers should provide a retractable-roof alternative.

• The building would be located on 25 acres south of the Indiana Convention Center, which could be expanded by 200,000 to 275,000 square feet into an area now occupied by the RCA Dome.

Three firms responded to the letter: Ellerbe Becket, of Kansas City, Mo., which designed the Arizona Diamondbacks' Bank One Ballpark; HOK Sport, also of Kansas City, which designed Reliant Stadium; and Dallas-based HKS Architects.

A fourth company, Kansas City-based HNTB Corp., which designed the original RCA Dome, did not respond, Glass said.

None of the design companies returned phone calls seeking comment.

Glass refused to disclose cost estimates produced by the firms but said the board has been working on an assumption that a fixed-roof stadium would cost roughly $450 million.

The Colts and the city have been in negotiations for a new long-term contract since late 2002. The team's lease runs through the 2013 season. But the contract includes an escape clause that could kick in after the 2006 season if the team's revenue doesn't consistently match the National Football League's median income.

Last year, Mayor Bart Peterson said it was reasonable to assume the two sides would sign a new lease this year. Weeks later, Colts owner Jim Irsay said such a deal would likely include "something that would lead to a new stadium."

Peterson refused to comment on the letter Thursday. His chief deputy, Michael O'Connor, said the need to expand the Convention Center is currently a bigger factor than the Colts lease, in terms of stadium planning.

"We're going to have to plan for a new venue" if the Convention Center is built into the current RCA Dome space, O'Connor said. "We've been very clear that we're going to expand the Convention Center."

City and Colts officials would not comment on what impact the designs have had on contract talks with the team.

Reached Thursday, Colts Senior Executive Vice President Pete Ward refused to comment on the designs.

The two sides met last week in a negotiating session that both Irsay and Peterson attended, O'Connor said. He said the designs were not directly discussed at the meeting.

The request for those designs was not approved by the Capital Improvement Board. That would have made the issue public. Instead, a "building task force" created by the board authorized the request, Glass said. The letter is marked confidential and asks firms not to share its contents.

On Thursday, The Star filed a formal request for the stadium designs under the state's open-records law.

Asked why the letter was kept secret and why designs would not be released to the public, O'Connor said there was nothing wrong with commissioning the work in private.

He added that the public would have a chance to weigh in on designs later.

"None of these are proposals," O'Connor said. "They are conceptual models."

At least one sports expert said it makes sense to work out conceptual designs before sealing a deal with a team. That way, officials know what they're getting into.

Cleveland State University sports economist Mark Rosentraub added that Indianapolis' positioning was not uncommon in other cities.

"If you're going to do a deal with a team, you have to be sure of your goals and objectives," Rosentraub said. "It sounds like Indianapolis is taking a step in the right direction."

Call Star reporter John Fritze at (317) 444-2752.

I had no idea there was a serious development for a new Colts stadium, I heard about it once a while back but didn't think it was gonna happen.

They should make the plans public already, what's the big deal?

Here's a listing of the architects works for other stadiums...

Ellerbe Becket:

http://www.ellerbebecket.com/dynamic/portfolio_results.cfm?ptype=209

HOK Sport:

http://www.hoksve.com/sport/index.htm

HKS Architects:

[Go to portfolio tab at bottom then sports & entertainment]

http://www.hksinc.com/2002/portfolio.htm

My guess is that HOK will get it, they did Reliant Sttadium which is a perfect example of a retractable roof stadium.

My guess is that HOK will get it, they did Reliant Sttadium which is a perfect example of a retractable roof stadium.

First of all I have to say that it's about time the Colts get a new stadium. That dome they play in now is pathetic.

Naptown if HOK gets it that's fine but I think Ellerbe Becket would be the best for the job. After Ford field and the Lambeau Field renovation they have proven to me to be the best in the field. LOL, just be glad the company who built Miller Park isn't on the list...the thing still leaks, although not as much as before and now the bearings that controll the movement of the roof are already showing signs of advance wear and tear.

^ Agreed, the RCA Dome is showing its' age. It can also be used for valuable convention center space, which Indy is in need of.

:lol: I'm with you, I'm not to fond of Milller Park.

Latest construction pics of what will be Indy's newest five star hotel, the Conrad Hilton:
http://conradresidences.com/flash.htm

I think it's supposed to have around 19 or 20 condos, not that many but it's still progress:

(pics by RM)

Before the construction started, it was a small park that didn't attract much attention (not very big):
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/2815img_2621.jpg

Some u/c pics:
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/2815img_3249.jpg

from the Artsgarden
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/2815img_3250.jpg

Site:
http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/2815img_3252.jpg

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/2815img_3251.jpg

And here's a pic of Indy's newest lofts/condos the former W.H. Block Co. Building, which was downtown's most popular department store until Circle Centre was opened. At the base is a TJ Maxx and the building is still connected to Circle Centre, so shopping is easily accessed:

http://skyscraperpage.com/gallery/data/500/2815img_3253.jpg

What to do with Bush Stadium?

http://www.indystar.com/images/pics2/image-165454-1159.jpg

Deteriorating stadium causes city conundrum
Cost to repair or demolish Bush Stadium cited as reason to let it sit until the details of life-sciences initiative are set.

By John R. O'Neill
john.oneill@indystar.com
July 26, 2004


Gary Jarvis has visited 182 baseball parks around the United States. Bush Stadium in Indianapolis is in his all-time top five.

"I know it was run down, but I loved the atmosphere," said Jarvis, who lives in Iowa and has a Web site, www.minorleagueballparks.com.

"Bush was everything minor-league baseball is supposed to be. It was like a time machine."

Was. Was. Was.

That's the problem. Bush Stadium, built in 1931, was a lot of things. What matters now is what it is.

It's old. It's empty. And it needs a lot of work.

Its main tenant, the Indianapolis Indians, left for Downtown's brand-new Victory Field in July 1996. A racetrack moved in, lasted three years, and shut down in 1999.

Since then, the city, which owns the stadium, has tried to figure out what to do with it.

It hasn't exactly been in a hurry. Any solution -- demolition, renovation, something in-between -- would cost money. Letting it sit there has cost almost nothing. The city gets $1,000 a month from IUPUI to let students park there and take a shuttle to campus; that more than funds the minimal maintenance now done, said Joseph Wynns, director of Indy Parks and Recreation.

A 2001 study found Bush in relatively good shape -- but also concluded it would cost at least $3.6 million to fix it up and make it safe for public use.

That's money Mayor Bart Peterson isn't inclined to spend.

"To what purpose? It's a baseball stadium, and we have another baseball stadium," he said. "I think it's highly unlikely that a renovation is in the cards."

Instead, Peterson noted, the stadium site is in the path of BioCrossroads, the burgeoning life-sciences initiative he announced in early 2002.

Peterson recently told Gordon Hendry, his special counsel for economic development, to make the stadium a priority.

"It means we've got to make a decision sooner rather than later," Peterson said.

But before officials make any decisions, they will do a lot of thinking and a lot of talking.

"You've got to have community involvement," Wynns said. "As long as we keep it presentable and it doesn't become an eyesore, I think we have time to work through the process."

That's good, say some of the neighbors.

"We want to make sure that whatever happens, we are involved in it," said Phyllis Hackett, vice president of the Riverside Civic League, who's lived near the stadium off and on since 1965.

But Hackett also wishes the city could save it, somehow. Soon.

"It's a disgrace to have a facility of its magnitude, with its history, deteriorate," she said.

Storied past

It was called Perry Stadium when it opened in 1931. It cost $350,000, seated about 14,500 and was hailed as one of the finest ballparks in the country.

It was renamed Victory Field during World War II and Bush Stadium in 1967, after Owen Bush, then the Indians' president (and a former owner and player).

A $2.48 million renovation in 1977 helped, but long before the Indians moved out, Bush had fallen behind the times.

"When we left there, it was ready to fall apart," said Cal Burleson, the Indians' general manager.

"The land itself is valuable," he said. "The facility is not."

Ah, yes. The land.

The stadium site has been identified in the Indianapolis Regional Center Plan 2020 as part of a larger area along Stadium Drive that could be part of BioCrossroads. That plan also proposes expanding the Clarian People Mover and adding several new stations -- one on the Bush property.

Another plan, "Framework for a Research Community," released in 2003, grew out of the life sciences initiative. It shows several proposed buildings on the 14.5-acre site -- but no ballpark.

That report even hinted at moving part of Bush.

"This structure is more appropriately located in a park or as part of another ball stadium. There are sites available in the adjacent parks where this element could be better located and preserved."

Saving a ballpark

It isn't unheard of for an old stadium to survive after it is replaced. It happened in Alabama after the minor-league Birmingham Barons moved to a new park in 1988, leaving behind Rickwood Field, built in 1910.

The nonprofit Friends of Rickwood formed in 1992. The city still owns the park and the Friends raise money and book events. About $2 million in renovations have been completed.

Each year, about 200 events, mostly high school and amateur games, are held at Rickwood. That's about all it can handle, said David Brewer, director of the Friends.

But Rickwood has some history Bush Stadium can't match. For one thing, the National Parks Service calls it the oldest baseball stadium in the country. Some money also comes from renting the stadium out for television, movies and photo shoots.

And the Barons return to play a regular-season game there each year, splitting the proceeds with the Friends.

If Bush Stadium could be saved, that's something the Indians would consider, said team president Max Schumacher.

Still, he said, "I don't think that should be something the project would turn on."

In Indianapolis, as in Birmingham, it would take a lot of work to keep the old park going.

Having Rickwood "is a great thing for the city," Brewer said, but "it's not easy, and every day is a challenge."

The price of history

If anyone has similar hopes for Bush Stadium, they haven't come forward lately.

Former Mayor William Hudnut said he once asked the American Legion, which has its national headquarters in Indianapolis, to make Bush the permanent home of its annual World Series. It now moves around the country.

Jim Quinlan, national program coordinator for American Legion baseball, said he'd consider it. American Legion leagues, for players 16-18 years old, have 5,400 teams nationwide.

The Series can draw about 40,000 people over five days, eating up about 1,100 hotel rooms, Quinlan said.

Hudnut said this week he still hopes something can be done, because "I think it's a jewel and it should be saved."

It would, however, take a lot of money.

That $3.6 million figure to fix up Bush was the low estimate in the 2001 study, by ARSEE Engineers Inc. of Noblesville. The high estimate? About $4 million.

The biggest-ticket items:

• $850,000 to $1.01 million for concrete work.

• $800,000 to $1 million to deal with the lead paint found throughout the stadium.

• $770,000 to replace the seats, which have lead paint on their frames.

Though Bush is on the National Register of Historic Places, that doesn't stop its demolition or prevent alterations.

Indeed, said Frank Hurdis, chief of registration and survey for the State Historic Preservation Office, the city can do whatever it wants -- unless it wants state or federal money to do it. In that case, state and federal officials would review the project.

Peterson said if the site is redeveloped, he hopes to save part of Bush in some way.

Or consider one of the ideas floated by Hackett, from the local neighborhood group.

She wondered if the outer walls and roof of the stadium could be saved, with the interior gutted and converted to condos.

Don't expect federal or state money for that.

"It would be a nice facade," said Paul Lusignon, a historian with the National Register in Washington, D.C. But "it would no longer be a ballpark."

Past and future

Stand inside Bush Stadium, squint a little, and the years melt away. It looks much as it did when the Indians moved out.

Open your eyes, look closer, and the flaws appear.

The dugouts were removed to make room for the track. The wall in front of the seats is peeling huge flakes of paint. Weeds grow in the lower grandstand.

Down the third-base line, the roof is missing several boards. Part of the 12-foot-tall brick wall in left-center collapsed when a billboard bolted to the wall blew over in a windstorm.

Nothing a little money can't fix. But then what? Does the city need another outdoor facility seating about 10,000 people?

Concerts? There's the tennis stadium Downtown, and the new Lawn at White River State Park.

Soccer? There are fields across the street, and the track stadium at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

"You've got to do your research," Wynns said. "You can't invest a lot of money and time if people aren't going to use it."

Bill White is parts manager at Gulling Small Engine on Harding Street, just beyond the right-field wall.

He doesn't think it's worth pumping millions into the stadium.

"I'd probably rather see it replaced with something more community oriented," he said. Maybe athletic fields.

And maybe they could still save part of the stadium, too, he said:

"So people remember it."

Call Star reporter John R. O'Neill at (317) 444-6233.

It would be amazing to see the stadium renovated but it's not likely to happen.

^ Yeah, that's the bad part. I hope they renovate it, I wouldn't mind seeing a game at Bush again.

They should renovate it and have a few home games at Bush, and the Indians would wear their old throwback jerseys.

I don't know what to make of this:

Northwest Airlines today announced a major expansion of its Indianapolis schedule that will more than double the number of departures it offers by adding new nonstop service to Boston, Ft. Myers, Fla.; Hartford, Conn.; Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham, N.C. and Washington, D.C.

All 19 of the new flights begin October 31.

When combined with its existing schedule of 17 daily flights to its three domestic hubs of Detroit, Memphis and Minneapolis/St. Paul, the airline will offer an all-jet schedule from Indianapolis International Airport totaling up to 36 flights a day to 13 destinations, more jet aircraft departures than what's offered by any other airline.

"Northwest is proud to be the leading choice of travelers in America's Heartland," said Fay Beauchine, vice president of sales and customer relations, in a prepared statement. "Our Indianapolis expansion builds on successful schedule enhancements we have made in other key Midwestern markets for Northwest such as Milwaukee and Grand Rapids."

Northwest's new flights to Hartford and Raleigh/Durham will be the only nonstops offered to those destinations from Indianapolis.

Northwest will offer daily flights from Indianapolis to Ft. Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando.

I don't know what to make of this:

.


I think that this is a good thing and shows that IIA can support more direct flights in and out of the City. With the way airlines are cash-strapped, they don't make hasty descisions that could further jeapordize their cash flow. IMO, I htink that once the new airport is completed, we will probably see a move by an airline to try to establish a "hub" of sorts here in Indy. This may be the beginning of just that. Since ATA is the "hometown airline" and has sizeable market share (however, no airline dominates Indy), this may be an attempt to gain a significant market share and test the waters for future expansion once the midfield terminal is completed. ATA ues Midway as their hub, but that airport cannot expand any further and ATA plans to start flights to Europe in the next year or so, look for a minor war to establish a foot hold in the City once the new airport is completed.

^ It just seems that Northwest is trying to crush ATA while their buisness isn't doing too great, but that's the way things work. It will still be good to have more options when flying out of Indy.

And good news for the city:

AAR Looks to Future at Old United Maintenance Facility

By John Bartholomew

The company that will move into the old United Airlines facility at the airport will start small, but AAR has big plans to grow its business here.

AAR spokesman, Chris Mason, says the Indianapolis facility, considered state-of-the-art, is good fit for the company's growth, especially since more and more airlines are outsourcing the maintenance of their aircraft.

Mason says the company plans to have 200 people hired by November with two maintenance bays. But if AAR’s business in Indianapolis grows, the company could open all 10 bays by as early as 2008 with 1,000 jobs.

And, there are a lot of people who want those jobs. Mason says a job fair last week attracted more than 1,000 applications.

400 definite, and 500 likely, at high-tech support call center:

Company bringing jobs to Fishers

CallTech Communications to open a new call center next month that will eventually employ up to 500 workers.

By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com
July 19, 2004

CallTech Communications, a company that answers customer service phone calls for large businesses, will open a new call center in Fishers next month, eventually creating up to 500 jobs.

The Fishers Town Council was scheduled Monday night to consider a package of incentives for the new company including waiver of $84,000 in road impact fees and other municipal charges.

Economic development officials said the company is spending about $4.6 million over the next four years, including improvements to a building at 12175 Visionary Way in Northeast Commerce Park just north of 116th Street and Lantern Road.

CallTech has leased the 50,000-square-foot building for 10 years.

The structure formerly housed a call center of the Charles Schwab financial services firm. However, Schwab vacated the facility and consolidated its Fishers operations in another building nearby.

CallTech will be handling customer service calls for technical help and other needs for Verizon Wireless communications' Digital Subscriber Line and Internet services.

Hiring and training of the first 50 employees, or agents, for the CallTech center began this month.

Company officials expect another group of 50 to begin the four-week training class and practical experience period soon. Up to 400 could be hired by the end of this year and 500 by 2007.

The jobs generally pay between $10 and $12 an hour, with some up to $20.

According to company reports filed with the town, CallTech projects the annual payroll the first year of operations could total $7.5 million and rise to $11.5 million by 2007.

And the company has a strong commitment to training, according to town reports, that estimates training expenses of about $2,000 per employee.

"Fishers is an excellent location for us for several reasons, including the availability of a good workforce," said CallTech Chairman Robert J. Massey.

"We're interested in a workforce that has basic technical competence and a metropolitan area that has certain attributes, like universities," he said.

CallTech is headquartered and has two call centers in Columbus, Ohio. "Columbus has been very successful for us, and the demographics in Indianapolis are very close to Columbus," he said.

He explained that the work in the call center is not telemarketing, but rather answering questions and providing other help to customers of companies like Verizon.

"About 99 percent of our operations are in-bound calls. About three-fourths of the calls are customer support such as Internet accounts, and about 25 percent is billing and verification of catalog orders. We're not the people who call you at home during dinner," he said.

"We're serving customers all over the country, including Hawaii."

James M. Fisher, who joined CallTech in Ohio four years ago, has been named general manager for the new center, Massey said.

CallTech has about $100 million a year in revenues and operates six other call centers. Others are in Florida, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, serving customers for large corporations including AOL/CompuServe, Universal Studios, Priceline.com and BellSouth.

The new call center in Indiana becomes the seventh location for the company.

Massey said CallTech is expanding in several places and will grow from about 3,200 employees indicated on the company's Web site to about 4,000 by the end of this year. "We have aggressive plans to expand."

Fishers was chosen as the company's newest location over other possible sites in southwestern Ohio or northern Kentucky, he said.

Jeffrey L. Burt, president of the Hamilton County Alliance which helps lure new business to the county, said CallTech is a welcome addition. Not only does the company promise to create several hundred jobs but it also has a long-term lease for vacant office space.

An 85 percent ownership of CallTech was acquired two months ago by S.R. Teleperformance, an international company based in France and operating in 33 countries. The balance of the company is owned by its managers.

100 for new Safeco Divisional Headquarters:

Safeco to Move Eastern U.S. Headquarters to Indianapolis; Add Jobs

7/20/2004 10:00:55 AM

INDIANAPOLIS – Safeco announced today that over the next six months it will move its East Coast Financial Institutions Solutions (FIS) operation to Indianapolis, and with it 100 new jobs to the area. The interviewing and hiring for these positions will begin immediately and stretch into early fall.

The Safeco FIS operation will join more than 700 employees already based at its Meridian Street offices downtown. Safeco FIS provides insurance products and services to financial organizations involved in mortgage lending. The division is based in Santa Ana, Calif., and will make Indianapolis its Eastern U.S. headquarters.

“Indianapolis has become our company’s second-largest base of operations outside Safeco headquarters in Seattle,” said Dale Yellin, president of Safeco FIS. “The talent pool in Indianapolis is rich, and we look forward to being part of the company’s campus here.”

The 100 job openings range from managerial to data-entry and data-processing positions. Individuals interested in learning more should visit www.safeco.com and click on “employment.” The company is currently accepting applications for 36 positions. The remaining jobs will be posted within the month. Safeco FIS will formally open its Indianapolis operation on Jan. 1, 2005.

Indianapolis is already the home of Safeco’s Northeast Region Headquarters, which covers 16 eastern states. Its offices at 500 N. Meridian Street. include sales, claims, commercial underwriting, a commercial service center and information technology services.

from WTHR.com Roger Harvey/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis, July 28 - While we are still months away from seeing a play on the football field, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson is putting a playbook together concerning a proposed convention center expansion and a new stadium.

Eyewitness News has learned Peterson is holding meetings with state lawmakers to talk about the massive construction project and, perhaps more importantly, how to pay for it.

Representative Brian Bosma (R - Indianapolis) says, "We ask the question, what is it that the state needs from us, and the mayor and his staff are looking at the options."

The options include asking state lawmakers to increase certain taxes on services often used by out-of-town guests.

Taxes on:

Hotels
Rental cars
Restaurants
Event tickets
While Mayor Peterson maintains no decisions have been made, it's clear the city is moving toward expanding the convention center into the current location of the RCA Dome and then building another venue in the area just south of South Street and between West and Missouri streets.

Representative Phil Hinkle (R - Indianapolis) says the meeting he attended focused on ways to pay for the convention center expansion with an unknown price tag and a new stadium, which could run as high as $450 million. "The thrust of it was basically, those people who come here for conventions need to be the ones paying the taxes."

Bosma says it is unlikely the state will be in a position to cut a check to pay for either project. "It is extremely difficult time for state policy makers to stand up and say, 'Sure, we will help,' because there isn't the money. It will be difficult decision for policy makers to consider over the next year."

Mayor Peterson's spokesman says the mayor will meet with key lawmakers from around the state in the next few months. Sources add, the timing will be about right for a deal with the Indianapolis Colts by the end of the year and then the General Assembly in session in January.

Airport sets passenger traffic record

Associated Press
July 28, 2004

Passenger traffic at Indianapolis International Airport set a new one-month record in June, airport officials said today.

A total of 747,980 passengers traveled through the airport in June, compared to the previous record of 723,756 in March 2000.

"Although the entire industry is experiencing the rebound in traffic, passenger traffic at Indianapolis has consistently been ahead of the national growth trends," airport director Paul Dooley said.

The airport also set a record for the number of passengers in a six-month period -- 3.9 million in January-June this year, compared with nearly 3.85 million in the first half of 2000.

He cited the return of business customers to flying and competitive airline fares for the increase in traffic.

Several airlines have recently announced additional fights to the Indianapolis airport.

By Nov. 1, the airport will have 199 daily departures to 41 nonstop destinations, Dooley said.

A new midfield terminal is scheduled to open at the airport in 2008.

It has to be the ATA deals!

Here's some more pics of the new Conrad-Hilton, with a new crane:

Neighboring building that will be turned into condos:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3049/2251indy0037.jpg

Where the Artsgarden connection will be:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3049/2251indy0036.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3049/2251indy0035.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/3049/2251indy0034.jpg

from WTHR.com Roger Harvey/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis, July 28 - While we are still months away from seeing a play on the football field, Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson is putting a playbook together concerning a proposed convention center expansion and a new stadium.

Eyewitness News has learned Peterson is holding meetings with state lawmakers to talk about the massive construction project and, perhaps more importantly, how to pay for it.

Representative Brian Bosma (R - Indianapolis) says, "We ask the question, what is it that the state needs from us, and the mayor and his staff are looking at the options."

The options include asking state lawmakers to increase certain taxes on services often used by out-of-town guests.

Taxes on:

Hotels
Rental cars
Restaurants
Event tickets
While Mayor Peterson maintains no decisions have been made, it's clear the city is moving toward expanding the convention center into the current location of the RCA Dome and then building another venue in the area just south of South Street and between West and Missouri streets.

Representative Phil Hinkle (R - Indianapolis) says the meeting he attended focused on ways to pay for the convention center expansion with an unknown price tag and a new stadium, which could run as high as $450 million. "The thrust of it was basically, those people who come here for conventions need to be the ones paying the taxes."

Bosma says it is unlikely the state will be in a position to cut a check to pay for either project. "It is extremely difficult time for state policy makers to stand up and say, 'Sure, we will help,' because there isn't the money. It will be difficult decision for policy makers to consider over the next year."

Mayor Peterson's spokesman says the mayor will meet with key lawmakers from around the state in the next few months. Sources add, the timing will be about right for a deal with the Indianapolis Colts by the end of the year and then the General Assembly in session in January.

On one hand, this would help the city gain money, but it wouldn't help promote tourism. I also can't figure out how they can tell who is a tourist and who is a local.

So what is going on in Indianapolis right now....there is the conrad, and the 14 story? keystone office tower going up......uhh of course the airport and that starts in 2008? Also Is Indy getting any new stores as of late (Ikea?)...any closings?....I also wanted to know what fortune 500 companies were up there and any other striking development news...I am very interested in any happenings up there as I want to move probably when I get the money. OH also what's the word on light rail??

I don't know what's going on at Keystone at the Crossing.
Market Square has 2 29 floor twins going up (residential).
Hilton has 23 floors (hotel, but a few expensive condos).
Simon's 14 floor building might be moved to a vacant site along Washington Street, which is good because it would be blocks from the Hilton. And it would also rehad E. Washington, which has some vacant buildings.

I had no clue Simon was building a new tower there. Where in Indy is their current headquarters?

Simon's tower has just been increaded by two stories to 17 floors. I saw the elevations last week and the building is very cool looking...too bad it wasn't even taller. The airport construction has started with the completion due in 2008. There are signs up around the MSA site for the new towers, which should begin in October.

Good news, Does anyone have word where the tower will be located?

Simon currently leases space in the National City Center as well as other spatterings around downtown. The new site will be located at the corner of W. Washington Street and Capitol Ave, just south of the State House.

I've heard it might be relocated to a vacant spot on E. Washington, where the new 5-star hotel is U/C.

I have some pics of the new airport tower, I'll upload them soon.

I've heard it might be relocated to a vacant spot on E. Washington, where the new 5-star hotel is U/C.

I have some pics of the new airport tower, I'll upload them soon.

No, I was just at the planning office last week and saw the most current plans. They are getting ready to pull permits for the Capitol Commons site soon. Plus, my old roommate is a high ranking Simon official and she hasn't mentioned any move to me...

Any updates...on anything? I would like to know more about the approved tower at Keystone. I read that it was going to be the tallest in the bunch if it was built. Has anyone heard anything about it going up?

Question!

How come alot of sites list Indy's population as 791,926 and then emporis lists it as 783,438 is the city losing population because I saw that the county wasnt because for 2000 it says 860,xxx for the county and 863,xxx for 2003.

I was just looking at the website for the Market Condos (www.residencesatmarketsquare.com) and noticed that the elevations for the towers has changed a bit. I know that nine stories had been added, but if you look at the drawings depicting the additional stories, the design is different than the drawings without the additional floors, which in this case, isn't a good thing. The Towers now are even more plain than before. This is such a shame because Indy's talls are just glorified boxes and anything innovative or creative is unheard-of in our city. Yet another opportunity wasted...

It looks like the market Square Condos may not happen. Groundbreaking was set for October 8 (signs around the site refernce this date) and still no work...

The local NBC station just ran a story that the condos appear to be stalled and that there is a December 11 deadline to sell half of the units to begin construction. Back in September the news reported that they were very near the "half" figure with 43 units sold. But now, the developer is not stating how many units have been sold. The mator was interviewed and stated that if the dewal falls through, he would look into something else. Basically, what I got from the report is that the plans are a "no go" and that the City is now looking at other options.

This is BAD news for the City as well as the skyline. These two towers would have made a huge impact on the skyline!

The revised drawings look like a dorm--incidentally, strangely like the new Simon headquarters, that drab, boring, waste of concrete going up on the other side of downtown. Indy is a great town, but needs some cutting-edge architecture--maybe too much to ask from such a conservative state. :(

Ground-breaking at MSA site imminent

Bulldozers may start to rumble as soon as the middle of the month on the site of the former Market Square Arena, where developers plan a 29-story condominium tower.
Final details are being worked out with the project’s lenders, said Mike Comparato, lead principal of locally based Market Square Partners, which won a bid from the city early this year to redevelop the site with a $140 million project. Ground breaking had been set for October.
Fifty percent of the 217 condos in the first of two planned towers must be presold before construction can begin. Comparato wouldn’t divulge the exact number of units sold, but said contracts have been signed for more than half. Lender National City Bank of Indiana has yet to sign off on all those contracts, but that’s expected to happen in the next couple of weeks, he said.
Locally based Hubbard & Cravens Coffee Co. and Arizona-based Nothing but Noodles have signed leases for a three-story building on the north side of Market Street, Comparato said. That building will include a total of three restaurants on the first level and two levels of condos above.
Leases are close to being finalized for most other retail tenants, he said. The development will include 130,000 square feet to 140,000 square feet of retail space, up from 75,000 square feet originally planned. Other retail tenants will include a two-story home furnishings store; an urban-market grocery store and a two-level fitness center on the south side of Market Street; and an upscale restaurant on the ground floor of the tower, Comparato said.

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2004/11/01/15/Img/Pc0150700.jpg

great!!! I was really worried when I saw the WTHR report last night!

Two-story home furnishing store is *rumored* to be Create & Barrel

Perhaps the (temporary, let's hope) delay in the Residences is related to the metro economy, which doesnt seem to be doing so well. According to the Star, Indy is dragging down the state economy, a reversal from the 1990s, when it was engine of the Hoosier economy.

Indy-area job picture in slow-growth phase
Expert: Lilly and ATA woes, wages hurdles in '05

November 5, 2004


Wages of Indianapolis-area workers will rise half as fast as the national average in 2005 and employment growth will trail the state and the nation, Indiana University economists said Thursday.

Regional job growth will be tepid at best as the area struggles with dampers including the hiring freeze at Eli Lilly and Co., ATA's bankruptcy and intensifying global competition in manufacturing, predicted economist Phil Powell.

Some 20,000 Indianapolis-area people quit looking for jobs in the past year, and those so-called "discouraged workers" no longer are counted as unemployed. Including those workers, the jobless rate would be 6.8 percent instead of the current 4.7 percent, he said.

"We've got the flu," Powell said. "The local economy is actually lagging behind the state."

The gloomy forecast sparked questions about how jobs could be created during the university's annual economic forecast breakfast in Downtown Indianapolis that was attended by 250.

The downbeat local forecast contrasted sharply with moderately optimistic expectations for the national economy.

Despite "real concerns" about a "huge" federal budget deficit, high oil costs and a large trade deficit, the national economy will expand an inflation-adjusted 3 percent, according to a forecast assembled by the panel of economists.

Joblessness will hold near 5.4 percent, though rising costs for health care and raw materials like steel will limit gains in corporate profits to 8 percent.

Indiana will add 15,000 jobs next year, a 0.5 percent increase from current employment of slightly more than 2.9 million, said Jerry Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center.

The gain, including some manufacturing jobs, will be similar to 2004.

Since bottoming at a post- recession low of 2,888,500 jobs in March 2002, the state has recovered only 28,000 positions. Most of the jobs were lost in 2000 and 2001 as manufacturers began closing plants and laying off workers.

However, Conover noted job numbers have increased year-over-year for nine consecutive months.

Experts predict state unemployment will remain near 4.8 percent; the rate has hovered near 5 percent for about three years.

Construction has been a bright spot this year, with construction jobs gaining nearly 4 percent in the past 12 months.

Housing construction has been fueled by low interest rates, and projects like the Indianapolis International Airport expansion have drawn workers.

This year, the Indianapolis area is on track to set records for average home prices and number of homes built.

Education and health services, and professional and business services also are up this year.

Employment in Marion and surrounding counties along with Madison County shrank 2.2 percent in the year ended in September, a period when national employment rose 1.3 percent.

The average weekly wage for Indianapolis-area workers in the last year increased 3 percent, to $754.

Continuing recovery of the national economy will improve earnings of area companies and cause scattered job growth, Powell said.

But problems with big companies like Lilly and ATA will suppress wage growth to about 1.5 percent, half the projected 3 percent national increase.

Travails at locally headquartered companies like Lilly and ATA also will dampen prices for expensive housing because fewer executives will compete to drive up the prices, Powell said.

The flip side is that people will be able to afford houses they otherwise couldn't.

The answer isn't necessarily luring companies from other states to expand in the Indianapolis area, Powell urged.

A bigger shot in the arm would come from local companies improving what they already do well.

Sadly, he said, Indianapolis is a lot like Australia and New Zealand in that it is considered a good place for companies to put subsidiaries.

"Our entrepreneurial culture is not very mature," Powell said. "They tend to embrace new ideas slowly. We don't celebrate innovation."

After listening to the economists and the audience, Jaye Lampert, whose Indianapolis company sells supplies for environmental compliance, concluded that the brain drain of college graduates needs to be stopped and businesses need to embrace change.

"We're not through with the storm," she said in an interview. "That means we have to be a little more creative."

Very nice.

It doesnt look too bad.
http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2004/11/01/15/Img/Pc0150700.jpg

Is this the tallest going up in Indianapolis now?

Land for new IndyGo hub closer to being obtained


November 9, 2004


The Capital Improvement Board on Monday moved a step closer to building a multimillion dollar IndyGo bus hub in Downtown Indianapolis.

The nine-member board agreed to partner with IndyGo to buy a 2.3-acre plot near the RCA Dome and develop the transit hub there. It likely will include stores and restaurants and would provide access to rapid transit lines in the future.

The board also authorized its lawyers to invoke eminent domain should the city and the property's owner fail to agree on a price. The property is registered under the Anthony M. Maio Trust, county tax records show. A lawyer for the owner has declined to identify his client.

So far, the city has offered about $2 million for the property, the estimated appraised value; the property owner wants about $7 million, board officials say.

Board Vice President Patrick J. Early abstained from Monday's votes, saying he has a personal relationship with the property owner, whom he did not identify.

Design, costs and a construction schedule have not been set.


*this is good, because it is a step closer to a LTR in the City. However, my thoughts are "What is wrong with Union Station?" That structure is gorgeous and just a shadow of its former self in terms of glory. Heck, all the trains still converge there, it would make sense to use it as a hub for Indy Go (it is being used by GreyHound and Amtrak).

It doesnt look too bad.
http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2004/11/01/15/Img/Pc0150700.jpg

Is this the tallest going up in Indianapolis now?
Nah, it should be the tallest residential building in the city.

What's the population of Indy?

The city has roughly 800,000 (this includes all of Marion County, Indiana with the exception of three cities), metro 1.6 mill and a CSA of 1.8.

I envy Indy's growth. Indy is one city that is on the fast track!

Indy's the best kept secret in the country althought it's not so much a secret anymore.

800,000? Wow, I had no idea. The actual city has that? Are you sure?

That would make it only slightly smaller than Detroit.

How is Indianapolis' diversity?

From the 2000 census:

Indianapolis total city limit population : 791,926
White : 536,496 67.7%
Black : 199,096 25.1%
Hispanic : 30,759 3.9%
Asian : 11,167 1.4%
Other : 14,408 1.8%

Again, this is from 2000, so the white, Asian, and other categories have probably increased by a little bit. The black population has probably added a few thousand. And the Hispanic population has exceeded 50,000 by recent reports.

It should be noted--as I'm sure you are all aware--that the city of Indianapolis is geographically huge--almost all of Marion County--396 sq mi--and the south side outside of the Letterman Expressway (I-465 hahaha) is still farmland. The city is not very dense, so if downtown development continues, and the southeast/west sides continue to develop, the population could easily top 1 million in the city.

The City of Detroit is about 140 sq miles, making it almost three times as dense, and in a sense, almost three times as populated as Indy. This is all just historical anomaly--Indy combined with its suburbs, and Detroit did not. If Indy-Marion consolidation had not happened, Indy's population would be closer to Dayton or Akron, and probably not much bigger than Ft. Wayne, rather than larger than SF or Boston.

Prior to consolidation, Indianapolis had a population around 450,000. With the way urban cores have declined, and the way Indy has revitalized, I would say that it would probably be about the same today.

The 82 square miles of Indianapolis before the January 1st 1970 UNIGOV consolidation is now patroled by the Indianapolis Police Department, and on their website they have used 2000 census tract population to claim that they serve 321,870 people.

So if UNIGOV had never happened, and if Indianapolis hadn't annexed any more land in the past 34 years, remaining at 82 square miles, the current population of Indianapolis would be 321,870.

This would be how the city rankings would stand:

52nd Santa Ana, CA 337,977
53rd Pittsburgh, PA 334,563
54th Arlington, TX 332,969
55th Cincinnati, OH 331,285
56th Anaheim, CA 328,014
57th Indianapolis, IN 321,870
58th Toledo, OH 313,619
59th Tampa, FL 303,447
60th Buffalo, NY 292,648
61st Saint Paul, MN 287,151
62nd Corpus Christi, TX 277,454

Of course it wouldn't really have turned out that way since most of the land brought into Indianapolis by UNIGOV was unincorporated township which surely would have eventually been annexed by Indy. Actually, Indianapolis might be larger today if it hadn't been for UNIGOV, since they could have reached out and gobbled up all of these areas of Marion County anyway, and now they wouldn't be encumbered by the UNIGOV agreement prohibiting annexation of land outside of Marion County. So without UNIGOV we might have a 600 square mile Indianapolis with 1.3 million residents.

And cjfjapan, I see what you're saying but three times as dense was a little too much. Detroit, with 951,270 residents within 138.7 square miles has 6858.5 people per square mile. While the old city limits of Indianapolis has 321,870 residents within 82 square miles, giving it 3925.2 people per square mile. So almost twice as much.

Some people here are guessing that the city core's population would be anywhere from 321,000 to 450,000. I wanna lend some first-hand understanding based on my having grown up there and recently mapping the entire center city.
It is true that the city's residential areas inside a radius of 1 mile from the Circle (farther out on the old northside) have grown and transformed into a pretty impressive urban neighborhood for a midwestern city, however the old neighborhoods outside of that 1 or 1.5-mile radius have been in a serious state of decline and poverty since the white-flight of the 50's and 60's. There are massive numbers of abandoned houses and vacant lots. Not as bad as Detroit, but on a smaller scale, somewhat similar. Historically, Indianapolis has been among the poorer cities in the midwest ever since large amounts of Appalachian and southern rural families immigrated to the city in search of work ever since the turn of the century, or even earlier. Local historians know that Indy has traditionally been the "most southern in character" of any large midwestern city and those people lived in bleak ghettos, typically in low-lying areas near industries, and south of Washington Street (US 40), which is still today a cultural dividing line between the Yankees and Southerners across the state.

Check out and compare these two aerials: 1956 and 1998. You'll see the amazing density the city had in the first half of the 20th century, and how much of its housing stock was lost over the next 4 decades.

http://www.geology.iupui.edu/research/GraphixLab/Data/EACI/aerialarchive/marion_56/aerials/05-10.jpg


http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=11&x=1432&y=11014&z=16&w=2

Fortunately, this area is going through a hugh revitalization and rebuilding that has totally rebuilt the neighborhood in a similar old-city style. The rest of hte old city isn't so lucky. Yet... Lots of nice houses still exist. Those areas will gentrify in time, but the city really has a problem with a huge number of uneducated inner city residents and gang/drug problems. Not much will change to the whole inner city until that is solved.

So you can see why I believe the old city-boundary population would probably be closer to the estimated 320,000 mark unfortunately, but don't forget, lots of immigrants and the poor end up not being counted. Could we say 360,000 for a guess?

And yes, there is lots of farmland, particularly on the SE and SW quadrants that could still be developed, and are developing at a moderate rate. Marion County could someday have 1,000,000. Today it is about 864,000. But those areas won't develop very fast unless the utilities and schools and highway access improve (I know the SW and SE schools aren't bad, but the outer counties' schools are better and more removed from inner city issues).


For those of you city map/photo geeks (like me) interested in old aerials of Indianapolis, this is a good place to start for all aerials 1956.

http://www.geology.iupui.edu/research/GraphixLab/Data/EACI/aerialarchive/marion_56/index.htm

Then, go to

http://imaps.indygov.org/prod/GeneralViewer/viewer.htm

and make sure to change the map set (at the bottom left) from "general viewer" to "aerial photography" The newer photos are crisp color aerials, but you can go all the way back to 1937(!). You could spend lots of time here. The 1937 pictures faintly show the trolley lines down the street centers!

Thanks everyone for correcting my estimates--I guess I assumed that central Indy (Center Twp) would have lost about half its population, like other older Rust Belt cities that did not annex the surrounding land--like Cincinnati, Buffalo, Pittsburgh--three extreme, deindustrialized examples.

I'm not sure, though, if UNIGOV and the city/county consolidation hindered Indy's growth--I think there are very few cities--I can only think of Atlanta and NYC--whose borders cross county lines. Are there others? It seems rare to me.

Humblehoosier, thanks for the retrofitting of old Indy's population. It's hard to imagine the city of Indianapolis smaller than Arlington TX, but it also shows again how flawed--imho-- it is to look strictly at the population of the "city"--certainly, what we can consider the urban areas of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh or Buffalo (whose boundaries are rather arbitrary) cannot be compared with Corpus Christi TX or Toledo. It's interesting, too, that many of the cities you listed are suburbs of larger cities or have twins like Tampa and St. Paul.

So, given those numbers, is Indy too big for it's britches? How about Louisville, Columbus O, other cities whose urban-suburban population ratios are much more in line with Western and Southwestern cities like Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio/Diego/Jose and others--does the city population really matter?

I like to look at urban area, it really gives an accurate picture about how big a city is.

I agree, urban area is the most accurate. Here's a list:
http://www.demographia.com/db-ua2000r.htm

Big City--That 50's aerial is amazing! So much of Indy has changed over the decades.

As an outsider that hasn't been to Indy in quite a few years. I don't think that Indy is trying to be too big for its britches. The urban area of Indy is comparable to Milwaukee and Providence. The city has dramatically change since I've been there, but Indy is Indy. I do believe that some of the forumers from Indy try to put the city in a category that is much too high just like Charlotte, Atlanta and most other cities. Indy is just fine the way it is.

And city populations don't matter. Pheonix is now larger than Philladelphia. LOL!!! When visiting the two cities one would find that not to be accurate. The same is with comparing Memphis to St. Louis. Memphis is more than double the size of St. Louis when it comes to city population stats. When looking at the metro figures one would find St. Louis to be more that twice the size. Urban area population figures is almost twice as much as well.

I agree, urban area is the most accurate. Here's a list:
http://www.demographia.com/db-ua2000r.htm

Big City--That 50's aerial is amazing! So much of Indy has changed over the decades.


Great stats on urbanized area...I can not believe that LA is the most dense place in the US!

December 1 article from Indystar.com--looks like the MSA condos are in trouble--at least the city won't lose any money ...

Slow sales may delay Downtown high-rise
Developers ask for more time to sell first 100 condominiums in tower at former MSA site.


By John Fritze
john.fritze@indystar.com
December 1, 2004


A high-rise condominium tower proposed for the former Market Square Arena site may be put on hold because of lagging sales, officials involved with the project said Tuesday.

Developers responsible for the 29-story, $140 million project have asked for more time to sell the first 100 units -- a threshold they must meet before breaking ground. So far, 41 condos have been sold.

Market Square Partners was not expected to meet the Dec. 11 deadline to sell those units, so the group of developers asked for an indefinite extension. The completed project would have 400 units.

Mayor Bart Peterson dismissed concerns that the delay is a bad sign for the project, which is among the most expensive planned for Downtown Indianapolis.

"I'm impressed with their commitment to getting it done, which I think is very strong," Peterson said. "I feel good about this thing getting done."

An extension has not yet been granted, only requested, and neither Peterson nor developers would guess at a new timeline.

Mike Comparato, who as project director was the public face of the proposal, is no longer directly involved. Comparato did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Sales began Sept. 1 and have slowed in recent weeks. Selling the remaining 59 units in December would be difficult because of the holidays, said Don Currise, with Market Square Partners.

Developers are now redesigning units -- adding floor space and balconies -- to spur sales. Most units cost from $300,000 to $400,000, and potential buyers must pay a 10 percent nonrefundable deposit.

"As we retool the building, it's just taking us a longer period of time," Currise said. "We just want to make sure that we do it right."

Market Square Partners includes Smoot Construction and William Shrewsberry, a former deputy mayor under Peterson.

Peterson has said taxpayers are protected, even if the project doesn't come to fruition. Developers received no financial incentives and made a $1 million payment to the city for low-income housing.

That nonrefundable investment, Peterson said, is one reason the developers are determined to see the project through.

"They've put a huge commitment into this," the mayor said. "They've committed to doing what it takes to deliver what was promised to the city."

The plan ultimately calls for two towers and several thousand square feet of retail space.

Classic case of good news wrapped in a butter slathered bisquit of lardy bad news...


Study: Walkers safer on Indianapolis streets


By Theodore Kim
theodore.kim@indystar.com
December 2, 2004


Indianapolis-area streets are safer for pedestrians than they were a decade ago, a new study has found, though pedestrian safety is worse here than in other Midwestern cities like Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.

Central Indiana ranked 26th most dangerous out of the nation's 50 largest urban regions, according to a study released today by the Surface Transportation Policy Project. The Washington-based group is made up of planning, government and civic groups across the country.

Nationally, the study rated the Boston area the most pedestrian-friendly and four Florida cities -- Orlando, Tampa-St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale -- the most dangerous.

In the Midwest, Detroit ranked 12th most dangerous, Louisville 24th, Chicago 34th, Columbus 41st and Cincinnati 46th.

Rankings are based on the average annual number of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people, as well as the percentage of commuters who walk to work. The study's authors combined both sets of information to calculate a so-called "pedestrian danger index" for each metropolitan region. The two-year survey is based on data from 2002 and 2003.

Metropolitan Indianapolis, which includes Marion County and nine surrounding counties, has seen a 12 percent decline in its "danger index" since 1994 and 1995, the 12th best drop in the nation. Salt Lake City, Utah, registered the greatest decline in the index, down 44 percent from 1994-1995.

Downtown Indianapolis has benefited from wide and well-marked crosswalks, timed crosswalk signals and increased traffic measures by police during major events, such as Colts and Pacers games.

Meantime, planners said the popularity of the Monon Trail, the north-south hiker/biker route that bisects Indianapolis, has swelled the number of regular walkers here yet kept pedestrian fatalities to a minimum.

The Indianapolis area ranked 25th in spending on bicycle and pedestrian projects between fiscal 1998 and 2003, averaging about 64 cents per capita, the study showed. The Tampa area spent the most per capita on such projects ($1.66) and San Antonio, Texas, the least (8 cents).

"We've done some things in the city that have made things very convenient," said Mike Dearing, manager for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization. "When motorists drive around places like Monument Circle and the Monon Trail, they know that they're high pedestrian areas."

Even so, the city is among many that has struggled with pedestrian safety in neighborhoods outside of the downtown core, where roads are wider, traffic travels faster and crosswalks are not as frequent, study officials said.

Indianapolis also remains one of the largest metropolitan areas without a mass transit system, making it difficult for pedestrians to travel long distances and increasing the need to drive.

"When there is a more developed transit system, it helps create a coordinated transportation system for pedestrians," Dearing said.

More broadly, 4,827 people across the nation died while walking along the street in the United States in 2003, a 2 percent decline from 2002, according to the study. However, Anne Canby, president of the project, said the decrease in fatalities has been driven by a decrease in the number of people who walk.

On the whole, she said poor urban and suburban planning and reckless walking and driving habits have contributed to make the nation's thoroughfares more dangerous for pedestrians.

"Our streets are already too mean and, in fact, they are growing meaner," Canby said.

Planners point out that many of the cities deemed the "most dangerous" for pedestrians -- such as Orlando, Atlanta and Phoenix -- have experienced explosive growth, particularly in car-friendly suburbs that leave little room for pedestrians.

"These communities, they were really designed with the automobile in mind," said David Siegel, an Oregon land-use expert and president-elect of the American Planning Association. "It took a while to get into this problem. It will take a while to fix it."

Call Star reporter Theodore Kim at (317) 444-6247.

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Now that the downtown library has gotten past the problem with underground garage, how long have they delayed the opening of the expansion and renovation project?

I see that they're making good progress with the IU medical research building, when are they going to open up the monorail station at that location?

Daniels wants to review Trump casino deal

By Mike Smith
Associated Press
December 2, 2004


The Indiana Gaming Commission has agreed not to execute any final contract allowing Donald Trump's casino company to operate a casino in Orange County until the deal is reviewed by incoming Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels, the Daniels team said today.


Ellen Whitt, who will be Daniels' deputy chief of staff, said the transition team sought that assurance in part because there were "serious unresolved issues about the solvency of the company" and other issues.


But she also said it was part of a standard request that no major decisions outside of ordinary state government business be made until Daniels is sworn in Jan. 10.


Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Nov. 22, but the commission said it expected the project to move forward as planned.


The commission had previously awarded the Orange County license to Trump's company, but a final operating contract with the state is still pending.


A letter today from the transition team to Glenn Lawrence, executive director of the Gaming Commission, said Lawrence had agreed that no contract related to the Orange County casino project would be executed prior to Daniels taking office.


The letter said the request was "not in anyway intended to question or undermine" negotiations conducted by the commission on the transaction.


"We have the fullest confidence that the Commission has acted in the best interest of the state, and we fully anticipate that will be confirmed by our own independent review," Harry Gonso, Daniels' transition director, said in the letter.


The letter did not mention any specific concerns about Trump's company, and Whitt did not mention any either when initially contacted by The Associated Press today.


But she said later in the day that there were serious questions about the company's solvency and it may owe up to $18 million in taxes to Indiana because of recent court rulings.


She also said it was a complex transaction.


A receptionist at the Gaming Commission said Lawrence and other staff members were traveling to southern Indiana today and were unavailable for comment.


The commission is holding a business meeting in Rising Sun on Friday, and also was to consider whether a casino there should be relicensed.


The bankruptcy filing by Trump's company came after months of negotiations with bondholders over restructuring and debt.


The filings list debt of about $1.8 billion, which Trump said would be cut by $500 million under the bankruptcy reorganization plans.


Gregory Hahn, an Indiana attorney representing Trump in the contract, said he believed the Daniels' request to suspend any final contract was simply part of standard procedure for the transition team.


"I don't think it is unusual at all," he said. "It is my understanding that they have asked every major department not to make any more decisions on a contract or anything else until they have a chance to review it.


We are very comfortable with that, and we want them to be comfortable with what is going on."


Efforts to reach Hahn after Whitt raised specific concerns were not immediately successful.

Has anybody been to any concerts at the new sitting lawn at the White River State Park downtown?

Have they broken ground yet on the new Indiana African-American Heritage Museum?

Indiana Avenue revival planned

Group is hoping to showcase district's black history, draw new clubs, businesses.

By Eunice Trotter
eunice.trotter@indystar.com
November 28, 2004


In its glory days, Indiana Avenue was a hot spot for live jazz and blues, good food and black-owned businesses.


A group headed by the nine-member Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission wants to re-create those days.


The commission recently approved a plan to make the area on the north side of Downtown Indianapolis a tourist attraction that will showcase black history and culture.


The plan details the district's assets, strengths, challenges, priorities and key strategies and calls for people to live and work in the area but does not identify funding.


The area is one of six cultural districts in Indianapolis.


"We want to make it a destination, not only for visitors, but for the community," said Dorothy J. Jones, president of BOS Community Development Corp. (formerly Business Opportunities Systems), which is working with about 50 people to collect ideas about the plan.


Among the assets to be tapped is Madame Walker Theatre Center, with its 900-seat theater originally built for vaudeville and silent movies. Under the plan, it will receive a face-lift.


The group intends to attract soul food restaurants and nightclubs back to the area, but that could be difficult because there's little property available.


Most of the open land, now used as parking lots, belongs to One America, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the state, said Jones and Owen Brant, owner of Bourbon Street Distillery at 361 Indiana Ave.


Brant owns the property formerly known as Scotty's Lounge, a black-owned business until the 1970s.


"We're kind of lonesome here, and we certainly welcome more business here," Brant said.


The plan calls for tours to take visitors to the area's 31 historical sites, including Crispus Attucks Museum, Bethel AME Church, Lockefield Gardens and Ransom Place -- the first black neighborhood placed on the National Register of Historic Places.


The goal is to breathe life into the area to attract people there. Events, including festivals and concerts, will help, according to the plan.


Officials also are discussing strategies that will encourage businesses to relocate there.


Another of the plan's features is an elevated walkway that will allow increased pedestrian traffic along West Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street.


The district recently received a $63,750 grant to continue planning improvements, but because the Indiana Avenue district was created recently, Jones said, it has to catch up quickly with work already taking place in the city's other cultural districts.


All six districts will roll out their final plans early next year.


Other cultural districts are Broad Ripple, Fountain Square, Historic Canal Walk/White River State Park, Massachusetts Avenue and The Wholesale District, which includes Monument Circle.


Creation of the Indiana Avenue cultural district is part of a $10 million, five-year effort to support culture while spiking the Indianapolis economy. Funding sources include the city's Capital Improvement Board and Lilly Endowment.

When does the new dolphin pavillion open at the Indianapolis Zoo? Being able to walk under the dolphins and look up through the plexiglass is going to be so neat. My kids can't wait.

I know that the Indianapolis Tennis Center was making plans to expand the tennis complex. The RCA Championships have been voted the best tournament by the ATP players for at least seven out of the last ten years, and the tennis center would like to keep it that way. Has anybody heard anything about the expansion and renovation?

So when are they starting work on the new downtown transit hub?

Sorry to hear about the struggles with the MSA project. It's one project I'd like to see fly in downtown Indy.

Hey, when does the new Eiteljorg expansion open?

Is it opening about the same time as the massive Indianapolis Museum of Art expansion?

Anthem and WellPoint complete insurance merger

By Charles Wilson

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Anthem and WellPoint Health Networks completed their $16.5 billion merger Tuesday, overcoming insurance regulators' misgivings to create the nation's largest health insurance company.

The new company, named WellPoint and based in Anthem's hometown of Indianapolis, will cover approximately 28 million people in 13 states, about a quarter of whom live in California.

Larry Glasscock, WellPoint's new chief executive, told reporters at a news conference in Indianapolis the companies had closed the deal just hours after winning approval from Georgia, the last state to sign off on the merger.

Georgia's insurance commissioner withheld his approval until the companies pledged $126.5 million to improve rural health care there. WellPoint Health Networks owned Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia.

California's insurance commissioner also had rejected the agreement until the companies in early November raised to a total of $265 million their pledge to boost health care in the state.

No other states have sought such concessions, Glasscock said.

However, he said the new company would use its resources to help fight rising health costs and ``to reduce the disparities in health care'' in other states served by its Blue Cross subsidiaries.

``I think the tremendous opportunity we have to help transform our industry is to really serve the underserved and uninsured,'' Glasscock said. ``I believe it's going to be a very important part of our future.''

He stopped short of saying that customers might see reduced premiums but did say he believed the new company had the financial resources to slow the rate of increases.

Under the terms of the merger, stockholders of Thousand Oaks-based WellPoint Health Networks will receive $23.80 in cash and one share of Anthem common stock for each WellPoint share.

Anthem, the corporate parent, renamed itself WellPoint and will begin trading under the WLP symbol today.

The new company has Blue Cross operations in 13 states and non-Blue branded operations in other states.

So with Indy being home to this new enormous company, might we see a new skyscraper going up downtown in the near future? Anthem (now Wellpoint) already has it's executive staff of 230 on the circle, with about 2,500 in it's operations center on the southeast-side of downtown, and they're leasing several floors in the Landmark Center on the north-side of downtown.

CEO Glasscock and several of their high ranking executives are about as pro-Indy as you can get. Might we see them solidify Wellpoint's place in Indy with several hundred more jobs and a new thirty-story tower?

I see that they're making good progress with the IU medical research building, when are they going to open up the monorail station at that location?


Oh HumbleHoosier...When I was still a planner for the City, this was one of my projects (I still have the scaled model of the project here in my new office). And my biggest beef was with the "PeopleMover" Station. When the City agreed to allowClarian to build the PeopleMover, the main stipulation was that the public could ride it since it was utilizing public ROW. Well, when the research facility was proposed, it connected to the PeopleMover Station...but here is the problem. The doors at street level will remain locked (safety issues I was told) and the only way to access the Station is through the new building. Well, in order to enter the new building, you will have to have a Clarian ID. Do you see where I am going with this? I raised living hell only to get "no where." "But it's Clarian, they are a huge company here...blah blah blah."

I also fought hard to make the ground-level more pedestrian friendly since this is the northern terminus for the Canal, to no avail. The first few floor will be for parking. I tried to at least get "faux store fronts" on the Canal side. Oh well, I tried.

Amazing how two negative stories can bump up others into a flurry of "positive" "news"....

Sorry pal, I just don't have the patience to suffer fools and worthless haters. Life's too short to piss and moan.

Sorry pal, I just don't have the patience to suffer fools and worthless haters. Life's too short to piss and moan.\
You make a truly humble, valid point. I promise never again to even attempt to submit an article about economic downturn or stalled projects, lest I dampen the deafening boosterism.
Humbly submitting,
cjfjapan

Sorry pal, I just don't have the patience to suffer fools and worthless haters. Life's too short to piss and moan.

wow, posting an article from the indystar about how the MSA towers have not been selling well makes you a worthless hater? this is the indianapolis development thread, not the please post just sunny and happy stories about indy thread.

Yes, Humbleboy admit it, KM and Japanboy are freely willing to admit that your precious city that you posers have been trying to sugar coat as being some kind of growing and vibrant nirvana with a great downtown is actually a dying sad excuse for a city.

Ha!

Ha!

Ha!

Ha!

Ha!

Nice development thread!

Ha!

Ha!

Ha!

Maybe gych knew what he was talking about all along. We don't need him to tell us how much your city sucks when we have you guys.

Ha!

Ha!

Ha!

You know, I really don't mind Indianapolis at all, but this thread is too funny not to rub it in a little.

Edited to Delete

Wow. First, your bahavior is sad Humble. OH NO! Something not perfect was said about Indianapolis. I BETTER MAKE SURE NO ONE SEES IT! How about you calm the boosterism a bit? hmmm? The article should have been something to discuss, and see what may have been wrong with the proposal and what the dynamics of DT Indianapolis' residential population currently are.

But STL4Ever you're wrong too. Indianapolis is not dying , in any regard. So, a tall condo tower is selling less quickly than anticipated. Perhaps the building itself is to blame. I heard that the units were not very inspiring, and they were going back to to do some design reworking and get things back on track.

Honestly, why can't people just TALK instead of non stop boost? Indianapolis is a city, and it has it's set backs as well, Indianapolis forummers should be willing to accept that. Indianapolis has A LOT going for it, it is not ALWAYS sunshine and happiness in the Circle City though, and if you're willing to admit that, it makes you look like a much more balanced and less biased person.

LouisvilleJake-

In response to your post: The downtown market for housing, I hear from some realtors, is that it is showing signs of over-saturation. Everywhere you look, old commercial mid-rise building are being/or have been converted to residential. Indy doesn't have but a hand-full of residential high-rises, so it is conceivable that since that type of housing isn't prevelant, people don't know what they are missing. Plus, unless you are in a very high-density city, it is tough to presell before a tower before it is completed.

From my understanding, most of the units that have been sold for this tower have been purchased by realty companies, not Joe Citizen. I think that this tower, at least one, will go up, but I doubt that a econd is constructed. (Which I don't really mind, because I am not a fan of "matching" towers.)

And, in today's Star, there was a whole section on the economic outlook for Indy for 2005. It wasn't too pretty!

Whatever Jake, all I know is every other thread about every other city consists of nothing but grand talk about growth and vitality. To read forumers from other cities on this board you get a picture of their cities rebounding from the recession with great projects moving forward. The posts from the Indianapolis forumers are nothing but terrible things happening to their city.

The great booming downtown Indianapolis sold a whopping 41 condos for it's soon to be cancelled condo tower? If you've read any of the Minneapolis posts you'd realize that downtown Minneapolis sells 41 condos each day for it's dozens of high rise condo projects. The Indianapolis newspaper predicts a massive loss of jobs? Meanwhile we've had recent threads from other midwest cities trumpeting job gains. Indianapolis is safer for pedestrians only because everybody has to drive in Indy? We've had dozens of threads about all of the mass-transit projects in nearly every other midwest city. Sounds like Indianapolis is slipping back into it's 1970's slumber, while the rest of the midwest explodes into national prominence. The only other city in the region hurting is Louisville as sometimes Soulbrotha will let us in on some the bad things occuring over there.

Congratulations Indy. From reading the posts in the midwest section, it is obvious that you were almost somebody there for a couple of decades, but now it's time to go back to sleep. You and Dayton can have fun together.

CWilson -

Thanks for the reply, I do appreciate it. I know Indianapolis has A LOT of options for downtown living, and downtown is quite a marvel for a city it's size. But I also had reservations when I saw this project at first...I kept thinking that DT may have a little too much right now(residential), but having no real information at my disposal, I just assumed that everything would go as planned.

I feel though that the first will get built, and the second will be scrapped or scaled down into something more manageable...which is my wish, because I also am not too fond of MOST matching towers myself.

And I have recently seen on WTHR some reports about Lily not being able to create their promised jobs and other such reports. I feel it is only a minor setback though in a city as dynamic and growing as fast as Indianapolis. Before too terribly long, Indianapolis will see better economic times.

Wow. What are you? Twelve? You certainly act like it.

Is there are reason you decide to chime back in? I mean, honestly? Only to attack Indianapolis and Louisville (which hadn't even been mentioned prior to you, I can only assume it was slam because I happen to live there)

You say that you hear only bad things on this forum about Indianapolis and good things about other places. If you think all these other cities do not have setbacks then you're joking yourself. Most people on these boards just are too insecure about their city to air their dirty laundry and failings. I know enough about St Louis to know that it is not coming back as much as you want us all to believe. Is it moving in the right direction? YES. However, you, like most, are too insecure to fess up to the failings and realities of St Louis. Hometown boosterism never stops in Missouri.

St Louis is the second most over boosted city on these boards. Only a few short steps behind Detroit. Honestly, stick to your home city threads, no one here cares to hear your opinion.

whoa--STL4EVER doens't care for 'Nap, does he? There is no need to hate.

Job outlook is kinda bleak, as our major companies haven't had great years...BUT, they will rebound.

Transit, well on its way and former planning co-workers at the MPO as well as the media all point to 2010 when the first line will be operational.

AND, this thread isn't all negative. As previously mentioned, I don't think that the Indy forumers try to "hide" news about the City, only try to get it posted, whether good or bad. We have no reason to hide from bad news, we all live here, we know about all of the development in the City. No, we aren't growing as fast as a Florida or Arizona City, but we are still out-pacing all of our midwest counter parts with the exception of Minneapolis ad Chicago! Take a look at real growth numbers for the midwest and you will see the Top Three of:
Minneapolis
Chicago
Indianapolis

Ha ha. some of these comments are a joke. I would take Indy (or Louisville) over St Louis or Detroit combined.
St Louis people should stick to their little 60 sq mile, 300,000 pop city.

Whatever Jake, all I know is every other thread about every other city consists of nothing but grand talk about growth and vitality. To read forumers from other cities on this board you get a picture of their cities rebounding from the recession with great projects moving forward. The posts from the Indianapolis forumers are nothing but terrible things happening to their city.

The great booming downtown Indianapolis sold a whopping 41 condos for it's soon to be cancelled condo tower? If you've read any of the Minneapolis posts you'd realize that downtown Minneapolis sells 41 condos each day for it's dozens of high rise condo projects. The Indianapolis newspaper predicts a massive loss of jobs? Meanwhile we've had recent threads from other midwest cities trumpeting job gains. Indianapolis is safer for pedestrians only because everybody has to drive in Indy? We've had dozens of threads about all of the mass-transit projects in nearly every other midwest city. Sounds like Indianapolis is slipping back into it's 1970's slumber, while the rest of the midwest explodes into national prominence. The only other city in the region hurting is Louisville as sometimes Soulbrotha will let us in on some the bad things occuring over there.

Congratulations Indy. From reading the posts in the midwest section, it is obvious that you were almost somebody there for a couple of decades, but now it's time to go back to sleep. You and Dayton can have fun together.

STL, Are you happy that Indy is not in a favorable position for job growth? Are you happy that Indy downtown growth maybe slowing? Do you have something against Indianapolis as a city? Are you jealous that DT Indianapolis appears to have a better environment than DT St. Louis at this time?

In response to your post: The downtown market for housing, I hear from some realtors, is that it is showing signs of over-saturation. Everywhere you look, old commercial mid-rise building are being/or have been converted to residential.
Agreed, it seems every vacant building is being renovated to condos, obviously some aren't going to succeed.

Market Square is poorly planned, they were saying how they are being oversold, so they add more floors, only to be undersold. I'm glad they are going to rework the project. Indy also need to attract office space to downtown and try to end buisnesses moving to the suburbs and outside the core. The Simon Tower is a good start, despite its location.


The best way to sum up MS, read what someone at SSP had to say.

The low demand problem is due to the high prices. 190K-210K for a 900 s.f. unit! Most units are averaging 300K-400K. Which is why the developers are now reconfiguring the units. The economy is still weak and interest rates are starting to rise, which makes purchasing one of these overpriced units risky.


STL4EVER - how would not having mass transit make a city pederstrian friendly?

You people do make it entertaining and worthwhile to sift through your city thread. Most of these types of threads are extremely boring and cheesy for an outsider to read, but not Indy's.

Although he did it with all the tact of a bull in a china shop, STL4EVER makes a good point. Should we be boosters in these forums, and keep the complaining and honesty to local newspapers' message boards? Hardly anyone on these boards (SSC & SSP) is completely honest and forthcoming when discussing their beloved city.

Though I should know better, I do allow these boards to form my opinion about these cities. To be honest with you, I have begun to form an opinion about Indianapolis recently as being a city on the decline. This probably has a great deal to do with the fact that Indy forumers are willing to post these negative stories about their city, while the forumers from other cities would never commit the blasphemy of sabotaging their city's reputation on these boards.

I realize that nearly all midwest cities are having some difficulties, but when you read story after story from St. Louis, Detroit, Milwaukee, and others about how their city is thriving, but read story after story from Indianapolis about how their city is dying, it does have a tendency to make an impact upon the human subconscience.

Now before you quickly dismiss my opinion or label me as an Indy-hater, just read what I have written and think about it. I believe that this a fundamental aspect of these message boards and the basis for their existence. I do not dislike Indianapolis. I have friends that live in Chatham Arch and I visit frequently. But if you are the only city, on a hometown booster message board, that routinely exposes it's shortcomings then you cannot become irritated when others think that your city is dying.

:laugh: :laugh:

indy is dying because someone posts an article about how a tower of $300,000-$400,000+ condos havent been selling as well as expected? you people are great.

Okay dying is too strong a word. I borrowed it from STL4EVER. I know, I know, if you make lemonade from rotten lemons...

But you do see the point I'm making right? If everybody else praises their city by posting nothing but beautiful articles concerning growth and prosperity, but the Indy forumers, god bless them, are willing to expose their city's shortcomings, then that will shape people's opinions about Indy and it's recent struggles, especially in relation to Indy's regional peer cities.

Okay dying is too strong a word. I borrowed it from STL4EVER. I know, I know, if you make lemonade from rotten lemons...

But you do see the point I'm making right? If everybody else praises their city by posting nothing but beautiful articles concerning growth and prosperity, but the Indy forumers, god bless them, are willing to expose their city's shortcomings, then that will shape people's opinions about Indy and it's recent struggles, especially in relation to Indy's regional peer cities.


yeah, i completely understand your point. i just thought more people had the common sense to realize that there are negative stories about every city and that every development doesnt go as planned. guess too many people on here have rose colored glasses glued to their faces when discussing their city.

Congratulations Indy. From reading the posts in the midwest section, it is obvious that you were almost somebody there for a couple of decades, but now it's time to go back to sleep. You and Dayton can have fun together.

Yes, seeing how Dayton has about 5,000 living in the downtown core and is adding 2,000 more units in which 72% are selling out. Poor, old Dayton. In the "shadow" of a "shitty, dying" town of Indianapolis. Time to sit on an abandoned rowhouse on MLK Drive...oh wait...

yeah, i completely understand your point. i just thought more people had the common sense to realize that there are negative stories about every city and that every development doesnt go as planned. guess too many people on here have rose colored glasses glued to their faces when discussing their city.

But you obviously don't understand my point. I am an intelligent man and I do have the common sense to realize that there are negative stories about every city and that every development doesn't go as planned. That does not prevent me from having a basic opinion about each city based on what I read about it. I don't live in all of these cities, and I don't read the newspaper in all of these cities, so to a certain extent this forum will help me to form an opinion about these cities. When it comes to Indy, I have read many good things and a few bad things, so my subconscience opinion is of a struggling city that had been doing quite well. When I think of other cities, I have read nothing but good things about them, so my subconscience opinions about them are ones of growth and vibrancy.

Pertaining to your remark about rose-colored glasses. That is very true, but if they understand the fundamental truth of these message boards as I have pointed out in my posts, then they'd be fools not to paint a rosy picture of their cities.

Mission accomplished.
I posted the two stories originally, and as always the truth is somewhere in between. The Indy economy has for years been the driving force in Indiana, and for a while it has been dragging down the state economy. This too shall pass.

I really don't understand all the bruised egos in these forums--all you have to do is drive through Indy to see that just about everyone else is driving, too. And despite the possibility of Market Sq Condos flopping, the housing market is still relatively strong; the Conrad Residences are still under construction, and many small projects continue around downtown and the City. The city is certainly not dying, but it's also below its 2000 boom. So, to equivocate, things are OK in Indy.

My point in posting those two stories was to point out some places where Indy still needs to--GASP--Improve, IMHO. The city for the most part is not pedestrian friendly, owing to its planned past and grand streets; it is not even bicycle friendly yet. What surprises me so much about the Midwest posts, especially for Indy, is that they focus on BUILDINGS and not PEOPLE. The buildings might be big, shiny and pretty, but would you want to walk around in them? Can you walk from neighborhoods into other neighborhoods without passing through gaping, empty, scary plazas?

One other point to think about--a good (female) friend of mine in Chicago described her city as "masculine" because of the 1950s modernist, boxy feel of the city's famed architecture. It sometimes feels that contributers to this site--but especially the Midwest site--are pointing to taller and bigger buildings as--dare I say--symbols of strength and virility? We admire each other's "developments." Are we just measuring symbolic masculinity here? How many women post responses? Any?

Anyway, Indy is fine with me--I didn't mean to "hate" Indy--I really don't have "feelings" for the "city"--it's a collection of buildings and people; last time I checked cities didn't have feelings that could be hurt.

Mission accomplished.
I posted the two stories originally, and as always the truth is somewhere in between. The Indy economy has for years been the driving force in Indiana, and for a while it has been dragging down the state economy. This too shall pass.

I really don't understand all the bruised egos in these forums--all you have to do is drive through Indy to see that just about everyone else is driving, too. And despite the possibility of Market Sq Condos flopping, the housing market is still relatively strong; the Conrad Residences are still under construction, and many small projects continue around downtown and the City. The city is certainly not dying, but it's also below its 2000 boom. So, to equivocate, things are OK in Indy.

My point in posting those two stories was to point out some places where Indy still needs to--GASP--Improve, IMHO. The city for the most part is not pedestrian friendly, owing to its planned past and grand streets; it is not even bicycle friendly yet. What surprises me so much about the Midwest posts, especially for Indy, is that they focus on BUILDINGS and not PEOPLE. The buildings might be big, shiny and pretty, but would you want to walk around in them? Can you walk from neighborhoods into other neighborhoods without passing through gaping, empty, scary plazas?

One other point to think about--a good (female) friend of mine in Chicago described her city as "masculine" because of the 1950s modernist, boxy feel of the city's famed architecture. It sometimes feels that contributers to this site--but especially the Midwest site--are pointing to taller and bigger buildings as--dare I say--symbols of strength and virility? We admire each other's "developments." Are we just measuring symbolic masculinity here? How many women post responses? Any?

Anyway, Indy is fine with me--I didn't mean to "hate" Indy--I really don't have "feelings" for the "city"--it's a collection of buildings and people; last time I checked cities didn't have feelings that could be hurt.

* beep * * beep * * beep * * beep * * beep * * beep *

Hey! Always check your rearview mirror first!

I'm think about traveling up to Indy from Louisville over the holiday break (I'm in college). I've heard some very good things about your city and thought I would check it out. Any suggestions on where to go and what to do? Keep in mind that it's a one day trip. Sorry.. I know this is off subject, but I couldn't think of a better group of people to ask.

If you only have a day, I would suggest downtown. You would be able to see what most of the discussion on here is all about. Granted, if you are into shopping, the better area is Keystone at the Crossing, but quite a distance from Downtown (and suburban). While downtown, go over to Mass Ave, where you will find some nice shops, restaurants, and bars! If it is warm enough, get to White River State Park and the canal area behind the Sate Museum, NCAA, and the Eiteljorg!

According to this week's IBJ, the Consolidated Building has finally been purchased and redevelopment is imminent. The Consolidated Building is located immediately south of First Indiana and directly across the street from the Bank One Tower Parking garage. Hotel companies have expressed interest as well as possible residential reuse.

I love the terra-cotta detail around the top of this building.

Finally.

Are You Guys Sugar Coating Your City Or Is Indianapolis Actually Doing As You Guys Say It Is

No, it's not doing anything these articles are saying. I just sit at my computer and type out long news articles about made up projects. :|

Are You Guys Sugar Coating Your City Or Is Indianapolis Actually Doing As You Guys Say It Is

lol, who let all the idiots into the thread.

lol, who let all the idiots into the thread.



hey country hick don't you got some corn to be picking

Great one.

hey country hick don't you got some corn to be picking

just think of how outraged people would be if i made a racial remark about miami like the one you just made.

ummm...yeah! You are a class act! That is one I have never heard before. Do you have any others?

lol this is hilarious. I am wondering what our Louisville friend thought when he visited indy.....also, why dont you guys get back to posting development.

Its one thing to say you hate or dislike a place, but its another to make some stupiid "hick" comment. I hate people who are disruptive, but I guess you have to laugh...

Oh jeez, why do you even come in here, we already know you wish you lived in Indy and had their corn and sports and restaurants and shopping and whatever else you babble about so much. Its played out, stick to Louisville areas for your trite comments, or is the new Hard Rock Cafe opening up not carrying on as much excitement as it once did.

From the Indy Star:

New Stadium to bring in additional 30-million anually:

On the brink of a deal to keep the Colts in Indianapolis, the city released a study Monday saying a new stadium would pump an additional $30 million into the economy each year.

That figure, arrived at by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers, is on top of $75 million the team already brings in each year. And it does not include the impact of other events, such as the NCAA's Final Four, that also would take place in a new stadium.

Economists often dispute the economic benefits of a pro football team. But a financial boon will be a key part of Peterson's argument as he tries to sell a $700 million-plus plan both to build a new stadium and expand the Indiana Convention Center.

Although many have complained about spending tax dollars to replace the 20-year-old RCA Dome with a larger stadium, the mayor said without a deal, the Colts could void their lease and leave Indianapolis.

"It's not just a matter of building a new facility to gain that extra $30 million," said Mayor Bart Peterson, who is working to strike a deal before the end of the year to keep the team in Indianapolis. "It's making sure that we keep them here for the long term."

Pete Ward, senior vice president for the Colts, took comfort in the fact that the study cited a heavy presence of out-of-town fans at Colts games. The report found that 77 percent of fans at two recent games were from outside Indianapolis.

"That is a positive for Marion County because it is drawing people into the county to spend money."

The study, which cost the city's Capital Improvement Board $114,000, found that the $30 million in new economic activity annually would lead to 400 permanent Marion County jobs, while the construction project would have a $580 million impact on the local economy and create 4,900 jobs.

Such studies are often produced by cities seeking to build stadiums, said Mark Rosentraub, a sports economist from Cleveland State University who has studied the Indianapolis sports market.

But city officials said the study is based on conservative estimates. It does not factor in player salaries, potential payouts from playoff games or spending by Indianapolis residents.

"Basically we're talking about the new dollars that are generated by the Colts, dollars that would not have been spent here without the Colts," said PricewaterhouseCoopers executive Robert Canton.

The mayor has not said exactly how a stadium package could be structured. He has, however, indicated he could seek money from hotel, restaurant and car rental taxes. That is expected to be a tough sell with both the public and the General Assembly, so the new study could provide ammunition for city officials pushing the plan.

Although the RCA Dome is not falling down, it is old by NFL standards and lacks key amenities.

According to the Minnesota Vikings, a football team that has lobbied in recent years for a new facility, 26 of the NFL's 32 stadiums have opened -- or undergone sweeping renovations -- since 1992. The RCA Dome is the smallest in the league.

The Colts' bottom line has suffered compared to those of other teams playing in newer facilities with more revenue-enhancing features -- better suites and pricey club seats, for instance. Talks between the city and the Colts have been spurred by team owner Jim Irsay's desire to improve team finances and the hope of city officials to secure the team's long-term presence in Indianapolis.

The study also mentions the potential financial impact of a Super Bowl. The NFL has awarded its biggest game to other cities with new stadiums.

Hosting a Super Bowl could have a one-time, $286 million economic boost for Indianapolis, based on what cities such as Atlanta and Houston have experienced, according to the study.

Talk of building a new stadium has sparked debate for more than two years. Many business leaders have jumped on board, saying the team has helped revitalize a formerly sleepy city core.

At the Downtown Hampton Inn, general manager Jesse Ghumm said more than half his 60 rooms can be filled with football fans on game weekends.

"I don't know how you can put a price on that," said Ghumm. "You can just feel the difference in the atmosphere when they're in the lobby wearing Colts jerseys."

Ghumm said he gets a fairly even mix of out-of-state guests -- some who stay for more than one night -- and central Indiana residents wanting to avoid a long drive home.

Despite the fact that a tax on hotel rooms could be part of the Colts package, Ghumm said he and other hotel operators in the Greater Indianapolis Hotel and Lodging Association support expansion of the Convention Center, which, according to the city, would also require a new stadium.

Casey Loughlin, general manager of Palomino restaurant, also believes the Colts are important to Downtown businesses. On the average game day, he said, business at his restaurant increases by about 30 percent, though that number will likely be higher Sunday, when the Colts play a rare night game.

Still, many question the team's impact. Ted Bulthaup, owner of Hollywood Bar & Filmworks, said city officials should not overstate the economic importance of a team that plays only eight regular-season games a year. He also pointed out that new stadiums are designed with food courts and other features aimed at capturing more and more of fans' money.

"That's smart business. But don't sell it like it's a boon for the rest of the city," he said.

Economists, meanwhile, routinely downplay the financial boost a professional sports franchise brings to a city.

Andrew Zimbalist, who co-edited the book "Sports, Jobs and Taxes: The Economic Impact of Sports Teams and Stadiums," said stadiums have a "cohesive force" that can bring a community together. He added that smaller segments of a metropolitan area -- such as builders, architects and hotel operators -- see large financial benefits from a new stadium.

But he argues that benefit will not stretch across the metro area.

"All of the evidence from independent studies finds that you can't anticipate an economic impact from an arena or stadium by itself," said Zimbalist, a professor of economics at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

hey country hick don't you got some corn to be picking
IS SOMEONE JEALOUS BECAUSE THEIR FOOTBALL TEAM SUX LOL

BREAKING NEWS:

Colts deal announced before tonight's game

Indianapolis, December 19, 2004 - Eyewitness news has learned Indianapolis mayor Bart Peterson and Colts owner Jim Irsay are in agreement on a plan to keep the team in Indianapolis.
Sources tell reporter Roger Harvey that an announcement will take place before the Colts game tonight against Baltimore.
The deal includes a new stadium with a state of the art retractable roof that will hold between 60 and 70,000 people.
The stadium would be located just South of the RCA Dome.
Sources tell Eyewitness News, Peterson and Irsay have reached an agreement in principle and it is a long-term partnership guaranteeing the Colts stay in Indianapolis for at least 30 years

Yup:
http://www.indystar.com/users/multimedia/galleries/2004/12/stadium20/photo02.jpg

http://www.indystar.com/users/multimedia/galleries/2004/12/stadium20/photo01.jpg

NCAA Final Four set up:

http://www.indystar.com/users/multimedia/galleries/2004/12/stadium20/photo03.jpg

http://www.indystar.com/users/multimedia/galleries/2004/12/stadium20/photo04.jpg

Very nice,this shows that Indy isn't dead, or even sleeping for that matter. I wish your city leaders could talk some sense into Louisville's, maybe they could show them were to get some balls so we can get some projects like this one rolling in Louisville.

I am very pleased with the design of this facility! The governor-elect has stated that he will do everything he can to make this happen and I am sure that this, coupled with the convention center expansion and NCAA capabilities, will move this right through the General Assembly just in time to start construction by end of next year! It doesn't hurt to propose a new stadium when your team is winning either!

What will become of the RCA Dome?

After the new stadium is built, the dome will be torn down and the convention center will be enlarged into that space.

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2004/12/20/13/Img/Pc0130600.jpg

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2004/12/20/13/Img/Pc0130700.jpg

Still not to the fullest potential, but a big improvement.

1. I agree that the new Simon building is a big improvement. Rather than completely sucking, it is now merely postmodern conventional.
2. I wish I could praise the new stadium design as much as Simon, however--this looks like a glass and brick amalgamation of the Parthenon and Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Kind of a "Grand Ol' Opry of the Gods"--where is the native limestone in this design? How does this "look" like Indianapolis?
3. Mayor Bart might have a tough time selling this--if you saw the press conference this morning, he slyly waited to the end to talk about how "the remainder" of the project will be funded--over $500 million to come from "pull tabs" which most people call "slot machines."
He never once talked separately about the funding of the stadium seperately---it was either how the $290 million for the "desperately needed" convention center would be built, or the total $800 million for the two projects. But the visual aspects of the presentation were meant to appeal to the rabid Colts fans who expect a SuperBowl appearance this year--no designs of the convention center were shown.

How this unfolds depends on how the "pull tab" issue is framed--there are a lot of people in Indiana--a lot of those "religious red staters"--emboldened by the chain reaction projectile vomitus that was the 2004 elections, where RepubliCANS swept most offices here. They may have a bigger voice than you think. Marion county taxpayers feel overwhelmed with property tax hikes, already, so Mayor Bart was quick to exempt them, or anyone outside of Marion County, from forking over one cherry red cent. Now it falls to MetroIndy's addicted gamblers to pay for the miliionaire house where "the people" watch a good old fashioned game of "sm--r the qu--r." (Got to keep it clean for the kiddies.)

If Colts win the "big game" then Indy's nascar-daddies will line up to fork over their innertainment dollar. This in addition to a $48 million "contract payout" Little Jimmy Irsay gets for signing another big contract. That should cover half his ante, NFL covers the rest through favorable loans. Who said the game's not fair???

And as icing on the cake, many business leaders (and city leaders, I believe?) recently came out against a $200 million bond issue for the Indianapolis Public Schools--I guess inner-city kids can go to school every day for nine months in a century-old buildings, but the Colts can't manage in a building that, were it a person, would not even be old enough to have a beer.

I personally believe they should build it--it really isn't that expensive. Let's say, including visitors, there are 1,000,000 people in Indy a year, total. I have no idea if that is accurate, but let's work with that. Over the course of one year, if every person paid $800, it would be paid off. Spread that out over 20 years, let's say, and it's $40 a year, or a little over three dollars a month? Most of us spend more than that IN ONE DAY on crap of no redeeming value anyway, so why not just say "you want it you pay" and build a beautiful new arena for the great City of Indianapolis?

Can anybody tell me why of all places they chose to destroy a park to build this ho-hum looking tower for the Simon Brothers. I think there are some empty lots on the edges of downtown that might have been better choices.

Personally, I like the new stadium design, with it opening up to the downtown. Kind of reminds me of a modern version of the Pepsi Colesium.

Now it falls to MetroIndy's addicted gamblers to pay for the miliionaire house where "the people" watch a good old fashioned game of "sm--r the qu--r." (Got to keep it clean for the kiddies.)

If Colts win the "big game" then Indy's nascar-daddies will line up to fork over their innertainment dollar.

The entire holier-than-thou diatribe was hilarious, but this part was the best. But it does leave one question. Did a football player beat you up in high school, or did he steal your girlfriend?

I was reading the latest addition of the Indianapolis Business Journal and there is a story on the restaurants downtown.

McCormick's & Schmick's will be opening at the Hilton (formerly Adam's Mark) downtown this year.

Eh! Formaggio (which was located at the Harness Factory Lofts on Georgia St) will be reopening at a new site (not disclosed) sometime this year.

Tarkington's (which was next to St. Elmo's) will not reopen due to the owners deciding to retire.

El Sol at Union Station has filed Chapter 11, but is not going to close. They have the foot traffic to stay open, just other financial problems in the local chain.

The article stated that the downtown should expect more in the way of upscale chain restaurants locating downtown due to the high cost of rent and the money that these companines have available. It also said that the downtown is still a "hot" commodity nationally due to the success of the other upscale cains that are currently downtown. The "mom & pop's" will be concentrated in and around Mass Ave where rents are lower.

Local trends were solid in 2004
Industrial, retail should remain strong; home sales may, too

To attract big warehouses, there's nothing like central location, lots of cheap, flat land and plenty of people to hire.

The Indianapolis area got a bunch of "modern bulk" buildings last year, and developers are throwing up more on speculation that they will be filled, according to an annual report to be released today by real estate brokerage Colliers Turley Martin Tucker.

The vacancy rate edged up to 12.2 percent in 2004 from 10.4 percent in 2003.

That was driven mostly by construction of the equivalent of 184 college football fields of the space.

Feverish building brought total inventory of modern bulk square footage to 36.4 million -- 1,213 football fields, or 1.3 square miles.

And another 60 fields are under construction.

Logisco, a Nashville, Tenn.-based warehouse company, moved into one of the sprawling buildings in Plainfield last year. Rick LaGore, who oversees the company's Midwest region, predicts more will be built.

Indianapolis is a two-day drive to two-thirds of the nation's population; four interstate highways lead to the city; plenty of workers are available; and local governments are dishing out tax abatements and other incentives.

"A number of studies say if you're going to build a warehouse, Indianapolis is the place to put it," LaGore said.

The latest report is the first time since before the 2001 recession that Colliers Turley Martin Tucker had broad-based good news to report.

All six sectors it tracks -- residential, along with the commercial categories of office, industrial, retail, investment and land -- improved, thanks largely to low interest rates.

A record number of homes were sold in 2004, although the average sale price rose only 0.9 percent to $147,564.

"The markets are healthy," said Jeff Henry, managing principal of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. "There's an expectation they're going to be healthy or healthier than they were last year."

Mike Napariu, vice president of marketing at the Carmel development company REI Investments, said that while 2004 was a reasonably good year in real estate locally, the market hasn't rebounded to the levels of the 1990s.

"It was a good year, not great year, not a horrible year," Napariu said. "We're hoping it turns around."

Logisco's 813,000-square-foot building stores food, chemicals and electronics.

LaGore expects to get some of the most sophisticated distribution technology, radio frequency identification, or RFID.

Utilized by Wal-Mart and soon to be copied by other retailers, the technology has a tiny computer chip emitting a radio frequency in each product, telling stores when to restock the item.

KEY SECTORS

Home sales
Central Indiana home sales set a record in 2004. Again.
Some 29,352 existing, single-family homes traded hands, up 9 percent from 2003.
The region has posted larger numbers since 2000, the first year for which consistent data are available.
"We've been very blessed in our market with affordable housing, low interest rates, and generally compared to other parts of the country, lower unemployment," said Jim Litten, president of F.C. Tucker Co.'s residential real estate services division.
This year might not be as hot, Litten said, but he foresees no significant jump in mortgage rates, unemployment or other problems that could hurt the market.

Office
Offices filled at a faster rate than they emptied last year for the first time in at least six years, according to Colliers Turley Martin Tucker.
The vacancy rate fell more than two points, to 17.5 percent.
Much of the activity was driven by tenants renewing leases early to take advantage of low rental rates.
However, even though vacancy rates will continue dropping as the economy improves, the overall office market won't heat up until the region creates more jobs.

Retail
Last year saw the advent of the region's first "lifestyle center" shopping mall, Clay Terrace in Carmel.
Designed to appeal to adults, the concept features open-air design, fountains, benches and nearby surface parking, along with book stores, kitchen shops and sit-down restaurants.
Marsh and Kroger will continue developing Main Street-themed stores replete with specialty foods, coffee bars and conveniences to compete with the four Neighborhood Market stores Wal-Mart is opening in existing high-density areas in the region.
More than 2 million square feet of retail space opened in 2004, and 1 million more is planned for this year.

Vacant land
Demand will remain strongest for land for development of industrial, retailing and single-family homes.
Developers speculating on the need for more warehouses are jockeying to buy land, particularly to expand industrial parks in northwest, west and southwestern parts of the Indianapolis area.
Retailers like Wal-Mart and Kroger will continue following housing growth. Expect Franklin Township in Marion County, as well as Greenwood and Fishers, to gain more of the retail building this year.
Slow job growth will dampen demand for land destined for offices, however.

Zipper’s future open to speculation

The fate of “the Zipper Building,” a black-and-white office building at Washington Street and Virginia Avenue, is the subject of rampant speculation amid news a sale is pending.
The three-story flatiron-style building at 117 E. Washington St. is owned by a locally based partnership and managed by Freihofer Commercial Real Estate. Firm owner Walter Freihofer confirmed the building is under contract, but would provide no details, including when the sale is expected to close. He also would not identify the partnership’s members.
The 1961 building, nicknamed for its geometric design, was built for Merchants Bank and was designed by local firm Lennox Matthews Simmons and Ford Inc., one of the architects of the City-County Building. The 56,000-square-foot Class B building is about two-thirds occupied with tenants Roman Brand Group and Freihofer’s firm, according to the local office of real estate information company CoStar.
Roman Brand Group has been on a month-to-month lease for more than a year, said President Dan Roman. The agency rents 28,000 square feet, some of which is unusable because of the building’s triangular design, Roman said. Roman Brand has been looking for about 20,000 square feet elsewhere downtown, but hasn’t been notified about when or if it will have to move from the Zipper Building, he said.
The Zipper Building has been under contract at least once before, but that deal apparently fell through. Speculation about the roughly one-acre site includes upscale condominiums, a high-rise office tower and a hotel. Sources agree any buyer would probably raze the building because of an internal structure that makes conversion to multitenant space difficult.
The building is listed for $3 million, but it’s unlikely to sell for that if the buyer plans to demolish it.
“It’s hard to imagine someone spending $3 million to knock it down,” said Nick Arterburn, first vice president at the local office of CB Richard Ellis.
One scenario, local real estate experts said, is that a local developer has the building under contract while it tries to secure tenants for a build-to-suit office building.
At least two large downtown users of office space are in the market. Locally based law firm Bose McKinney is weighing whether to renew its lease at First Indiana Plaza, lease elsewhere or have a headquarters built, said Vicki Curtis, director of administration for the law firm. Its lease expires in 2008, she said. The firm occupies four floors, or about 50,000 square feet, of the office tower.
Bose McKinney doesn’t have a timetable for its decision but hopes to choose this year, she said.
The firm has a long-standing relationship with locally based Duke Realty Corp., which developed First Indiana Plaza in the early 1990s. Spokeswoman Donna Hovey said Duke doesn’t have the Zipper Building under contract.
Another downtown tenant, Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington National Bank, is also considering whether to renew or move, brokers said. The bank occupies 35,000 square feet, including a retail branch location, in Browning Investments Inc.’s Capital Center at 201 N. Illinois St. Representatives for Huntington couldn’t be reached for comment.
If two large tenants were to commit to a new office building, a build-to-suit on the site would make sense, local real estate experts said.
Although downtown multitenant office vacancy rates have held steady at about 16 percent in the past year, the market is bracing for a double whammy. Simon Property Group Inc.’s new headquarters at Capitol Avenue and Washington Street, set for completion in 2006, will empty Simon’s current 170,000 square feet of space at National City Center. And Guidant Corp.’s pending acquisition by Johnson & Johnson means an uncertain future for the medical device maker’s 60,000-square-foot headquarters in Bank One Tower.
Other real estate sources suggested the triangular-shaped Zipper Building site might be best suited for residential. Across Washington Street, Hearthview Residential successfully converted an office building at 110 E. Washington St. into high-end condos. Across Virginia Avenue, south-side developer Greg Allen is considering condos as one of the options for Jefferson Plaza, an eight-story office building Allen has under contract.

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2005/01/17/1/Img/Pc0010500.jpg

Stadium’s pathway not clear

CIB must make land deals with Comfort Inn, Hurst Co.


It’s up to legislators to approve whether and how the city’s proposed $900 million Indiana Convention Center expansion and stadium complex would be funded, but a handful of property owners that have title to land in the planned stadium’s path will also play a role in determining the project’s fate.
The Marion County Capital Improvement Board is working with owners of the few pieces of property it still needs for the construction project and associated parking lots. CIB owns about 85 percent of the land needed, and won’t hesitate to pursue eminent domain cases for the remaining land if owners refuse to sell, CIB President Fred Glass said.
Before that happens, however, CIB is trying to avoid time-consuming court cases by working out deals with a half-dozen landowners who collectively own about eight of the more than 30 acres in the two-block-area where the stadium would be built.
Money for the land will come from $125 million the city has earmarked for land acquisition and soft costs for the project.
Almost all of the privately owned land is occupied by two businesses: the Comfort Inn and Suites at 530 S. Capitol Ave. and Hurst Co. Inc., a distributor of dried beans with its headquarters at 230 W. McCarty St.
A deal is in the works to relocate the hotel, but a Hurst representative said his company has no plans to move.
CIB hasn’t made a formal offer to buy the 5-acre Hurst property and 50,000-square-foot building, said company President Rick Hurst, who added he’d consider any offer that comes along.
But the family-owned business has been in its present location since 1948 and Hurst has no desire to relocate its 60 employees, he said.
“It’s a great place to be,” Hurst said, noting the building’s proximity to Interstate 70. “We like being downtown.”
The footprint of the proposed stadium lies to the north of the Hurst property, but the city will need the land for parking, said Mary Solada, a local attorney and CIB member who is working with landowners.
The Comfort Inn relocation is more vital to the plan, as the hotel sits within the footprint of the retractable-roof stadium proposed for Indianapolis Colts games and other events.
CIB and the hotel’s owner, Fishersbased Dora Brothers Hospitality Corp., have been in discussions about the roughly 2-acre parcel on which the hotel sits. No financial details have been worked out, but the deal will likely involve CIB buying the hotel and providing Dora with a comparable site to rebuild, said company principal Tim Dora. He said CIB had contacted him before the new stadium plans were unveiled. The 143-room hotel opened in 1996 and finished a 57-room addition in 2001.
Any new hotel site would need to be near the convention center, the largest driver of demand for the Comfort Inn’s rooms, Dora said.
Dora Brothers also owns a nearby 108-room Best Western hotel completed in spring 2003. That hotel wouldn’t be affected by the stadium plan, Dora said.
Dora said his company is willing to work with the city to help make the convention center expansion possible.
“We are pretty enthusiastic about it,” Dora said. “I think it’s a great move for the city. We have a positive attitude going in. We want to be treated fairly, but we also want to be a good citizen.”
In the hotel’s case, there may be considerable “pushing and pulling” about the value of the property Dora Brothers will give up compared with what they will receive, predicted Mark Eble, a locally based hotel real estate consultant with Philadelphia-based PKF Consulting.
Ultimately, however, all the owners of the land CIB needs “are going to get bounced off either way,” Eble noted.
CIB has been accumulating land south of the RCA Dome for years, but stepped up purchases in the early 1990s, around the time it was finishing the most recent $45 million expansion of the convention center.
Between 1991 and 2002, CIB paid $7.6 million to buy almost 18 acres in the area, including a 6-acre lot on McCarty Street purchased in 2001 for $3 million. Most of the CIB-owned land is now used for parking.
The board has already closed on one deal since the Colts/convention center/stadium plan was announced Dec. 19, paying $437,000 for a 1/3-acre parcel of land and warehouse at 220 W. McCarty St. owned by local businessman Walter Corbin.
CIB hopes to have all the land it needs under ownership within the next couple of months so work can begin later this year if the General Assembly approves a funding plan for the expansion and stadium, Glass said. If it’s approved, the city has already committed to having the 465,000-squarefoot Indiana Convention Center expansion finished by 2010, meaning the new stadium would have to be complete in 2008 so that the RCA Dome could be razed to make way for the expansion.
The city has a contingency plan for construction, however, to take into account those landowners who are “late coming to the party,” Glass said. If funding is approved, the city will move forward with demolition, site work and infrastructure improvements on CIB-owned land while the acquisition process continues.
“We will not wait to wrap up every last piece of property to go forward if we are otherwise ready,” Glass said.

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2005/01/17/36/Img/Pc0360200.jpg

Crate and Barrel makes it official

Northbrook, Ill.-based Crate and Barrel expects to open at Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing late this fall, marking the houseware and furnishing retailer’s first nonoutlet store in Indiana.
The two-level store will be about 33,000 square feet, a “fairly typical” size for new stores in the chain, said company spokeswoman Bette Kahn. The store likely will house furnishings on the first floor and housewares on the second, Kahn said.
IBJ reported in March that the retailer was close to signing a lease for space on the east end of the mall then occupied by TGI Friday’s restaurant. The Dallas-based restaurant moved to a Fashion Mall outlot formerly occupied by Stuart Anderson’s Cattle Co. The restaurant’s old space, near California-based The Cheesecake Factory, has been demolished.
Crate and Barrel, a privately held company, has 130 stores nationwide. The retailer, known by its distinctive black-and-white logo, offers fashion-conscious home furnishings for moderate prices. The company has been steadily expanding since the late 1980s and frequently opens more than one store in a market. Kahn said the company won’t decide whether to open multiple locations in the Indianapolis area until after the first store is open.

Northwest building up service
Nation's No. 5 carrier will fly nonstop from Indianapolis to 22 cities

No fewer than five discount carriers fly to Indianapolis, led by ATA Airlines, and a sixth is coming, AirTrans Airways of Orlando.

But the city's low-fare lines suddenly face competition from a surprising direction.

A global giant known for carrying corporate travelers is completing a dramatic expansion at Indianapolis International Airport.

Northwest Airlines of Eagan, Minn., has been tripling service, including low-fare flights to business and vacation centers.

By late next month, Northwest will dispatch 49 jets a day from Indianapolis, the most flights by the airline from any U.S. city after its hubs at Detroit, Memphis, Tenn., and Minneapolis.

Northwest, the nation's No. 5 carrier with 450 jets, has flown to Indianapolis for two decades.

Despite the long relationship, especially with major corporate travelers such as Eli Lilly and Co. and General Motors Corp., Northwest hasn't dominated air service.

Last summer, the carrier operated 17 daily flights from Indianapolis, chiefly to its hubs. Its expansion will double the number of airplane seats it has available every day out of Indianapolis to 4,104.

Aviation analysts say this buildup appears to be a calculated effort to further undermine ATA, the bankrupt Indianapolis-based carrier. But Northwest said the expansion is part of a Midwest service increase that follows a two-year study that shows Indianapolis wants more flights.

"We went to our customers in Indiana, and what they told us is they want more service to Washington and New York and key point-to-point markets," said Tom Bach, Northwest vice president of market planning.

Across the nation, low-fare haulers have moved in to swoop away travelers frustrated by the pricey tickets common among the major airlines.

But few airports have experienced what is going on at Indianapolis International. A well-heeled line is expanding against an array of low-fare carriers.

After the decline of US Airways' hub here in the 1990s, Indianapolis evolved into a low-fare haven for market leader ATA and America West, Frontier, Independence and Southwest.

Northwest's expansion could sop up enough passengers that some of the low-cost lines eventually could pull back or leave, although aviation analysts aren't sure when that may happen, if it at all.

"Every airline seems to think they can increase market share. But there's never enough traffic to accommodate the optimistic plans by the airlines," said Indiana University economist Clinton Oster, who has followed the airline industry since 1979.

"I don't know if that means there's going to be a bust in Indianapolis," Oster said. "There's going to be some fairly aggressive prices while these things get sorted out."

Indianapolis-based ATA was the No. 9 carrier with 82 aircraft when it filed for bankruptcy in October. Since then it has worked out a business alliance with Dallas discount king Southwest Airlines, and expects to emerge from bankruptcy this summer.

"ATA looked like it was going to liquidate, and I think there was discussion that there was a good opportunity for Northwest to step up to the plate," said long-time airline analyst Helane Becker of Benchmark Co. in New York.

"The moment there's a financial problem, they're here," ATA founder and Chairman J. George Mikelsons said in a December interview, referring to major carriers in general. "They're predatory against other carriers, especially if they taste blood on the water, smell blood on the water."

Northwest planners, however, single out Indianapolis as under-served. "The Indianapolis (air travel) market is twice as big as Memphis, where we have a hub, but it has far less air service," Bach said. "Why America West didn't grow bigger in Indianapolis or why ATA didn't grow bigger, I have no idea."

While ATA served Indianapolis, its focus was Chicago Midway. "ATA historically was more oriented toward leisure travel," said IU's Oster.

ATA now is building up Indianapolis as a hub with 66 daily flights, but it's the first time the airport has been a hub since US Airways' decline.

"Indianapolis always had this marvelous position where it isn't anyone's fortress hub, but it's big enough where everyone wants to serve it," Oster said.

In recent years, that's been ATA and other low-fare carriers responsible for the surge in travel from Indianapolis.

Passengers boarding at Indianapolis International spent $560 million last year for airline tickets, up 5.6 percent from the year before, Bach said.

In contrast, ticket revenue originated in Memphis was $300 million, compared with $460 million in Milwaukee and $450 million in Columbus, Ohio, two cities regarded as Indianapolis' peers, but without the concentration of discount airlines.

With its service buildup, Northwest will fly from Indianapolis nonstop to 22 cities. Some are regarded primarly as business destinations, such as Boston; Hartford, Conn.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Raleigh, N.C., while others are considered tourist centers, including Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Las Vegas; and Phoenix.

In some cases, Northwest is adding a flight to a destination it already has served. In Philadelphia, for example, an early-morning flight was added.

Of those 22 cities, Northwest and ATA will compete in only 10, though three of these long have been among ATA's most profitable routes -- Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa.

In setting its ticket prices, Northwest has been matching or coming in a bit higher than low-fare carriers on the same routes.

"I can't think of a circumstance where we can undercut them," Bach said. "They usually set the fares fairly pretty low."

http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/209603-4608-223.html

Good news!! Crate & Barrell will make the competetion at the Fashion Mall intense...with the Pottery Barn & Williams-Sonoma already there.

Interest grows for large hotel Downtown
Early-stage talk is predicated on convention center expansion, new football site, developer says.

Hotel chains have shown early interest in opening a large hotel by 2010 beside an expanded convention center proposed for Downtown Indianapolis, an influential developer said.

"We've heard from two different groups. We told them the same thing. Until the city is able to put together a program to allow the convention center's expansion, it's premature," said Michael Browning, president of Browning Investments Inc. of Indianapolis.

It's the first sign a hotelier has shown even sketchy interest in operating what could be a high-rise hotel of 500 to 1,000 rooms near the RCA Dome.

Building or expanding a hotel Downtown would be essential to complement an expanded Indiana Convention Center. Local officials have proposed a convention center expansion and say it is required for Indianapolis to remain in the first tier of U.S. convention cities.

Browning, who didn't disclose the groups' names, responded in an interview to a recurrent rumor that his firm may develop a hotel near the RCA Dome, possibly at Pan Am Plaza, which includes an ice skating rink, fountains and open plaza at Capitol Avenue and Georgia Street named for the 1987 Pan American Games.

Browning downplayed the rumor. He said "there isn't anything to it" and added "certainly it's a possibility" but noted a series of events must take place before even preliminary hotel plans can be made.

"There's no reason to have a hotel prior to 2010," Browning said.

Indianapolis officials are considering razing the RCA Dome and building in its place a 465,000-square-foot addition to the present convention center for an estimated $247.5 million to $302.5 million.

Separately, a new arena would be built nearby to replace the dome and house the Indianapolis Colts professional football franchise.

Browning's name arose as a potential hotel developer because his firm studied the disposition of property for Indiana Sports Corp., a nonprofit agency that organizes major events and handles leasing at Pan Am Plaza.

Before a new hotel went up, Browning said, a stadium would be built, then crews would tear down the dome in 2007 and expand the convention center, completing the project probably in 2009.

If there were a new hotel, its opening would coincide with the convention center's expansion. On that timetable, even the preliminary plans for a convention center expansion are two years away, Browning said.

"We couldn't know the size of the hotel until we knew the size of the convention center," Browning said.

Although a recent Brookings Institution study says the convention business has peaked nationwide and in Indianapolis, where attendance dropped a third to 402,000 visitors from 1999 to 2003, local officials insist an expansion is necessary.

To keep drawing major trade groups, the convention center must be able to host two major trade groups at once, and to do that it needs to expand and add another major hotel, said Robert Bedell, head of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association.

"It's not so much the number of rooms that's critical in a new hotel as it is two headquarters hotels being simultaneously available," Bedell said.

Downtown already contains about 5,600 hotel and motel rooms, including three hotels regarded as headquarters hotels large enough to contain rooms for a single convention.

They are the Hyatt, Marriott and Westin, with about 1,685 rooms in total.

http://www.indystar.com/articles/7/210301-1637-223.html

Any thoughts on Mayor Bart's next move to squeeze out $46 million dollars a year from here to Kingdom Come?

Bosma: Casino proposal is dead
Don't expect Downtown slots to pay for stadium, House speaker says

By Mary Beth Schneider and Matthew Tully
mary.beth.schneider@indystar.com
January 21, 2005


Indianapolis may still get a new home for the Colts, but don't expect state lawmakers to sign off on a Downtown casino to pay for the stadium, House Speaker Brian Bosma said Thursday.

"The message I'd like to send to the mayor is he ought to find another financing mechanism for a dome Downtown than putting a casino in the middle of the most family-friendly city in the Midwest," said Bosma, R-Indianapolis. "As far as I'm concerned, that proposal is dead."

Bosma, the leader of the House, also questioned whether plans for the new retractable-roof stadium might be too extravagant.

"I'm not sure that we have to have the most expensive dome in the country," he said. "The last dome (the RCA Dome) was built for $77 million. This one is something like $600 million. The last dome that was built had one-third private participation from private foundations. This one, I hear no participation whatsoever."

"I find the whole proposal at this point fairly irresponsible," he said.

Peterson, a Democrat, told reporters Thursday he had offered what he considers the best plan to finance a new stadium. After spending more than two years crafting the proposed agreement with the Colts, he dismissed the suggestion that he should suddenly devise a new funding proposal.

"The alternative is I keep throwing things at the wall to see what sticks," Peterson said.

"I've said all along I'm flexible. If somebody has a better idea, I'm open to it."

While it's hard to declare any idea dead at the legislature until the last lawmaker has left Indianapolis, Bosma's comments will undoubtedly influence the debate.

Peterson said the bottom line is that the city needs $46 million annually for 30 years to pay off the stadium debt. He is, he said, most concerned with getting the money, not with how the city gets the money.

The mayor also defended the design for the stadium, which he said has already been agreed upon with the Colts and can't easily be renegotiated.

Two House Republicans have offered plans to put 2,500 slot machines each at the horse tracks in Shelbyville and Anderson.

The plan of Rep. Luke Messer, R-Shelbyville, would provide $30 million for Indianapolis, while setting aside some money for the tracks' home counties and up to $100 million annually for the state's general fund.

Rep. Michael Murphy, R-Indianapolis, said his bill would provide $48 million annually to build a new stadium, with the remainder going to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. for job creation efforts.

Bosma said he was only speaking out about the idea of creating a Downtown betting establishment with slots. He said he was not offering any opinion about proposals to add slot machines at the tracks in Anderson and near Shelbyville.

Peterson, though, questioned whether slot machines at the two horse tracks would raise enough money to build a new stadium and meet the state's other needs.

Messer, who is also executive chairman of the Indiana GOP, said efforts to pay for a new Colts stadium are "alive and kicking."

But, he said, "We've got a whole lot of sales yet to do."

Murphy, who is Marion County Republican chairman, said Peterson must do more to work with lawmakers.

"At some time the mayor has to come toward us. At this point, he has not," Murphy said.

He said Peterson could raise some local taxes to provide some of the money.

"We don't expect him to carry all the burden," Murphy said. "But we expect him to share it."

Peterson, though, has pointed out repeatedly that his plan does not raise sales, income, property or other taxes paid by the general population.

City-County Council members are watching the General Assembly debate play out, aware that they would be charged with approving parts of the package if it survives the Statehouse.

Phil Borst, the council's Republican leader, said Peterson has cleverly framed the debate. The question, he said, has become whether gambling is the proper way to build a new stadium, not whether a new stadium is even needed.

But Borst is among those wondering whether the city needs a retractable-roof stadium, or one as pricey as the proposal being debated.

Despite the day's happenings, the mayor said he was confident the General Assembly will vote to keep the Colts.

"We have a long way to go," he said.

Thats a damn effin shame. God forbid we have a casino in the 'family friendly' midwest city that is home to two gay bath houses. In addition you have to be 21 to go in a casino or gamble so what about the children is a rediculous argument. 18 for the lottery...oh which indy has already. Even kids can get lottery tickets. There is a Ceasars less than 2 hours away anyways. Gambling would be a huge draw to the city because it would be a casino or gambling that isnt in the middle of nowhere which for the most part is an anomaly. I hate fanatics.

Good for no new gambling. Indiana depends on addicted gamblers far too much as it is already.

The mayor had better get buddy-buddy with the state real quick to find a new solution to a pretty hard problem.

I'm starting to get the feeling that the new GOP majority in state gov't is going to stall on the stadium funding and then try to blame Mayor Bart (D) for the impasse. Indy's Mayor Bart Peterson is the only official who has enough statewide name recognition to challenge the new GOP dominance in Indiana. Clever elephants...

IS IT ME OR DOES INDY REMIND YOU OF "THE VILLAGE" SOMETIMES WITH OVER CONSERVATIVE WAYS SUCH AS THIS. ALOT OF THE CASINOS IN LOUISVILLE AND TOWARDS CINCY ARE FILLED WITH INDY RESIDENTS. TO ME IT ONLY MAKES SENSE TO KEEP INDY MONEY IN INDY. BUT AFTER ALL WE ARE THE "BIBLE BELT" OF THE MIDWEST. :bash:

I thought indy was one of the more loosened up cities of the mid-west...but what do I know. I completely agree about the casino's though, however the casinos that serve Louisville and Cincinnati are in Indiana....

I thought indy was one of the more loosened up cities of the mid-west...but what do I know. I completely agree about the casino's though, however the casinos that serve Louisville and Cincinnati are in Indiana....


Compared to othrs, I would agree, but all-in-all, it is STILL the midwest...and Indiana for that matter!

I thought indy was one of the more loosened up cities of the mid-west...but what do I know. I completely agree about the casino's though, however the casinos that serve Louisville and Cincinnati are in Indiana....


Compared to others, I would agree, but all-in-all, it is STILL the midwest...and Indiana for that matter!

Where did this come from--four flights a day from Indy??? This is a real shock--what's going on?

ATA plans major cuts to Indianapolis service


By Ted Evanoff
ted.evanoff@indystar.com
January 26, 2005


ATA Airlines said today it will sharply cut back its Indianapolis operation -- offering only four flights a day by April 10.

Gilbert Viets, chief financial officer for the Indianapolis-based airline, said a major buildup at the Indianapolis International Airport by Northwest Airlines and other carriers had undercut ATA's plans to make money with an Indianapolis expansion.

ATA had planned to increase service to more than 50 flights a day from 46 but will instead reduce operations to only four flights a day by April 10.

Those flights are to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orlando and Fort Myers, Fla.

ATA officials also said the airline would discontinue the in-state routes that it had just launched this month. That service to Fort Wayne, Evansville and South Bend will end March 28.

ATA has been restructuring its operations after filing for bankruptcy protection last fall.

That is seriously bad news for the the airport. ATA may as well no longer exist in Indianapolis. I guess we'll see if others swoop in the take some slack, if there is any after the Northwest additions.

That is seriously bad news for the the airport. ATA may as well no longer exist in Indianapolis. I guess we'll see if others swoop in the take some slack, if there is any after the Northwest additions.


umm...yeah. I just saw this on IndyStar and nearly tripped on my tounge. "Indy's hometown airline." Puleeze. Their "hub" was supposed to be here and with this cut back, what, will they only have 10 total flights in the nation?? Might as well close the doors...

Coming attraction: 7-screen art theater
Moviehouse expected to open in December at Fashion Mall; smaller art theater to close.


Marquee features
The Landmark Theatres will offer:
• Stadium seating, with wide spaces between rows.
• A bar open to moviegoers and the public. Drinks will be served in theaters before movies begin.
• Various sized auditoriums to hold a total of 1,100 patrons.

By Bonnie Britton
bonnie.britton@indystar.com
January 28, 2005


Landmark Theatres, the nation's largest art-house chain, is coming to the Fashion Mall at Keystone.

The Los Angeles-based chain -- making its first appearance in Indianapolis -- is known for showing first-run independent and foreign films, restored classics and nontraditional studio fare. That could include anything from the more mainstream "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" to the Spanish language film "Bad Education."

The seven-screen theater will open in December at the north end of the Parisian wing in existing space at the mall, some of which formerly housed the California Pizza Kitchen.

The city has two art-house theaters now: AMC Castleton Arts, a three-screen art-house next to Castleton Mall; and Key Cinemas on the Southside.

Simon Property Group, which owns Castleton Arts and the coming theater, will close the Castleton Arts on or about the same day the new one opens.

The Fashion Mall theater will feature digital and traditional 35mm projection, stadium seating, wide spaces between rows, and a bar open to moviegoers and the general public. Landmark, which operates 50 theaters and 209 screens in 22 markets, now has two theaters with bars, both in Dallas.

Ray Price, vice president of marketing for Landmark, said as many as 30 people could be employed to run the new theater, and that the chain would look at Castleton Arts employees.

Ron Keedy, owner of Key Cinemas on the Southside, said he fears a new art house on the Northside will put him out of business.

"Seventy-five percent of my patrons come from the Northside. A new theater would be the death knell for me," he said Thursday.

Closing Castleton Arts also means that Heartland Film Festival, which has used the theater as its Northside venue, would be looking for a new home.

Simon spokesman Les Morris said, "It's early, but it would seem to be the type of venue that would fit with that (Heartland)."

2929 Entertainment, owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban (Indiana University graduates), owns Landmark Theatres, Rysher Entertainment and Magnolia Pictures Distribution, as well as an interest in Lions Gate Entertainment.

"We're looking at Indianapolis as a place that has been long overdue for a theater that would be big enough to bring a fairly broad range of independent and foreign films," Price said.

"They (Simon) really wanted to have a first-class major art venue in Indianapolis. I know it's because the Simon family lives there. Generally, you don't have a developer pulling you along. I wish there were more developers that had specific visions and passions. They're probably going to have more input than would normally be the case."

The new theater will seat approximately 1,100, said Scott Richardson, development director at Simon Property Group. The smallest auditorium will hold 93 people; the largest, 245. That will allow the theater to show films for niche audiences, movies that have a following but won't fill a large traditional movie auditorium.

Moviegoers will be able to park on the second-level deck north of Parisian and take the mall bridge across to the theater entrance. Those who park in the surface lot east of Parisian can take an escalator inside the mall to the ticket booth.

A fully staffed bar will be available, but not a full menu like at Hollywood Bar and Filmworks Downtown. Patrons will be served drinks in the auditorium, but servers will not intrude once the movie starts.

Price said the chain tries to offer local specialties as part of its concessions. It might look for a local coffee roaster or a bakery noted for its pastries or cakes. And they aggressively market films through a magazine called FLM, which has circulation of 250,000.

Special events, including Q&A's with directors, short film festivals, special series and live performances linked to films also are part of Landmark's signature.

"We've thought this could work since 1998 or 1999," said Richardson. "We were just not able to put it all together. Now we've found an exhibitor that saw the opportunity and believed in it like we believed in it." Talks with Landmark began around May 2003.

Landmark's key demographic lined up "very well" with the Fashion Mall's demographic, Richardson added. "When you combine it with the upscale shopping experience that we have there and the lineup of restaurants, we all know going to dinner and going to a movie is a good thing."

Call Star reporter Bonnie Britton at (317) 444-6258.

This arts theater is going to be great. Perfect location - okay, I would have rather seen it downtown, either in Circle Centre or along Mass Ave, but there's my little dream and then there's demographic reality. But it will fit in well with the Fashion Mall - now if we could get a comedy club, a night club, and more residential mixed in with those office towers, and if we could get Beef n' Boards to leave the Pyramids and move to a new larger Keystone at the Crossing theater. (By the way have you ever been to Beef n' Boards? It's a nice concept, dinner then a nice play. But if you're over five and a half feet tall or weigh more than one hundred and fifty pounds forget about it. Plus, any place that is going to be serving food and drinks should clean the carpet more than twice a year.)

Anyway, this sounds like a much better place for both the daily arts films and the annual film festival than that rinky-dink Castleton Arts Theater.

Hey, what happened to our sticky? There goes that anti-Indy conspiracy again.

This arts theater is going to be great. Perfect location - okay, I would have rather seen it downtown, either in Circle Centre or along Mass Ave, but there's my little dream and then there's demographic reality. But it will fit in well with the Fashion Mall - now if we could get a comedy club, a night club, and more residential mixed in with those office towers


yeah, ive never understood why there arent any residential high rises at keystone at the crossing.

There is a lot of residential that is poping-up behind ClearWater (between the back and I-465).

BUT, Yeah, It would make sense to throw a residential high-rise in at Keystone...live, work, and shop without using a car...in the 'burbs!

There is alot of potential there as it densifies (Not A Word, I Know) they have a great mall, now a movie theater, a gym, lots of employment, that lifestyle center type development that sorta connects to the mall, great restaurants, really all that IS missing is some sort of residential.

PS - I am trying to get info on the new tall for Keystone that is approved...are they still working on it or has it been scrapped?

There is a lot of residential that is poping-up behind ClearWater (between the back and I-465).

BUT, Yeah, It would make sense to throw a residential high-rise in at Keystone...live, work, and shop without using a car...in the 'burbs!
Agreed, you can easily fit a tower in the gobs of parking they have.

Here's what residentials look like that are close to the mall (pics I took)

http://tinypic.com/1iexyc

http://tinypic.com/1ifi9k

http://tinypic.com/1ifibd

All that parking:

http://tinypic.com/1ifij8

PS - I am trying to get info on the new tall for Keystone that is approved...are they still working on it or has it been scrapped?


When I was still working at the City this project was a "go," but that was nearly 9mos ago now. I will email the planner that worked on that project and inquiry as to where the project stands now...

I am a planner for a suburban community on the eastside of Indy. Today I was featured on the front page of the Greenfield Reporter (ABOVE THE FOLD) about a local development...

Town worries that sign will blight its front door

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/FeaturePhoto/849.jpg

Cory Wilson, Cumberland’s planner, hopes to have the town’s voice heard regarding the $5 million development at German Church Road and Washington Street. Wilson is concerned current plans run counter to Cumberland’s vision of developing a small-town atmosphere at the community’s city limits.


You have to subscribe to the paper to read the article in full, but here is the link:

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/

Thanks for letting me be vein... :P
<don't you love the "stare">

What can I say. I'm jealous that you made it to the top of the Keystone Crossing tower. I have only been as high as the Radisson (now the Sheraton) roof. On Thanksgiving night many years ago, I went up there on Thanksgiving night and unplugged the Christmas Tree on the roof, then plugged it back in, then out, and then in, so it was a simple light show for travelers along I-465. The next year I tried again, but I was booted out of the hotel. Evidently they had cameras installed and an alarm system too.

I think a new tower is due, and a couple of high-rise residential towers too. Do you think they'll sell better than downtown's attempt? If the price is right, I think so.

Thanks for those great shots!

Hey Cory, how did you get to be planner of Cumberland? I took many hours of city planning courses in college. That is really great for you. Someday I hope to be a planner of a growing town too.

For historical background on myself, I grew up in Carmel, went to Ball State (architecture) for a year, transfered to Kansas State U's college of Architecture and Design (3 more years) then ended up with a BS degree in geography and cartography. Then I move to Minneapolis where I had a job as a map illustrator, and now have my own business doing that very thing. I am now in Indianapolis visiting family for a couple of weeks, and getting my 3-D map of Indy published (to see a sample image, so to www.bigcitymaps.com). It is going well enough, but slowly. The full map should be published in a couple of months if all goes well.

Yes, it is good to work in a "growing" community. Currently, Cumberland has 6,000 residents and we are expected to more than double in size in 10 years. Cumberland is a unique community, in that we straddle the Marion-Hancock County line. So, Indianapolis/Marion County has zoning jurisdiction for our west side, while we have jurisdiction on the east side. This article was about a development in the "Indianapolis" portion of the Town and how it differs from our plans for this corridor. Indy make all of our decisions for us in Marion County and the reason I was brought on board as the Town's first planner was because I was a planner with Indianapolis for about 4 years. Therefore, my contacts and knowledge of the process there was seen as an assest.

What can I say. I'm jealous that you made it to the top of the Keystone Crossing tower. I have only been as high as the Radisson (now the Sheraton) roof. On Thanksgiving night many years ago, I went up there on Thanksgiving night and unplugged the Christmas Tree on the roof, then plugged it back in, then out, and then in, so it was a simple light show for travelers along I-465. The next year I tried again, but I was booted out of the hotel. Evidently they had cameras installed and an alarm system too.

I think a new tower is due, and a couple of high-rise residential towers too. Do you think they'll sell better than downtown's attempt? If the price is right, I think so.

Thanks for those great shots!
Thanks. I went up to the 17th floor, which is vacant, so you can probably sneak up there.

I think that Market Square was overpriced, that's why it is failing. I think they've switched developers and will rework the pricing plan.

I don't know if a tower would do good at Keystone. Keystone lacks nightlife and character, it just isn't as desirable as downtown.

Naptown...I think I've heard Indianapolis called "Naptown"...what's the meaning? Origin?

(Indianapolis looks great! The new airport site is hot!)

IndiaNAPolis, or during the 1970's people assumed the 500 was the only thing in the city and the city "napped" during the rest of the year.

It isn't true today. :D

^^ THANKS for the information...

More condos planned for north Lockerbie
Mill No. 9 developers teaming up again to bring townhouses to Dinmont-owned land north of Michigan Street

A local developer has filed plans to build 100 condominiums on about three acres in the Lockerbie Square neighborhood.
North Lockerbie LLC, a subsidiary of Dinmont Development LLC, filed plans with the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission Jan. 27 to build brick townhouses on the land.
The $20 million project, to be called Lockerbie Park, will be jointly developed by Dinmont and locally based Hearthview Residential. The development sits at the northwest corner of Michigan Street and College Avenue on land that in 2001 was slated for a multi-use project that would have included 100 condos, plus retail and office space. That project fell apart in 2002 because of a soft market for office space and the loss of a major investor.
Condos at Lockerbie Park will range from 1,250 to 1,750 square feet and will range in price from less than $200,000 to about $325,000, said Hearthview partner James E. Thomas Jr.
Based on current activity downtown, that seems to be a sweet spot. Of 40 condo sales pending in the northeastern sector of Center Township, all but eight are under contract for less than $300,000, said Joe Everhart, a real estate agent with locally based Sycamore Group Realtors. No sales are pending for more than $500,000, he said.
“January has really picked up,” Everhart said. “There’s a lot of movement up to $300,000 and not as much above.”
The style of Lockerbie Park differs from Hearthview’s previous downtown projects, which include condo conversions of office buildings at 225 N. New Jersey St. and 110 E. Washington St. and the former Indianapolis Athletic Club at Vermont and Meridian streets.
Hearthview also is developing a new-construction condo project at 96th Street and Township Line Road in Washington Township.
Lockerbie Park will include seven buildings with eight to 18 units each. Each building will have four levels with flats and stacked two-story townhouses. Each unit will also include its own garage and additional surface parking, Thomas said.
The townhouse concept has been a good seller at other new-construction condo projects downtown. Ryland Homes’ 56-unit Firehouse Square and locally based City Centre Associates’ Packard and Clevelander projects all feature townhomes exclusively or mixed with flats.
“We considered a broad array of different product types,” Thomas said. “We felt this was something that would fit the market especially well.”
Construction at Lockerbie Park could begin as soon as July, pending IHPC approval, Thomas said. Developers will construct the seven buildings one at a time, with the first units finished by summer of 2006. Total construction time could take two to three years, depending on how fast the condos sell, Thomas said.
Dinmont and Hearthview are also partners on the conversion of the former Hilltop Press buildings just north of Lockerbie Park into Mill No. 9 condos. The 44-unit first phase of that project has sold out and the developers have received IHPC approval to begin the second phase, which includes 35 units in the southern half of the two-building complex.
Pricing hasn’t been released for condos in the second phase of Hilltop Press, but they will likely start at just under $200,000, Thomas said. Some units in the first phase were priced at less than $150,000.
The land for Lockerbie Park was assembled in 2000 and 2001 by 2nd Globe Structures, a partnership that included Dinmont principal Brian Knapp and principals of locally based advertising firm Young & Laramore.
2nd Globe in 2001 announced plans to develop the site with condos, plus 35,000 square feet of retail space and 100,000 square feet of office space, including 25,000 square feet for Young & Laramore’s headquarters. Those plans were dropped less than a year later. Y&L principals left the partnership and Knapp changed 2nd Globe’s name to Dinmont.
Dinmont also owns an additional 2-1/2 acres around the Lockerbie Park site. Hearthview and Dinmont may develop some of those parcels in future phases, Thomas said.

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2005/02/07/10/Img/Pc0100200.jpg

Actually Naptown that's only part of the story.

The name naptown was first used in the twenties by the jazz musicians that would come and play in the many clubs along Indiana Avenue here in Indy. Naptown was their cool way of shortening Indianapolis. Later on, the moniker took on it's negative connotation, as Naptown explained.

There was a story about this development on WRTV6 tonight. It will be on Virginia Ave near Lilly's Headquarters. Nice to see this side of downtown getting this type of new construction. Prices will range from $250,000-$975,000.

http://www.rdesk.com/WebRoot/uid-BEAE4E16DA3111D58E2F0008C7332382/pagepointecondos/image%20files/VPP_Main.jpg

<some quick inside info, while I was still with the City this site was the rumored location of IKEA and it looks as if it still is>


Mega-mall planned near Indy airport
Proposal includes museum, water park and farmer's market.

Holladay Properties

• Established in 1952 by architect Wallace F. Holladay.
• Develops and manages business park properties, and manages medical properties for health care firms.
• Headquartered in South Bend
• Has completed more than 6,000 single-family homes or condominiums and more than 10,000 multi-family units.
• Owns and has developed more than 6 million square feet of industrial space.
• Local development: AmeriPlex, a 1,500-acre industrial park between I-70 and Ind. 67.
Sources: Company Web site, Hoover's Company Records



By Norm Heikens
norm.heikens@indystar.com
February 11, 2005


Developers hope to break ground late this year on a retail complex next to Indianapolis International Airport that they say will eventually include big box stores, indoor and outdoor malls and a water park -- and become one of the largest retail developments in the Midwest.

Plans for 70 West also include an interactive outdoor museum, hotels and conference space, and a farmers' market focusing on locally grown products but also exotic foods, spices and other products flown in to Federal Express' cargo hub at the airport.

The project would be built over 10 years and would have twice the space under roof as Castleton Square Mall. Its outdoor theme would feature hiking trails connected to the Indianapolis Greenways system. No tenants have been signed.

"We're trying to do something unusual if not unique," said Doug Hunt, senior vice president of developer Holladay Properties. "It's family oriented, outdoor oriented."

Holladay Properties, based in South Bend, has developed mostly industrial parks, including the 1,500-acre AmeriPlex business park adjacent to the proposed 70 West. While the company has a few retailers at some of its industrial parks, it acknowledges that 70 West would be its first major retail development.

Melina Kennedy, the city's deputy mayor of economic development, said that while the city awaits details, it supports the project.

"We feel very good about it," Kennedy said. "The team promoting the project has a long history of very reputable and positive development, so that's certainly a mark in their favor."

Holladay officials are reluctant to discuss details because plans are still being completed. They would not disclose names of retailers, hotel companies and other potential tenants.

With 3 million square feet under roof, 70 West would be among the 30 largest retail developments in the country, Hunt said.

First to be built, Hunt said, would be big box outdoor sports, home improvement and furniture stores along I-70.

Holladay planning documents show hotel, conference space and a small area of offices near the new Six Points Road/I-70 interchange.

Later, the project would include an outdoor mall similar to Clay Terrace in Carmel. Next would be an indoor mall with movie theaters and a food court.

Of the 375 acres, 143 would be dedicated to regional retail and entertainment, 117 to destination retail and entertainment, and 53 to airport-related hotels, conference space and offices.

Holladay is consulting with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on construction that would attract songbirds, ground squirrels and other small mammals.

Amenities at the site, such as artwork along the trails, hinge on the Indiana General Assembly allowing the development to be part of a sales tax increment financing district, which would direct taxes from sales in a retail development back into the development, said Hunt, a former Democratic state senator from South Bend.

Kennedy said the city would rely on Holladay to take the lead in lobbying for the legislation.

Mark Perlstein, a partner in the retail brokerage Linder Co., said 70 West, as envisioned, would create competition for Simon Property Group, the local shopping mall giant that owns most of the region's major malls.

While the project would benefit from I-70 traffic near the airport, the 10-mile radius has a fraction of the 300,000-plus residents necessary to support such a big retail development, Perlstein said.

It would be extremely difficult to finish the project within Holladay's 10-year schedule, he added.

"Down the road it has a great deal of potential," Perlstein said, adding, "Holladay has proved they can be patient, and that's what they're going to need here."

Simon spokesman Les Morris said the firm would not comment.

The closest comparison to 70 West is Village West near Kansas City, Kan., also bordering I-70, Hunt said. That project, developed by Zimmer Real Estate Services in Kansas, is to include a Cabela's, which sells hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, Nebraska Furniture Mart and Great Wolf Lodge water park.

Hunt emphasized that Holladay has signed no tenants and that the companies involved in Village West are only examples of the kinds of companies that might settle in 70 West.

Hunt said developers envision 70 West drawing people from as far as St. Louis to spend couple of days at the mall.

There is sigange up at the corner and I have always thought that corner had some great skyline views! I was told by someone at IHPC (Indianapolis Historic Preservation) that this was a done deal!;-)

Great looking building!

That mall is a bad idea, it might hurt Circle Centre's activity.

That mall is a bad idea, it might hurt Circle Centre's activity.

thats unlikely. the type of stores in this development will be very different from those at circle centre. it will hurt metropolis in plainfield the most and greenwood park mall a little.

It sounds vaguely like a mills type mall. I too doubt it will hurt downtown a good deal, one can only hope.

Slot machines
Colts stadium financing effort rejected

By Matthew Tully
matthew.tully@indystar.com
February 15, 2005

The city's bid to finance a stadium for the Colts with taxes on new slot machines suffered a major setback Monday night when a House committee rejected a bill to authorize 5,000 new slots at the state's two horse tracks.

The vote by the Public Policy and Veterans Affairs Committee leaves Mayor Bart Peterson with no obvious way to finance the $500 million, retractable-roof stadium he proposed in December.

The mayor has consistently rejected calls to pay for the stadium partly with tax increases, and argues gambling is the best source for the $46 million annually he needs for a new stadium.

"The committee has spoken, and I think the message is loud and clear," said committee Chairman Robert Alderman, R-Fort Wayne. He said he considers the issue of slot machines dead for the session "unless somebody walks up with a revelation that they made a huge mistake."

The mayor has billed the new stadium as the crucial element in his effort to keep the Colts from leaving Indianapolis. The proposed stadium is also key to an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. That expansion would occur on the site of the RCA Dome after a new stadium is built to the south.

Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell said Peterson was disappointed Monday night but believes there is still a good chance of working out a stadium-financing plan.

Campbell said the mayor continues to frown on calls to fund the stadium with other sources of money.

"We still don't understand why tax increases are more palatable than using gaming proceeds," Campbell said. "If you can avoid a tax increase to keep the Colts and the NCAA (tournaments), and then allow us to expand the Convention Center, then you should do it."

Peterson's fellow Democrats on the committee provided most of the votes that defeated the slot machine bill, House Bill 1569.

After hours of sometimes-contentious debate, the Democrats grew angry when Republicans, who had stripped stadium funding out of the bill, declined requests to target gambling money toward education and other social programs. Two anti-gambling Republicans joined all five committee Democrats as the bill fell.

House Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, scoffed at the idea that Democrats had jeopardized funding for the Colts.

"The Colts weren't in the bill," he said. "The Colts were taken out."

Republican lawmakers had removed mention of the Colts with the idea that the House Ways and Means Committee would address distribution of gambling proceeds later.

Before Monday, officials in the mayor's office and other Democrats had said it was important to keep the slots bill moving through the General Assembly.

After the vote, Republicans moved quickly to blame the mayor, saying he made the debate personal with his sharp criticism of alternate proposals by Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Espich and House Speaker Brian Bosma, both Republicans.

Bosma, of Indianapolis, said the mayor also had wrongly raised expectations with the general public that a deal was done but had not spent enough time working with lawmakers who must sign off on such a deal.

"The mayor put all his eggs in the gambling basket and was unable to deliver a single Democratic vote," Bosma said.

But even as some lawmakers used Monday night's vote to suggest the deathblow to gambling expansion this session, Espich, a House veteran from Uniondale, said bills and issues have funny ways of returning.

"It's too early to determine anything," he said.

Other bills still include an expansion of gambling, although the bill rejected Monday had seemed to be generating the most support.

Key players in the debate said that significant support exists in the legislature for keeping the Colts and building the team a new stadium.

"The governor has said we'll find a way to keep the Colts, so we'll continue to keep searching for a way to do that," said Jane Jankowski, Gov. Mitch Daniels' spokeswoman.

To do that, Bosma said, a more balanced financing plan than the one Peterson proposed is needed. While not providing specifics, Bosma said the city, the state and the team must all be "reasonable participants" in such a plan. That could mean more money from city taxpayers and city coffers.

Lawmakers on the Public Policy Committee spent several hours debating the slot machines bill Monday in a meeting that stretched into the evening. As introduced, the bill sponsored by Rep. Luke Messer, R-Shelbyville, would have split 5,000 slots between horse tracks in Anderson and Shelbyville. The legislation would have set aside $30 million of the slot tax revenue for the mayor's stadium project.

Republicans, however, decided to strip the stadium money out of the bill and save the funding debate for the Ways and Means Committee. That, Alderman said, would guarantee a straight-up vote on the public policy question of whether Indiana should expand gambling.

The debate grew heated at times Monday. At one point during a brief recess, Alderman and Democratic Rep. Vanessa Summers got into a loud hallway argument about an amendment Summers intended to introduce. The two continued bickering as the committee returned to action.

Summers later offered the amendment, which would have restored funding for the Colts stadium and also spent millions on issues such as education, public safety and housing.

"What this does is help our mayor and my mayor and the Colts," Summers said.

Republicans quickly defeated the amendment.

As darkness fell on the Statehouse, the committee then voted to defeat the underlying bill. Messer appeared a bit stunned.

"I think it means the issue of whether we will expand gambling at the racetracks is dead," he said. "Funding for the Colts is dead."

It looks like Indianapolis could lose the Colts, the NCAA Final Fours, and hundreds of millions of dollars in convention business, in the process pushing Indianapolis into the dark ages of India-no-place, all because a bunch of hilljack good ol' boy Republicans are bound and determined to stick it to those Indianapolis Democrats.

So when Indianapolis falls because of their efforts, and thereby pushes the rest of the state even farther down, leaving their precious rural towns in abject poverty, do you think these Republican bumpkins will even be able to understand that they did it to themselves?

This is a shame! All you hear Rebulicans state is how they don't want to raise taxes...well, a plan was proposed that did just that...prevented tax increases. What did they do??? Axe it! Rediculous! The State lawmakers are wanting to tax the death out of Marion County to pay for this when over 75% of those who attend Colts games live outside of the County...mainly Hamilton County. There better be a "metro tax" or no one will visit Indy with the new stadium and convention center because it will be too expensive to do so.

STUPID

its such a shame that the democrats lost the majority in the house. now we're gonna lose the colts. but hey, we're gonna make sure those gays cant marry!!

its such a shame that the democrats lost the majority in the house. now we're gonna lose the colts. but hey, we're gonna make sure those gays cant marry!!


Exactly!!!! With not only a law saying it isn't legal, but a Constitutional amendment doing so too!

You won't loose the Colts. Stop being so dramatic!

^^ Why not? That stadium really doesnt say hey stay here, we love you, and didnt they just move there in recent history (1984-ish?) I am sure they would do it again.

You won't loose the Colts. Stop being so dramatic!

I don't think the Colts will ever move again, but his statement is true to the point that the Republicans are certainly doing all they can to sabotage this deal!

So you think the stadium is still a go (why dont you think they would move?), but just in another way. Tax would not be good, because I know alot of people moved out of Hamilton County Ohio after the tax hike (I think that was linked to the double stadium funding madness) and alot of people were pretty pised, id hate to see Indys growth hindered by poor tax handling and dinosaur age politics.

Yeah...wouldn't we all, but there is this heard of elephants at the state level that doesn't see the forest for the trees.

The reason why I doubt the Colts will never move again is because it has taken nearly 20 years to develop the foundation for a loyal fan base here. The same would be true in any other City that they relocated too. You will always have fans when you are winning, but the second a relocated or expansion team begins to loose, it is tough to sell tickets. Who wants to watch a looser...unless you have the history and tradition of being the "home" team. I think that Indy has finally crossed that perverbial line and will have fans win or loose...much like the Pacers have now.

New cinema to bring an art-house feel to Northwestside

Aisles once filled with groceries soon will be filled with moviegoers as the Georgetown Stadium 14, a new multiplex on the Northwestside, opens Friday.

The theater, located at Georgetown and Lafayette roads in a former Cub Foods store, is part of the small Republic Theatres chain, which operates moviehouses in Shelbyville as well as Louisville, Elizabethtown and Radcliff, Ky. Another Republic theater is opening soon in Portsmouth, Ohio.

The new cinema will feature first-run, art-house and eventually Bollywood (Hollywood-style movies made for Indian audiences) films. Republic also is planning to institute midnight screenings for the most popular first-run films.

Georgetown will bring the number of screens in the Indianapolis metropolitan area to more than 200. A 12-screen, first-run Kerasotes theater will open this spring at Washington Square Mall, and Landmark Theatres is opening a seven-screen theater in December at the Fashion Mall to show independent, foreign and art-house movies.

Preston Green, manager of the Georgetown, said the new theater seats 1,842, with screening areas ranging from 81 to 280 seats.

"We think it's a very viable market up here," said Green, who formerly ran the Kerasotes ShowPlace 16 on the Southside.

Among the amenities are high-back seating, overhead digital surround sound and a bright screen system for better picture clarity. The decor is more neutral than flashy.

This will be the least expensive first-run theater in the area, Green said, charging $5 for matinees and $7 for evening shows.

http://www2.indystar.com/articles/3/222609-4353-107.html

New plans for Market Square project

Star report
February 18, 2005

Developers beset by slow sales for a proposed condominium project on the cleared site of Market Square Arena have brought in a high-rise development expert and will market some less expensive units, the city announced today.

The project agreement between the city and Market Square Partners will be amended to reflect a new schedule, including 50 percent presales by November 2005. Developers also expect to break ground in late 2005, the city said in a news release this afternoon.

Market Square Partners missed a Dec. 11 deadline to have 100 of the 400-unit project sold. So far, 41 units have been sold.

Changes include creating new unit types and sizes on the east and west sides of the high-rise tower to reflect the demand for units with Downtown views. These modifications will create additional entry-level units, the city's statement said.

Revised floor plans, pricing and other project design information will be available in June.

Chicago-based Mesa Development will offer it's high-rise expertise, the city said.

Two things here.

First, I believe they somewhat overestimated the desire of people in central Indiana to live in a high-rise building. Why pay a quarter of a million dollars to live in a high rise sharing your walls, floors and ceiling with neighbors, while dealing with the pain in the ass of riding in an elevator for 20-floors every time you leave your condo, when there are hundreds of perfectly beautiful and efficient new build and renovated townhomes for sale in the downtown area?

Secondly, it's become obvious that these developers didn't know what they were doing. They've already admitted that they had the units overpriced and undersized. Now we find out that the floor plans were identical for condos whether they faced the barren eastside or the beautiful downtown views to the west. "Gee, we slowly were able to sell those overpriced undersized units facing downtown, but no matter how hard we try we can't unload those identically laid out and priced units facing off into nothingness!" Yeah, that's a real tough one to understand boys.

^ Are they still going to be 29 floors?

I would like to see one 35-40 story tower, with a few 5 or 6 story towers surrounding it. Give Market Square a Rockefeller Center atmosphere.

I agree with you Humble, especially since its on the far east side. If the tower were right in the middle of downtown, it wouldn't be a problem.

Hopefully they'll put a restaurant on the top or something open to the public. Also, why not make Market Square mixed use by building a much needed hotel?

^ Are they still going to be 29 floors?

I would like to see one 35-40 story tower, with a few 5 or 6 story towers surrounding it. Give Market Square a Rockefeller Center atmosphere.

I agree with you Humble, especially since its on the far east side. If the tower were right in the middle of downtown, it wouldn't be a problem.

Hopefully they'll put a restaurant on the top or something open to the public. Also, why not make Market Square mixed use by building a much needed hotel?

i too would rather see one 40-50 story tower, the top floors would have amazing views. a hotel is likely out of the question due to the location. any new hotel in downtown would be built close to the convention center.

I also agree with HH. There so many buildings be constructed that are selling out because they are unique and are more pedestrian friendly. I don't necessarily believe that Indy is against highrise living (Riley Towers I guess usually have a waiting list) I just think that the product wasn't up to parr. That side of downtown has great views because you can also see the river and it is my understanding the the west side units are all sold. So, make the other side desirable and get this thing up. One 700' tower would be great, but I will take 2 400' towers!

I was out for the weekend (to look at houses :)) and stayed at the Sheraton at Keystone (Westin Downtown was full). I noticed alot of construction over there since I was there a month and a half ago, the torn up mall, something torn up by the hotel, I was wondering what was going on over there and also CW, if you had heard anything about the tower out there. I know alot of you prolly dont care lol, I just like the area. Also does anyone have a list of stuff thats going on downtown or any good websites to look at other than cvb and city site. All I know thats going on there is Simon and Conrad (and other things too but..) so ... I am out of tune.

I was out for the weekend (to look at houses :)) and stayed at the Sheraton at Keystone (Westin Downtown was full). I noticed alot of construction over there since I was there a month and a half ago, the torn up mall, something torn up by the hotel, I was wondering what was going on over there and also CW, if you had heard anything about the tower out there. I know alot of you prolly dont care lol, I just like the area. Also does anyone have a list of stuff thats going on downtown or any good websites to look at other than cvb and city site. All I know thats going on there is Simon and Conrad (and other things too but..) so ... I am out of tune.

the area of the mall that is torn up is where the TGI Fridays used to be. It is the site of the new Crate & Barrel, which will open later this year. I suspect the area torn up by the hotel is where a new tower will be, but im not totally sure.

I dont know if you were referring to this site, but indydt.com is a good site with all the projects underway in downtown.

in what areas were you looking at houses?

Cool thanks.... I was looking all over. I liked the area around Broad Ripple, I looked in Fishers/Carmel and those areas. I found an ok house in one of the Geist neighborhoods, but it is sooo far. I am looking for something to rent for now because I will need something soon, like around April 15-ish. I am not that picky, just a nice 2+ br. with 2 ba and around $1300. I like both new and historic if it is in a well kept neighborhood. Any Ideas?

Neighborhoods to look in:

Fall Creek Place - formerly a dump, and has seen tons of urban renewal
Chatham Arch - one of those hip neighborhoods, close to Mass. Ave and Downtown
Fountain Square - seeing renewal, a nice main street (about 1.5 miles from downtown)
Garfield Park - close to Fountain Square, home to a large park, sunken gardens, and conservatory

I don't know if you'll find an apartment in these areas, but you may want to look. Also, there may be some reasonable apartments on North Meridian. Some people consider those areas seedy, but I think they're relatively nice.

Cool thanks.... I was looking all over. I liked the area around Broad Ripple, I looked in Fishers/Carmel and those areas. I found an ok house in one of the Geist neighborhoods, but it is sooo far. I am looking for something to rent for now because I will need something soon, like around April 15-ish. I am not that picky, just a nice 2+ br. with 2 ba and around $1300. I like both new and historic if it is in a well kept neighborhood. Any Ideas?

what part of town will you be working on?

Carmel off 31. Travelling isnt too big of an issue...or is it, what is traffic like there compared to Cincinnati? The times I have been out there during rush hour was on Fridays just to go out to bars, but traffic still seemed to be a little stop and go taking like an hour to get from the Keystone area to Downtown.

Carmel off 31. Travelling isnt too big of an issue...or is it, what is traffic like there compared to Cincinnati? The times I have been out there during rush hour was on Fridays just to go out to bars, but traffic still seemed to be a little stop and go taking like an hour to get from the Keystone area to Downtown.

Traffic along 31 in Carmel isnt too bad during rush hour. I live near 116th and Ditch and work 8 miles south near Keystone at the Crossing and it never takes me more than 25 minutes to get to work or back. Whatever you do, dont live anywhere that requires you to use I-69.

South side area to get housing makeover

By Tracy Donhardt
IBJ Reporter

A south side neighborhood will be revitalized with help from a $16.8 million grant awarded to the Indianapolis Housing Agency by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mayor Bart Peterson and U.S. Congresswoman Julia Carson this afternoon kicked off groundbreaking for the redevelopment of Brokenburr Trails, located near 2825 Raymond St.

Plans call for 165 rental units, 52 single-family houses and about 10,000 square feet of retail space. A youth community center also will be a part of the new area and provide a computer lab, swimming pool, two tennis courts and soccer fields.

Officials hope the Brokenburr redevelopment will have a positive effect on the surrounding community in a way similar to the Fall Creek Place revitalization on the city's near-north side.

"We are going to see the creation of a thriving, diverse, mixed-income community that will act as a catalyst for further economic development and investment in the city's south side," Peterson said in a press release.

The houses will be priced below market value and a portion of the rental units will be held for families with incomes below $19,000, which is 30 percent below the area's median income. Creating the units for very low-income families is part of the city's Blueprint to End Homelessness, a plan released in 2002.

The mixed-used development will occur in four phases, the first of which is expected to be complete by the end of this year. Phase 1 will include 40 rental units. Phase 2 will create the remaining 125 rental units and will be followed by the start of the third phase later this year, which includes construction of the single-family houses. The final phase calls for a retail center at the corner of Raymond and Perkins streets.

A decrepit apartment complex in the area was torn down in the fall of 2003. Those residents were relocated to other housing and will be given the chance to purchase the new homes, officials said.

Villaggio condos aim high
Proposed eight-story project targets downtown's SE side

By Tammy Lieber
IBJ Reporter

A developer with deep roots in the Fletcher Place neighborhood is setting its sights on an ambitious eight-story condominium project on the southeast side of downtown.

Villaggio at Page Pointe calls for 65 condos ranging in size from 1,600 square feet to 4,300 square feet. Most units will sell for $265,000 to $530,000, with three penthouse units listed for more than $900,000.

The first floor of the building will house about 20,000 square feet of retail space. A parking garage is built into lower levels of the southern half of the building.

If it gets off the ground as anticipated this spring, the $30 million Villaggio will be by far the largest new-construction condo development downtown south of Washington Street, an area that mostly has seen smaller condo conversions of older buildings.

Locally based Page Development Inc. last year purchased a one-acre lot at the junction of Virginia, East and South streets for Villaggio. A formerly vacant printing warehouse on the site has been turned into a sales center for Villaggio, complete with a full-size condo model that opened in January.

Plans include terraces of 150 to 500 square feet for each unit to take advantage of the skyline views of downtown, said company President Tony P. Page.

The developer has filed petitions with the Department of Metropolitan Development for regional center approval of the design and for a variance to restrictions on building heights in the city center. A hearing on the variance is scheduled for April 5.

Page said he hopes to have construction plans finalized in March. Pending approvals, construction will begin when 30 units have been presold. So far, $5,000 refundable deposits for 18 units have been placed; when plans are finalized, the developer will begin signing contracts for units, Page said.

Early interest in Villaggio has been strong, Page said, with 10 to 12 people stopping by the sales center on average each day. Even with at least a dozen condo projects in the works or on the drawing board for downtown, Page said he is confident Villaggio, which lies due east of Lilly Corporate Center and across the street from WellPoint Inc.'s operations center, is positioned to succeed.

The Fletcher Place neighborhood has been going through a revitalization in recent years, with renovated and new single-family homes and a growing commercial clientele, including Domont Studio Gallery and Dunaway's restaurant. But the pace of growth has been slower than in other parts of downtown.

"There seems to be a perception that anything south of Washington Street is the south side," said Doug Dilling, a real estate agent with Century 21 at the Crossing and a Fletcher Place resident.

Dilling is marketing new-construction condos on Merrill Street just south of Villaggio. Three of the five three-bedroom, three-bathroom condos have been sold, mostly to couples who compared the asking price of $379,900 for a 2,600-square-foot unit with high-end finishes to prices in neighborhoods farther north such as Chatham Arch and Lockerbie Square, he said.

"Obviously, downtown is expanding," Dilling said. "There is a belief that the neighborhood is solid and stable. [Property] values are on the rise and taxes are attractive."

Both Villaggio and Dilling's Merrill Street Town Homes likely will be positives for the neighborhood, said Bill Taft, executive director of the Southeast Neighborhood Development Corp.

He noted both projects lie just outside the boundaries for the Fletcher Place Historic District, making them subject to less-stringent design criteria. As such, the designs of both may raise eyebrows, as the buildings hulk above the smaller cottage-style homes typical of Fletcher Place.

However, both projects should help serve as bridges between downtown and the Fletcher Place and Fountain Square neighborhoods, he said, and bring more customers to businesses in the area.

"It's definitely setting a whole new market for Fletcher Place," said Taft, noting that few homes in the neighborhood have sold for more than $200,000.

Last year, a Lafayette-based developer floated a plan to build 32 condos on the northeast corner of New Jersey and South streets, but that plan has yet to come to fruition. John Teibel said he is still interested in the development, but that Delta Park, as it was to be called, has been put on the back burner while he works on projects in other parts of the state.

Villaggio is the latest project from locally based Page Development Inc., best known in Indianapolis as the developer of Spirit Lake, an eight-building, 60-unit condo development on Westfield Boulevard north of Broad Ripple.

The bulk of Page's condo portfolio is in Florida, where company patriarch Peter J. Page began developing condos on Sanibel Island in the 1970s. The company has five projects now in the works in Florida.

Page's son, Tony, and nephews Paul J. Page and Paul M. Pittman joined the company in the 1990s, and the younger generation soon began eyeing Indianapolis for growth.

They began construction on Spirit Lake in 2001 after a contentious zoning battle and now have sold all but five units. Sales there have run about a year and a half ahead of schedule, Page said, which prompted the company to begin looking elsewhere in Indianapolis for condo projects.

Fletcher Place was a natural choice, Page said, because of the family's long history in the area. Several generations of the Page family have lived in and around the neighborhood, he said.

Page Development has also purchased a six-unit apartment building and two adjacent vacant lots on the near-north side near Fall Creek Place. After Villaggio gets going, the company plans to convert the apartments--which include traditional features such as hardwood trim; wide, stone balconies; and marble accents--into condos. The lots on the south and north sides of the building at 2161 N. Meridian St. are slated for retail development, Page said.

The company is looking for land for additional projects as well.

"We're not done yet," he said.

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2005/02/28/1/Img/Pc0010500.jpg

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2005/02/28/52/Img/Pc0520200.jpg

Doesn't exactly look very Indianapolis to me. It's looks a little more Bradenton, Florida-ish.

It does look a little sun-beltish, but I like it. I have always liked variation in architecture. One thing that bothers me about some cities is they adopt a style and keep it in all their neighborhoods so things end up looking very uniform. I was in a mostly older brick city recently and came upon a area of predominantly spanish style housing (one of my favorites) I thought that was neat. Anyways, hopefully everything will go through with this and other condo projects to help make Indys downtown spread its wings a little and have it be more 24 hour, on that topic, with all these residents coming in, where is the closest grocery? Another question I had was when Anthem merged with Wellpoint, did they take the Headquarters from Thousand Oaks, Ca to Indianapolis or keep it there?

[QUOTE=KM1410]South side area to get housing makeover

I was the planner on this development! It will be a mix of residential (single and multi) with a commercial component. Foundations are already in place for the first phase.

SChristopher...Wellpoint is here in Indy!

Great news about the southside, tons of empy lots and surface parking will be filled.

SChristopher...Wellpoint is here in Indy!

yep, this has been a great year for two of my favrite three cities. indianapolis now has the headquarters for wellpoint the largest health insurer and cincinnati is home to procter & gamble the largest consumer products company and federated the largest department store company.

Downtown Indy is place to be
Upscale singles spur plans for new condos, apartments


Charlie Britman (right), a sales associate for the Villagio at Page Pointe, shows a model to prospective buyer Devin Schaffer. Construction will begin on the 65-unit condominium complex after 30 models are sold; 19 have been purchased. -- Adriane Jaeckle / The Star

Related content

• Downtown Indy is place to be
• Downtown Indianapolis' building boom




By Eric Martin
eric.martin@indystar.com
March 7, 2005


Paul Kosene, 60, remembers childhood bus rides with his grandmother to eat lunch at the Ayres Tea Room in Downtown Indianapolis and window shop on Washington Street.

"It was as vibrant as any place you've ever seen," he said. "From a 6-year-old's perspective, it felt more alive than New York City."

Kosene also recalls how the rise of suburban shopping malls drew city stores and movie theaters to spacious new suburban locations such as Eagledale (1957), Eastgate (1957) and Lafayette Square (1968). Residents soon followed suit.

"As a teenager and into my 20s, nobody would go Downtown," Kosene said. "There was no reason to. It was desolate."

It is only fitting, then, that 40 years later, Kosene and other condominium developers credit the construction of another mall, Circle Centre, with revitalizing Downtown Indianapolis, both as a destination for shoppers and a resident community.

Seventeen condominium and four apartment developments are scheduled to open in the next five years within a 10-square-mile area on the east side of Downtown, giving the city 1,212 new housing units -- none more than 11/2 miles, or a 20-minute walk, from Circle Centre, Conseco Fieldhouse and the RCA Dome. Two more apartment buildings and five condo developments to be located slightly farther away will add an additional 191 housing units to Downtown.

Some question whether developers can continue to successfully market high-end units, given the recent trouble developers have had selling units for the two 29-floor towers at the former site of Market Square Arena.

But others see the recent boom as only the beginning. Mayor Bart Peterson's Regional Center Plan, unveiled in 2004, calls for the creation of housing units that would double Downtown's population from 20,000 to 40,000 by 2020.

New construction projects are announced nearly every month. According to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, the prices of Downtown condominiums rose by 13 percent in 2003 and 11 percent last year. Annual condominium sales totaled 143 in 2003 and 142 in 2004, more than three times the total for 2001 (43) and twice that of 2002 (61). Those sales include resales of old units, but new sales account for the majority of that volume, board spokeswoman Claire Belby said.

The key to recent success has been the diversity of pricing for Downtown housing, according to Terry Sweeney, director of real estate for Downtown Indianapolis Inc., the city-funded agency that maintains, supports and promotes Downtown.

"They start as low as $150,000 and go up to over $1 million," he said. "Given today's interest rates, that makes it pretty affordable living for an urban environment."

Assessing the market

Who would be willing to pay several times the price of a larger suburban property for the convenience of Downtown?

"You tend to see more people who don't have kids or are professional singles," said real-estate agent Mitch Vogel, who himself lives Downtown at Woodruff Place. "I think there are a lot of people who prefer to be five minutes away or walk to work."

Tony P. Page, developer of the Villagio, a new condominium development modeled on vacation homes in Florida, said the demographic breakdown of buyers has surprised him.

"When we first came on the market, we figured it would be all 40-plus," he said of the buyers' ages. "That's not the case. A lot of young professionals nowadays don't want to worry about yards and houses. They spend so much time working, they want to enjoy their life."

Their penchant for expensive housing could pay big dividends for Marion County and Indianapolis Public Schools. Many public services are financed mainly through local property taxes. Condo purchases could add new payers to that tax base and increase the property values of current homes.

Deputy Mayor Melina Kennedy said she did not have an estimate of how much the developments could add to the tax base, because some developers might have received tax incentives from the city to build their projects in the first place. However, "the positive impact would be tremendous," she said.

Diverse developments

The three buildings in the pipeline from Kosene & Kosene offer new, slick living options, but renovations of older buildings provide modern amenities while capturing the nostalgia of a bygone era. Developers are converting the historic but vacant Link-Savoy and Blacherne apartment buildings into modern apartments with 60 and 68 units, respectively. At the Indianapolis Athletic Club, where Tony Hulman signed papers 60 years ago to buy the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, new residents will soon be signing deeds for 79 condominiums situated atop a first-floor luxury restaurant.

Hearthview partner Jim Thomas said about half of the Athletic Club units have sold for $170,000 to more than $1 million. The club's historic basketball, racquetball and squash courts are preserved in the new fitness center.

At Mill No. 9, another Hearth- view project taking shape at the former Hilltop Press site, all but one of 44 units have sold for $160,000 to $300,000.

Managing growth

Successes and pitfalls that could await Indianapolis are already being felt in other cities.

In St. Louis, the city's 35 downtown residential projects since 2000 all have been helped by tax incentives for renovating old buildings. Architects are running out of spaces to convert to residential use.

This problem could eventually touch Indianapolis, but so far only one-quarter of current projects are renovations, and past economic woes have left many vacant industrial blocks ripe for a makeover.

"I think Indianapolis is a lot better off than St. Louis," said William H. Hudnut, the mayor of Indianapolis from 1976 to 1991 and now a senior fellow with the Urban Land Institute in Washington. "What's happened in Fall Creek Place and on the Old Northside is very exciting."

Minneapolis faces issues more akin to those that could surface here. The city, with a population four times the size of Downtown Indianapolis, has had 5,000 new residences built or approved since 2000, but condos along the riverfront, which routinely fetch $300,000, have enticed attractive apartment buildings to sell their units, forcing some longtime residents to leave. The condo market was good for a while, but the majority of units built in the past year have not sold.

Vogel said Indianapolis developers should be wary of producing the same glut.

"The Downtown market is a little flooded with this $250,000 to $400,000 range," he said. "Sometimes those sales drag along because there are so many in that amount."

This idea was bolstered two weeks ago when the developers of Market Square towers asked the city for help because they sold less than half of the 50 percent of condo units required before the city and investors will let most developers begin construction.

Condos a steal for some

Page said many employees joining the well-paid upper levels of companies headquartered in Indianapolis, including Eli Lilly and Co. and WellPoint Inc., gladly pay for upscale living.

"A lot of people buying a $350,000 condo here, compared to what they'd pay in New York or Chicago, see it as a phenomenal bargain," Page said.

Page and Vogel said most Hoosiers like to see a full-scale model of their future home before they buy, but Century 21 real-estate agent Larry Rasmussen said he has sold 12 of 18 units in the pricey Meridian Lofts, all to young professionals, without showing buyers a model.

Whatever the future holds, developers here have no intention of closing up shop before seeing how deep demand really runs.

"I think we're just at the start of the condo market," Page said. "It can go strong for another 10 years."

As a transplanted Hoosier in the Twin Cities, I think downtown Minneapolis and downtown Indianapolis aren't a good comparison. I don't think the majority of the units built in the last year remain unsold, though there have been concerns about some slowdown in the market. The major apartment buildings in downtown Minneapolis (Riverwest) and St. Paul (The Pointe) that have been converted to condominiums have targeted the lower end of the market, something that was sorely needed, especially in Minneapolis.

How is the apartment market in dt Indianapolis? The biggest project to come online recently was the Block's Building conversion, wasn't it? I recall the developers seeking city approval to add a tower to the building in the future. How well has the building been received?

As a transplanted Hoosier in the Twin Cities, I think downtown Minneapolis and downtown Indianapolis aren't a good comparison. I don't think the majority of the units built in the last year remain unsold, though there have been concerns about some slowdown in the market. The major apartment buildings in downtown Minneapolis (Riverwest) and St. Paul (The Pointe) that have been converted to condominiums have targeted the lower end of the market, something that was sorely needed, especially in Minneapolis.

How is the apartment market in dt Indianapolis? The biggest project to come online recently was the Block's Building conversion, wasn't it? I recall the developers seeking city approval to add a tower to the building in the future. How well has the building been received?


The Block is full (but with nearly all apartments, people come and go often), but the Tower portion was denied by the City. It wouldn't have matched architecturally with the existing building. There have been a number of renovations to old, empty apartmen buildings around the city, but since they aren't condos, they usually don't get nearly the press.

Talk of Our Town:
Eiteljorg adds dining option

March 9, 2005


While Wolfgang Puck's company will be running food service operations at the remodeled Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art has sought out local caterers to feed its visitors.

After considering a number of proposals, Joe Husar's firm, Kahn's Katering, got the Eiteljorg Museum's exclusive contract. Kahn's will handle all refreshment needs for special events and also will manage the museum's new Sky City Cafe.

This is the first time the museum, located in White River State Park, will have a restaurant available to the public. Folks can reach the Sky City Cafe through the museum or by an entrance located on the Downtown Canal north of the museum, according to museum spokesman Anthony Scott. It will have indoor seating and tables on a patio overlooking the canal.
Opening day is set for June 11.

Finishing touches are still being made to the cafe menu, but expect to see a variety of dishes, including soups, salads and sandwiches. Some recipes will feature culinary influences from both Western and American Indian cultures. That might include a Lakota beef salad with wild cilantro dressing or an apple and wild fruit salad served with prickly pear nectar.

Kahn's executive chef, Nathaniel Malone, will oversee all aspects of the Eiteljorg's operation. Puck's IMA operation will open in early May.


I am so glad to see more dining options coming to the canal! The Eiteljorg's location offeers some of the best views from the canal, so with an outdoor dining area that apparently is elevated from the Canal, this is good news. When I worked for DMD (who owns and operate the canal), I would constantly tell the "powers that be" how vital dining and cafes options are to the Canal.

Northwest poised to dominate in Indy
New wave of nonstops to commence on June 9


As part of its expansion, Northwest will use all eight gates of the airport's Concourse A. The new flights will expand Northwest to eight gates from five and displace rival carrier Southwest Airlines to Concourse C. -- Kelly Wilkinson / The Star file photo

January boardings

ATA Airlines carried the most passengers in January at Indianapolis International Airport. Here's a look at market share by percentage of passengers boarded.

• ATA 24.2%
• Northwest 18.2%
• American 10.5%
• USAirways 9.6%
• Southwest 9.3%
• United 9.1%
• Delta 8.9%
• Continental 5.1%
• Frontier 1.6%
• America West 1.1%
• Independence 1.0%
• Midwest Connect 0.4%
• Air Canada 0.2%
Source: Indianapolis International Airport

By Ted Evanoff
ted.evanoff@indystar.com
March 10, 2005


Northwest Airlines will start daily nonstop service June 9 to Denver; St. Louis; Seattle; and Austin, Texas, enhancing its new position as the carrier with the greatest number of flights at Indianapolis International Airport.

Northwest has been steadily expanding since summer and last week surpassed bankrupt ATA Airlines as the airport's leading carrier when the cost-cutting Indianapolis line shrank to 41 flights. By April 10, it will be down to just four daily flights.

Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest, the nation's No. 5 carrier, will operate 52 Indianapolis flights when the new service begins in June.

As part of the expansion, Northwest will use all eight gates of the airport's Concourse A, said Fay Beauchine, Northwest vice president for sales and customer care.

The new flights will expand Northwest to eight gates from five and displace Southwest Airlines to Concourse C, where it will take over undisclosed space being vacated by ATA.

"We see today as a major step forward for connecting Indianapolis with the rest of the world," Mayor Bart Peterson said Wednesday at a news conference at the airport.

With the expansion, the airport will have 196 daily flights, about the same number as last summer.

Regional jets operated by Northwest Airlink partner Pinnacle Airlines will fly to Austin and St. Louis and increase Kansas City, Mo., flights to three from two. Northwest Airbus 319s will go to Denver and Seattle.

ATA reached 51 daily flights at its all-time peak this winter as part of a short-lived plan to establish a hub at Indianapolis. Four daily flights to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando and Fort Myers, Fla., will continue. ATA also will continue flying in and out of Chicago Midway, where it has entered a business alliance with Southwest.

Although ATA executives have assailed Northwest for pushing into Indianapolis and taking away customers, Beauchine said the new routes have not been served by ATA from Indianapolis.

Indiana corporations recently requested flights to Austin, Denver and St. Louis, and Seattle was added for vacation travelers, Beauchine said. Local firms sought access to manufacturers in St. Louis; life sciences firms wanted to get to Austin; and high-tech companies needed to go to Denver.

The expansion was part of a so-called Heartland plan put together in 2001 for more service to Midwest cities. Northwest had 17 Indianapolis flights last summer but has been on a ramp-up that will triple service. The airline will have a larger concentration of flights in Indianapolis than any other U.S. city except its hubs at Detroit, Memphis, Tenn., and Minneapolis.

Currently, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and US Airways serve Denver from Indianapolis, and American Airlines flies to St. Louis. There will be no nonstop flights to Austin and Seattle until June 9

Convention, Colts issues in play
With gambling plan off table, stadium funding gets elusive

By Anthony Schoettle aschoettle@ibj.com

After much ado about nothing on stadium funding, thanks to a House Democratic walkout, the Indiana Senate will take on the issue March 15.
Whether it includes taxes on players’ salaries, tickets and suite rentals remains to be seen. But early deliberations won’t include revenue from gambling, according to Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, who chairs the Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee.
“There’s not going to be any gambling included in the bill,” Kenley said. “It’s not going to be funded through slot machines or pull tabs.”
Sen. President Pro Tem Robert Garton, R-Columbus, also said he’d oppose any measure including slot machines or pull tabs as was proposed by Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, a Democrat. Other senators wouldn’t take that possibility off the table.
“It’s way too early to say any possibility is dead,” said Sen. Lindel Hume, DPrinceton.
Hume, the ranking Democrat on the Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee, likely has a chip to play before this crapshoot is over.
“This is an economic development issue that’s going to take a bipartisan effort,” Hume said. “We’re going to have to have some kind of cafeteria plan. A number of fund-raising measures will be needed.”
Colts officials are especially concerned about measures that include taxes on tickets and suite leases as well as players’ salaries, said team spokeswoman Myra Borshoff. House Bill 1846, which died in the House Democrats’ vote boycott March 2, included a $10 ticket tax and 2-percent player payroll tax to help raise the $44 million annually needed to pay off the $625 million retractable-roof stadium.
The House measure also included a tax on luxury suites and tax increases on Marion County hotel stays and car rentals, and on riverboat casinos.
Whatever happens this week probably is just the prelude to fourth-quarter fireworks.
“This measure will probably get done in the budget bill, probably at the 11th hour,” said Ed Feigenbaum, publisher of Indiana Legislative Insight. “The House-Senate conference committee is where the real work will get done. They’ll go through this line by line. There will be plenty of negotiations and it could be highly politicized.”
But Feigenbaum said a precedent was set when then-Republican Mayor Steve Goldsmith, and then-Democratic Gov. Frank O’Bannon worked together to form a funding plan for Conseco Fieldhouse. Both Peterson and Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels favor funding the Colts’ new facility and the Convention Center expansion.
“I don’t see many lawmakers saying, ‘Let’s let the Colts walk,’” Feigenbaum said.
That doesn’t mean opinions won’t vary on funding.
“It’s not a free ride for lawmakers,” Feigenbaum said, adding that Republican lawmakers will be eager to see Peterson, the Democrats’ rising star, “pay a toll by making him raise taxes locally,” to get this done.
“Everybody wants to support this, but nobody wants to pay for it,” said Kenley, who wouldn’t reveal details of the bill. “We have to get real and come up with a sensible measure. We have to face this head on.”
Though Hume said his constituents will see little benefit from the new stadium and Indiana Convention Center expansion—that will cost an additional $275 million—he thinks it’s an important regional economic development initiative nonetheless.
“I look at it in terms of jobs created, and it’s significant,” Hume said. “We need to address it much the same way we did when we looked at bringing Toyota into my district.”
Kenley said Colts owner Jim Irsay or other top franchise executives need to be included in conversations. Borshoff said Irsay was not available to address the matter and Colts President Bill Polian did not return calls seeking comment.
Colts officials aren’t the only ones concerned with certain funding solutions being proposed—especially the ticket tax.
“The tickets are already too high for many of my constituents,” said Sen. Billie Breaux, D-Indianapolis. “Why have a team if the average citizen can’t afford to go?”
Though Breaux said she doesn’t like the ticket tax, it would not keep her from voting for a funding package.
“There’s a lot of interest in this within the Senate leadership on both sides, so I don’t think it’s going to die this session,” said Breaux, member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The issue of slot machines probably is dead and I’m sorry to see that because I think it’s a good regional solution.”
Sources close to the Colts said while the tax on players’ salaries and suite leases is troublesome, it’s the $10 ticket tax that is the potential show-stopper.
“The $10 ticket surcharge by its magnitude is highly unusual,” said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based Sportscorp Ltd.
Ganis, a consultant who has worked for numerous NFL teams and playing venue operators, said a $10 tax would be the highest—by far—in the NFL.
“A ticket tax to help pay for a venue is not unheard of, but it’s usually a buck or a buck-and-a-half,” Ganis said. “I can’t imagine Jim Irsay is going to stand by and let that pass.”
Industry observers said such a hefty fee would kill the Colts’ efforts to maintain several thousand $10 and $20 seats, and could erode the fan base. In years when the team isn’t contending for the Super Bowl, Ganis said, the Colts could easily have problems selling out the enlarged venue, which would lead to TV blackouts—cutting much-sought-after exposure for the city and Colts.
“A ticket tax is a tax on the team; that’s what people forget,” said Mark Rosentraub, former dean at IUPUI and author of “Major League Losers,” a book about professional sports operations. “In economic theory, the Colts will charge the price the market will bear, regardless of a tax. Make no mistake, this is a tax on the team, and a pretty heavy one.”
The Colts have already agreed to pay $100 million into the effort and are asking for no monetary backing once the stadium is built. But state lawmakers indicated more might be asked of the Colts.
“I don’t know if Irsay has ponied up enough, if the NFL has ponied up enough, what the city is going to contribute,” said Sen. Robert Meeks, RLaGrange. “The state is not going to pay for the whole thing.”

“I don’t know if Irsay has ponied up enough, if the NFL has ponied up enough, what the city is going to contribute,” said Sen. Robert Meeks, RLaGrange. “The state is not going to pay for the whole thing.”

Robert Meeks is a f*cking moron. No one has asked for a DIME of state funding except for infrastructure improvements around the convention center and stadium. All Bart Peterson asked for is for the ability for Indianapolis to choose how to fund the stadium, but the Republicans cant bear seeing Bart Peterson and the now Democrat majority Indianapolis succeed.

Gallery shuttle bus tour to launch April 1

The Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association plans to launch a free First Friday Art Shuttle on April 1 to ferry passengers to 17 art galleries in and near downtown.
The First Friday tour is patterned after similar tours in other cities. Some are walking tours, but IDADA decided a shuttle bus would be a better fit for downtown’s relatively far-flung galleries. IDADA ran a similar shuttle service during last year’s National Council on Education in the Ceramics Arts conference, which included exhibitions at several local venues.
Stops on the First Friday tour will include galleries at the Stutz Center, in Fountain Square, on Massachusetts Avenue, on the nearsouth side and points in between.
The shuttle bus route will take about an hour, said Mark Ruschman, president of IDADA and owner of Ruschman Art Gallery near 12th and Alabama streets, one of the tour stops. The plan is for a downtown eatery or nightspot to serve as an after-tour gathering place each month, he said. In April, Scholar’s Inn Gourmet Café and Wine Bar on Massachusetts Avenue will fill that bill. IDADA doesn’t expect visitors to stop by all 17 galleries on one tour, but the hope is the number will encourage repeat tours. Ruschman said the organization hopes more than 1,000 people will turn out for the tour. The 30-passenger shuttle will run 5:30-9:30 p.m. and will be free for passengers. Participating galleries will chip in for the first month and the Arts Council of Indianapolis is sponsoring the May tour to promote its upcoming Indianapolis Gallery Guide. Sponsors are being sought for the tour in June and for the fall season, which is scheduled to run September through December.

^^^^^Hmmmm. Wonder what other cities they got that idea from. lol

^^^^^Hmmmm. Wonder what other cities they got that idea from. lol

New York, Barcelona, San Francisco, Philadelphia, San Jose, Los Angeles, Florence, Seattle, Boston, Venice, etc...

IndyGo maps a major expansion

Express routes would link to suburbs; bus fleet would grow

By Theodore Kim
theodore.kim@indystar.com
March 30, 2005

Transit officials today will propose an ambitious overhaul of Indianapolis bus service that would more than double its fleet, launch routes into the suburban counties and pepper the region with park-and-ride lots.

IndyGo's plan stems from a six-month analysis and represents a large-scale attempt by planners to breathe life into what experts consider one of the nation's most deficient transit systems.

But fundamental questions remain, such as how much the effort would cost and how to pay for it. The proposal also faces months of scrutiny from the public, planners and lawmakers around the region.

"You need to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run," said Michael Terry, IndyGo's business development director.

• IndyGo will offer a detailed strategy to expand into the suburban counties around Indianapolis. The strategy calls for the creation of new express bus routes from Downtown Indianapolis to population centers in Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson and Morgan counties.

Of the suburban counties, Hamilton, one of the nation's fastest-growing, would receive IndyGo express service first. Other nonexpress routes are planned in Hamilton, as well.

• IndyGo also will propose the construction of at least 17 park-and-ride lots at high-traffic bus hubs around the region -- for instance at Glendale Mall near Broad Ripple or at Keystone at the Crossing. The free lots would each hold between 100 to 300 cars, and are relatively commonplace in other cities. IndyGo has none now.

• In addition, IndyGo is preparing to significantly revamp its existing service. The transit company hopes to add as many as 50 buses to its fleet within the next three years and a total of more than 200 in the next decade. IndyGo also will change its current route system -- which is shaped like a bicycle wheel and relies heavily on Downtown transfers -- to a grid arrangement that includes more crosstown routes.

The changes, transit officials say, will improve the regularity and reliability of service on virtually all routes and significantly shorten the time it takes to travel across Marion County.

• IndyGo also plans to build a new Downtown bus hub near the RCA Dome that could include retail, restaurants and access to future rail lines.

Part of rapid transit system

The proposals are part of a broader effort by planners to outline the long-term future of transportation in the Indianapolis area, including the possible construction of a rapid transit system that would link Downtown to the Hamilton County suburbs and beyond.

The rapid transit project -- which could take the form of a trolley-style rail line, an elevated monorail or some other mode -- could be detailed as soon as late May with the release of a regional transportation study known as "Directions."

The IndyGo analysis was done by a Florida-based consultant, Manuel Padron & Associates. The $280,000 study also is part of the Directions project.

Should their plan be approved, IndyGo officials hope to roll out the changes gradually over the next 10 to 15 years. Other improvements, such as the added buses and more frequent service, could happen much sooner, perhaps within the next three years.

Still, crafting sturdy and efficient bus service, experts agree, is the first step toward building a robust transit system and fostering urban growth in an era of increasing traffic congestion, longer commutes, higher gasoline prices and diminishing air quality.

"To have a successful rapid transit system, we need to have the supporting bus system there," said Mike Dearing, manager for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Planners estimate the improvements will take millions and require both significant federal funding and some sort of local or state tax increase. Assembling both the money and political will to launch a regional bus system is certain to be difficult, especially for a public corporation that has struggled financially in recent years.

IndyGo reduced evening service, laid off some drivers and employees and cut 10 unprofitable routes last April to offset a $4 million shortfall. The public corporation also received a $2 million loan as part of a bailout arranged by Mayor Bart Peterson.

But IndyGo officials argue their shortcomings are largely the product of years of scarce funding. For instance, similar-sized cities in the region -- such as Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio -- have almost double the budget and number of rush-hour buses as Indianapolis, according to recent IndyGo reviews. IndyGo records about 9 million passengers annually.

Ellen Quigley, assistant deputy mayor for policy under Peterson, said that a retooled bus system is key to long-term economic growth here.

"If we want a system that really works and will be an economic driver for the city, we need better frequency, connections to the region. We need to take into account all of the comments that we've heard."

Suburbs are mostly supportive

In general, leaders from the suburban counties reacted favorably to IndyGo's expansion plan, with the caveat that the existing service itself must improve. But a few were resistant to a wholesale IndyGo expansion, arguing the costs of the service would outweigh the benefits.

For instance, Lawrence city councilors voted in January against a plan to begin IndyGo service there.

Linda Treat, a Democratic council member in Lawrence, said her community will eventually need bus connections, but questioned whether taxpayers in her district would ride IndyGo unless the service is greatly improved.

"The majority of the people that are using it are not the people paying for it," she said. "Taxpayers are shouldering the burden of the cost."

Transit officials counter that without expansion and increased funding, IndyGo will remain as little more than a skeletal system for those who are unable to drive, rather than a true alternative to driving.

Whether an expanded bus system here will meet success is an open question. Officials point out that temporary express IndyGo buses running between Downtown and Hamilton County during the massive Hyperfix reconstruction project in 2003 often were packed with riders.

But Ian Savage, an economist for Northwestern University who has done research on transit systems, said Indianapolis poses unique challenges for transit planners, most notably its sprawling layout.

"There is lots of open space in Indianapolis and its suburbs, unlike in some other cities," he said. "It's a tough place to provide transit service."

Not surprisingly, IndyGo riders themselves welcomed news of the proposed overhaul.

Kevin Clark, a 42-year-old terminal services employee at Indianapolis International Airport, said it takes him about 90 minutes to travel from his Eastside neighborhood to work.

In the evening, when even fewer buses are operating, Clark said the buses are too crowded and some people are forced to stand -- a tough ending to any long day.

"If they had a couple extra buses at night, that would be good," he said Tuesday while waiting for a bus Downtown, adding that express routes would top his wish list.

Nearby, Linda Campbell was in the middle of a bus commute that sometimes lasts more than two hours. Campbell, 46, lives on the Eastside but works at a White Castle restaurant near 86th Street and Michigan Road.

"It's important," she said. "Because that's my only transportation."

Meetings today

IndyGo will unveil proposals to expand and overhaul its bus service today (March 30th) during two public hearings at the Indianapolis Urban League, 777 Indiana Ave.
The sessions will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 to 7:30 p.m.
For more information, contact IndyGo at (317) 635-3344.


The plan for building a better bus system

1. Head to suburbs
Express buses would run to and from Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson and Morgan counties.
When: Hamilton County may get this service in a few years, with Morgan County next. Others would follow over 10 to 15 years.
2. Drop hub-spoke system
Crosstown routes would be added so fewer riders would be forced to catch connecting buses in Downtown Indianapolis.
When: Now through next 15 years.
3. Trim waits, extend hours
Boost IndyGo's fleet of 145 buses. This would let buses run routes more frequently with extended hours.
When: Within the next three years, IndyGo wants to add 50 buses to its busiest routes, and double the fleet within 10 years.
4. Park-and-ride
Build at least 17 park-and-ride lots at high-traffic areas.
When: Within 10 years.


IndyGo's expected growth throughout this expansion project

Existing service
• Fleet size: 145 buses
• Miles traveled: 6 million a year
In 1 to 3 years
• Fleet size: 194 buses
• Miles traveled: 10.1 million a year
In 4 to 9 years
• Fleet size: 272 buses
• Miles traveled: 15.8 million a year
In 10 to 15 years
• Fleet size: 362 buses
• Miles traveled: 21.9 million a year
Source: IndyGo

http://www.indystar.com/articles/3/233105-6233-092.html

Does anyone know how to contact skyscraperpage.com? I would like them to update their Indianapolis diagram with the Conrad.

^ you have to create a screen name and contact one of the moderaters for the drawing section and tell them to change it.

There is a great artcile in Indianapolis Monthly this month that discusses the progress of downtown and what still needs to occur to get that truely 24-hour city. Hint: TRANSIT TRANSIT TRANSIT.

One of the comments in the article talked about parking lots (aka car parks). They said if a city has a lot of surface parking, it is a signthe city still has a way to go...well, the northwest side of DT around AUL if packed full...

I agree with you, CWilson--the sprawling parking lots in the NW quadrant are definitely a black mark on Indy--downtown looks so different from that vantage in comparison to the view from the NE/Mass Ave side--where there are a variety of small to mid-level buildilngs in the forefront of the skyline give the city a more "urban" feel, IMHO. I've heard that AUL--or what is it called these days?--is landbanking those lots for future expansion--any word on that?

The same can really be said for the SW side of downtown--the proposed stadium will go far to fill that in, I think. Lilly and Anthem have really taken over the SE side, and it appears to be filling in between downtown and Fountain Square.

i think Mass Ave has a long way to go, however--there are many gaps in the building curtain that will need to be filled in with appropriate development before that area approaches any of the best neighborhoods in Chicago.

But despite all my bellyaching, I think Indy is definitely moving in the right direction, and given how downtown has been almost totally rebuilt in the last 30 years, I don't think it will be long before those gaps are filled.

As for transit, I don't think I'll hold my breath for IndyGo to become a world class transit system. I think the only real (yet politically impossible and economically impractical) solution is for the reintroduction of some kind of fixed rail transit on a broad scale--with any eye toward building the transit oriented developments that I think are the future of urban planning.

A mix of commuter trains going to the sprawling suburbs N, S and West of Indy with a mix of trolleys/streetcars (sound familiar?) in the city, substantially subsidized by the city, state and federal governments, would truly make Indy into a unique, liveable environment. But the system would have to be good -- even in places where there is good transit, like SFBay area, transit often takes twice as long as driving. But in some places, not driving is definitely an option...

I recently spent some time in San Francisco, and learned that the Caltrain between SF and San Jose has, in some form, been in continuous operation for over 100 years. At almost every stop, there is a small shopping street that just about any community would kill for. Granted, it is one of the wealtiest places on the planet, but those kinds of developments dont necessarily have to be filled with upscale retailers.

New York, Barcelona, San Francisco, Philadelphia, San Jose, Los Angeles, Florence, Seattle, Boston, Venice, etc...

Most likely, the Mayor of Indy got the idea of a Trolley Hop for art from Louisville, which has one called First Fridays downtown. Another trolley Hop has formed up Franfort Avenue through Clifton and Crescent Hill that is known as F.A.T. This one runs the last friday of the month.

Nice try mentioning Indy in the same breath as those cities tough. I am glad Indy is getting this, as the art community could sure use it. When I lived there, I had a couple friends who own galleries and noted they could sell more art if they had something like the gallery hops we attended in Louisville.

On a side note, I have a question for you guys...how are you financing the new Colts arena? In Louisville, we want to build a downtown, multi-purpose arena, but the idiots in our gov't cant figure out how to finance it. Sorry to eavesdrop on your thread...

By the way, Conrad is moving along well, I was in town on business last week.

By the way, Conrad is moving along well, I was in town on business last week.


Why didn't you call, we could have met for coffee!!!!

I didn't mention Indy in the same breath as those cities you incredible bonehead. Everytime I see something that you've written, I swear that your IQ must be in the single digits. Was Indianapolis written in the list with the other cities? NO. Did you ask where Indy got it's idea for the Art tours? YES. Did I answer your question with a list of some of the hundreds of cities in the world that have these art tours? YES. It's interesting that your little city also has this art tour thing, but with all of these world class cities that have these art tours, why do you feel that Indy "most likely" got the idea from your little hole in the wall? Everytime you post something I hate that scrubby little river town a little more. You are an excellent ambassador for your city. :|

^ I was so tempted to post "Probably Louisville" right after you mentioned those cities. Too bad gych did it for me.

must...resist...urges...to...be...a...not...nice...human...being.........

I didn't mention Indy in the same breath as those cities you incredible bonehead. Everytime I see something that you've written, I swear that your IQ must be in the single digits. Was Indianapolis written in the list with the other cities? NO. Did you ask where Indy got it's idea for the Art tours? YES. Did I answer your question with a list of some of the hundreds of cities in the world that have these art tours? YES. It's interesting that your little city also has this art tour thing, but with all of these world class cities that have these art tours, why do you feel that Indy "most likely" got the idea from your little hole in the wall? Everytime you post something I hate that scrubby little river town a little more. You are an excellent ambassador for your city. :|


wow.... a LOT of low blows. I, like Jake, will be the better man. "hole in the wall" and "scrubby little river town?" someone sounds jealous. See ya in the rearview, loser. Believe it or not, asshole, cities that are near each other compete and also get ideas from each other. I'll save you for someone else. By the way, I graduated from the top university in your state, and am attending medical school in Louisville next year. Who is the "bonehead" with no IQ now? lol

HAHAHAHHA every once in a blue moon this thread gets very fun :)

Why didn't you call, we could have met for coffee!!!!


haha, i should have...but i dont have your number. I actually do a fair amount of business in Indy, since my current company in chicago runs through there. I will accept an "insider indy tour" only if i can give you an "insdie the ville" tour when I move back to Louisville this summer. Although I lived in Indy for almost 4 months, I am sure there was a couple areas I missed.

http://www.tomotterness.net/images/home_img_indianapolis.gif

Otterness odyssey
'We were trying to bring art out into the world'

There's a boy and his dog on the Circle. A miser on the steps of the War Memorial. A mad mom on the lawn of the State Capitol building.

And these are just a few of the characters New York sculptor Tom Otterness has brought to the city as part of his public art exhibition "Tom Otterness in Indianapolis." In all, 25 of his whimsical bronze pieces are scattered along 18 sites throughout the Downtown district and at The Children's Museum and The Indianapolis Museum of Art.

But don't be fooled by the whimsy. Otterness' work has implications beyond making you smile. When you encounter one of his pieces, ask yourself three questions: What is it? What does it represent? Why is it here (at a particular site)?

"I've tried to match the different pieces to their sites as much as possible," said Otterness during his final pre-installation visit to the city. "I tried to find places where people gather. The idea is to bring art to people who might not ordinarily go to museums."

The exhibition is a modified version of "Tom Otterness on Broadway," which recently closed after a six-month run in New York. Nineteen of the pieces from that show are in the Indianapolis version; the remaining six are being displayed for the first time.

"I like getting my work out of New York," said Otterness, who grew up in Wichita, Kansas. "I'd love to have a commission to create something specific for this place."

"Tom Otterness in Indianapolis" is a cooperative effort involving the artist, Marlborough Gallery (which represents him), the Arts Council of Indianapolis, the City of Indianapolis, and the owners of the various sites where Otterness' works have been installed. Funding for the project came in the form of a $238,000 grant from the Cultural Development Commission and a $50,000 grant from the Deborah Joy Simon Charitable Trust.

About the artist

Born and raised in Wichita, Kan., Tom Otterness has lived in New York since 1970. After studying at the acclaimed Art Students League of New York, and in a program run by the Whitney Museum of American Art, he joined other artists to form Collaborative Projects, Inc. in 1977.

"We were trying to bring art out into the world," recalled Otterness recently. "From that idea, going to public art was an easy transition."

It certainly proved to be for him. Over the past 25 years, Otterness has built an international reputation as an artist who can create work that works well in public forums. His art has been on display in cities in Texas, Washington, New Jersey, Minnesota, Oregon, California and Kansas, as well as in Germany, Puerto Rico, Israel and Spain.

Every project is a new challenge, he said. "Public art is a hard sell. When is it art? How does it correspond to the nature of the community?"

These days, Otterness operates out of a studio in Brooklyn, employing a staff of people to help him develop his projects, both public art commissions and fine art pieces. Aside from his public art, he has work in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Sculptures on display

Male Tourist (1999, 27 x 21 x 10 inches)

Female Tourist (1999, 34 x 16 x 14 inches)

The RCA Dome and Convention Center, in front of the Capitol Street entrances.

Free Money (2001, 107 1/2 x 69 1/2 x 84 inches)

By the RCA Dome and Convention Center, in front of the Capitol Street entrances.

Computer Pile (1996, 43 x 30 x 43 inches)

Northwest corner of Meridian and Ohio streets, by the SBC building.

Educating the Rich on a Globe (1997, 62 x 35 x 37 inches)

Southern stairs of the Indiana War Memorial Building, facing Vermont Street between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets.

Miser (1997 57 x 24 x 24 inches)

Southern stairs of the Indiana War Memorial Building, facing Vermont Street between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets.

Big Big Penny (1993, 71 1/4 x 65 x 13 inches)

Southern stairs of the Indiana War Memorial Building, facing Vermont Street between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets.

Boy and Dog (1999 20 x 29 x 22 inches)

Near corner of Monument Circle and Market Street, in the alcove next to Starbucks in the Circle Tower building.

Head (1984, 35 x 33 x 26 inches)

Veterans Memorial Plaza, on Michigan Street between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets.

Walking Fish (1998, 14 x 29 x 10 inches)

On the Canal, in the tiered limestone garden between the Eiteljorg and the State Museum.

Last Penny (1999, 27 x 27 x 18 inches)

Inside Circle Centre mall, in front of the third-floor escalators leading to the movie theater.

Free Money (1999, 36 x 27 x 20 inches)

Another interpretation is located inside Circle Centre mall in front of the third floor escalators leading to the movie theater.

Large Covered Wagon (2004, 85 x 185 x 48 inches)

Sidewalk on West Washington Street in front of the Eiteljorg Museum, west of the Eiteljorg sign.

Escaping Leg (2002, 254 x 59 x 73 1/2 inches)

The greenspace in front of the new Indianapolis Museum of Art building addition.

Fallen Dreamer (1995, 30 x 42 x 44 inches)

New Herron School of Art and Design building, in front of the New York Street entrance.

King (1997, 77 x 30 x 30 inches)

Queen (1997, 80 x 29 x 29 1/2 inches)

Northwest corner of Maryland and Illinois streets, in front of the National City Bank building.

Large Bear (2000, 121 x 41 x 47 inches)

The Indianapolis Zoo main entrance.

Gulliver (2002, 76 3/4 x 446 x 97 3/4 inches)

The Children's Museum main entrance on North Illinois Street.

Marriage of Real Estate & Money (1996, 74 x 53 x 32 inches)

On the corner of Monument Circle and East Market streets, by the Bank One Tower.

DNA Chain (1989, 72 1/2 x 26 x 22 inches)

Southeast corner of Meridian and Washington streets, by Borders bookstore.

Mad Mom (2001, 119 x 66 x 49 inches)

Statehouse, in front of the Morton Memorial sculpture installation at Capitol and Market streets.

Cellular Beaver ( 1997, 23 x 15 x 20 inches)

Northwest quadrant of City Market at Delaware and Market streets.

Tree of Knowledge (1997, 108 x 42 x 24 inches)

Northwest quadrant of City Market at Delaware and Market streets.

See No Evil (2002, 164 1/2 x 236 x 70 3/4 inches)

Western side of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument inside Monument Circle, facing the Statehouse.

http://www2.indystar.com/articles/6/235682-4916-065.html

haha, i should have...but i dont have your number. I actually do a fair amount of business in Indy, since my current company in chicago runs through there. I will accept an "insider indy tour" only if i can give you an "insdie the ville" tour when I move back to Louisville this summer. Although I lived in Indy for almost 4 months, I am sure there was a couple areas I missed.

Actually, I would really enjoy that!

Sorry for the outburst everybody, and for the Louisville insults Jake. If anybody else had done that whiney little "nice try including those cities in the same breath with Indy" slam, I would have simply written them off as a complete moron who was unable to read, and moved on. But this gych weasel has turned slamming Indy into a 24/7 occupation and I am tired of his jealous little girl BS. So as soon as I read his garbage I just went off.

Carry on with the thread now everybody. There's nothing to see here. Move along, move along.

The Otterness artwork is VERY cool. I was downtown yesterday and saw some of it. I wish that the City would put some permanent art work in and around the Circle as opposed to just along Mass Ave.

awesome art. I'll be downtown seeing it this weekend

I wish they would fix the search feature. I want to see some more of gych's outragious statements.

Local investor pulls out of deal with ATA


By Ted Evanoff and Will Higgins
ted.evanoff@indystar.com


Indianapolis real estate investor Okun Enterprises this morning said it has canceled plans to buy Chicago Express from bankrupt Indianapolis carrier ATA Airlines.

The investor had planned to buy the 600-employee Chicago-based commuter airline and move it to Indianapolis. ATA shut it down March 28 to cut costs.

In a press release, Okun Enterprises said: "The cessation of service created concerns affecting all aspects of the purchase -- * government agency approvals, re-certification, retention of key employees, assets *-- all of which were just too difficult for us to overcome.''

Edward Okun, an Indianapolis developer and syndicator of commercial real estate, said progress stalled when he learned the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Transportation decided that following the resignation Thursday of Chicago Express’ chief of maintenance, the airline’s flight certificate, its federal permission to fly, would be revoked.

“That certificate was the major asset we were buying,” Okun said.
Re-certification, Okun said, could take two years.

“I’m not in a position to buy this thing and have it grounded for two years,” Okun said Tuesday. “Our target was to get this thing back in the air by Aug. 1.”

Indianapolis-based ATA had bought Chicago Express in 1999 for $1.9 million to feed Midwest passengers to ATA Airlines' hub at Chicago Midway. Okun bid $3 million to $4 million for the carrier and also agreed to pay $2.44 million to ATA for two Saab 340 turboprop aircraft.

Airport expansion starts crucial phase
After decades of planning, terminal's bid process in May should give way to construction



Billion-dollar baby: An artist's rendering shows the midfield terminal project that will bring Indianapolis International Airport into the future. The expansion, first conceived in the 1970s, will improve access to nearby highways and boost the facility's parking by 50 percent. -- Associated Press

What's next

• Early May: Airport officials release first round of bid packages for construction of midfield terminal.
• This summer: Terminal construction begins.
• Early 2006: Workers begin erecting terminal's steel frame.
• Late 2008: Scheduled project completion.




By Theodore Kim
theodore.kim@indystar.com


More than a quarter-century after planners began contemplating a massive expansion of Indianapolis International Airport, the project now stands between blueprint and reality.

Officials next month will begin soliciting the first of about 45 bid packages for construction on a terminal between the airport's current runways. Terminal work will start in the summer, with completion slated for late 2008.

Onset of construction will mark a key moment in the expansion, which was conceived by planners in the mid-1970s as part of the drafting of a long-term airport blueprint. More recently, the project has met some resistance by the financially strapped airline industry and was delayed two years by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"This is that moment in time when the project starts to take off," said Project Director John Kish.

The glass-enclosed structure will replace the airport's aging current terminal, which has 34 gates and has suffered from post-9/11 overcrowding even as the industry itself has been in turmoil. Last year, the airport serviced a record 8 million passengers.

The new terminal will have 40 gates with ample room for more and about 16,500 parking spaces -- up from the airport's present 11,000. Highway access also will improve: More convenient terminal ramps off I-70 just to the west of I-465 will replace the Airport Expressway, the current gateway.

All told, the expansion -- including new highway ramps, garage and surface parking, installation of a screening system to detect explosives in checked baggage and other costs -- will total around $1 billion. The effort ranks among the most ambitious public works projects in Indianapolis history.

At the same time, the project will face more significant risk once construction starts. From now to completion, major design changes or unforeseen market forces -- for instance, the dissolution of a major airline -- could affect the project's costs and completion date.

Northwest Airlines, which has emerged as the airport's dominant carrier following the bankruptcy filing by Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines, has joined other airlines in pressuring officials here to delay the expansion. The industry will pay for part of the expansion through the landing and rental fees each airline pays. The balance will come from other charges, such as airport parking fees.

"Given the state of the airline industry, Northwest, like other airlines, continues to have concerns over the affordability of the new terminal and continues to work with the Indianapolis Airport Authority on this issue," said Kurt Ebenhoch, a spokesman for the Eagan, Minn.-based airline.

But with construction imminent, Kish and other airport officials say those concerns have given way to a measure of acceptance.

"I don't think Indy will become a major hub anytime soon," said Alan Bender, an airline economist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. "But recent history is such that prospects are good for growth in the long term."

Workers have begun laying utilities and sewer and water lines, while the Federal Aviation Administration is in the midst of building an air traffic control tower.

Construction of the terminal's actual steel frame will begin sometime in 2006.

Said Kish, "I think the airlines are realizing that this project is actually going to happen."

A great site to see some renderings and an iteresting flythrough of the new airport is
www.newindairport.com (http://www.newindairport.com)

Public art to brighten Indy's doorway
Finalists unveil their artistic visions for midfield terminal

Most people might see but a wall, a 130-foot pane of glass in the midfield terminal planned at Indianapolis International Airport.

But Arlon Bayliss saw something else entirely: a blank canvas that begged for art. His inspiration soon matured into a meandering train of glass bird shapes that emit different colors of light. Bayliss' birds could be among the first features that travelers see in the new terminal.

Airport architects on Friday revealed Bayliss' work and about three dozen other visions that might adorn the new terminal's walls, concourses and open spaces. Officials will display the works Monday through May 8 at the Downtown Indianapolis Artsgarden.

The new terminal itself will serve as a landmark, a teardrop-shaped glass and steel behemoth that will house about 22 football fields of space between the two runways. The space is more than double the existing terminal.

But planners hope the terminal's public art will command equal attention as airports around the nation turn to elaborate displays of creativity in an effort to stand out and leave out-of-towners with a lasting impression.

"The first experience of a city is what people see at the airport," said Bayliss, 48. "What a fantastic privilege to be part of that."

Slated for completion in late 2008, the midfield structure will replace the current passenger terminal, which served a record 8 million passengers last year and has suffered from overcrowding. Construction is scheduled to start this summer.

"We have the population of the city of New York going through our airport every year," said midfield project director John Kish. "We want to leave a good impression."

Friday's proposals, unveiled at Blackburn Architects in Indianapolis, ranged from Bayliss' procession of glass chevrons near security to a terrazzo floor mosaic in the terminal's main plaza by Bloomington native Lynn Basa. Artist Ron Baron offered bronze benches shaped and painted like luggage that might fit well near baggage claim.

Photographer Mike Mandel presented a photo-realistic tile mosaic that depicts plane passengers caught in casual moments. The images would go near the terminal's security checkpoints.

Artists varied, as well, from established professionals to motivated amateurs. More than a third live or have lived in Indiana. Bayliss lives in Anderson and teaches a class about glass work at Anderson University.

Others came from elsewhere. They were drawn by the buzz in art circles and the prospect of crafting a work that will adorn one of Indianapolis' largest public works projects. Baron lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. Mandel, who lives near Boston, had never visited Indiana before.

"Every artist wants to make site-specific art," said the 54-year-old Mandel. "I focused on the airport, on air travelers themselves."

A panel of seven national and local art experts selected Friday's artists from a list of more than 500 candidates. Each finalist received $1,000 to generate designs using different mediums for various terminal spaces, including public restrooms.

Project architects will decide which artists make the final cut in coming months. The number of works that officials might choose, or how much the art will cost, remains unclear. Money for the project is not yet budgeted but will come from the airport's roughly $1 billion project.

Efforts in similar cities have cost from $7 million to $10 million. Individual projects might cost $40,000 to $300,000, depending on size and scope, said Julia Moore, public art administrator at Blackburn Architects. The firm is coordinating the airport art effort.

For city leaders, the push to decorate has taken on new significance as cities such as Atlanta, Denver and Seattle have invested millions of dollars to turn new airport terminals into impressive, aesthetically pleasing gateways. William B. Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta even keeps its own art gallery.

"The midfield project is setting a new precedence with public art," said Mindy Taylor Ross, public art coordinator for the Arts Council of Indianapolis and a member of Mayor Bart Peterson's cultural development commission.

"It's not just plop art. All of this work is integrated into the structure itself."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050423/NEWS01/504230513

Kite’s plan sparking controversy
Condos near Fashion Mall likely to face ‘battle royal’

A partnership headed by Paul Kite has ambitious plans for a mixed-use development featuring midrise condominium towers and retail space on the last undeveloped corner of 86th Street and Keystone Avenue.
A proposal from PK Capital LLC, Kite’s partnership, calls for more than 180 condos and about 60,000 square feet of retail space on the north side of 86th Street between Haverstick Road and Keystone Avenue. The 10-acre property lies just south of Our Lady of Peace Cemetery and a narrow strip of single-family homes.
Plans for the site call for an upscale grocery store, identified in one site plan as Whole Foods. PK Capital’s attorney, Thomas Michael Quinn, confirmed the Austin, Texas-based grocer is the target tenant for the space, but said no deal has been signed.
Whole Foods spokeswoman Amy Hopfens- perger said the company has been interested in an Indianapolis location for some time, but a store here isn’t on the announced store-opening list.
Paul Kite runs Kite Inc., a construction company. Kite Inc. was a sister company to Kite Development before parent company Kite Cos. reorganized and went public last August as Kite Realty Group Trust. Paul Kite isn’t an employee of the public company, although he maintains an office in Kite headquarters at 30 S. Meridian St. and owns shares of the company.
The project at 86th and Haverstick would be Paul Kite’s first major local project since leaving the development side of the family business when Kite went public last August.
The project already has stirred up controversy among neighbors in the Driftwood Hills neighborhood, just west of the site.
“Why come into an established neighborhood with such a misuse of land, we feel,” said Tim Greene, president of the neighborhood association in Driftwood Hills, an area with about 300 ranch-style and split-level homes built in the mid-20th century.
Neighbors have also expressed concern about traffic cutting through on 91st Street and about sewer and drainage issues the project would raise.
PK Capital has the mostly wooded site under contract pending rezoning. Most of the land is owned by Farahan Enterprises, which is controlled by the family that owns the Royal Gallery of Rugs in the nearby Fashion Mall at Keystone at the Crossing. Just over three acres is owned by the Calvin W. Prather Masonic Lodge.
PK Capital would pay more than $6 million for both parcels, local real estate sources said.
Greene said most area residents question the need for more retail development when Woodfield Center on the south side of 86th Street has struggled to keep tenants in recent years.
The Marion County Comprehensive Plan recommends low-density residential development for the site. However, the site isn’t suitable for high-end single-family development because of its proximity to Keystone and 86th, Quinn said.
Developers and city officials have a second meeting scheduled for April 29 to discuss the plan and iron out differences, but the matter may not come up for a public hearing until early this summer, he said.
The last project proposed for the site, a commercial development by Kosene & Kosene, met with similar resistance in 1999. Kosene principal Gerry Kosene predicted a “battle royal” with residents over the current petition.
Kite’s plan calls for two eight- or ninestory condo towers with about 120 units facing the ramp from Keystone Avenue to 86th Street; the remaining 60 or so units would be in townhouses along the northern and western edges of the site.
Retail development would be concentrated on the southern edge, facing 86th Street. A garage would house most of the parking for residents and retail customers.
The site plan is still being finalized, Quinn said. One of the concerns is the effect of underground parking for retailers, he said. The number of units is also still under discussion.
Current plans call for the condos to range from 1,200 to 2,500 square feet and to be priced from $250,000 to $350,000, in line with or slightly less than other recent north-side condo developments.
“The plan is to attract the type of people who would want to buy a similar type of condo downtown but who don’t want to live downtown,” Quinn said.

http://tampa.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2005/04/25/1/Img/Pc0010500.jpg

Michigan Road project features upscale shops
Smaller version of Café Patachou planned for property

Developers of a small parcel of property on the northwest side are creating a courtyard of quaint shops that will feature an offshoot of the Café Patachou boutique restaurant.
Daniel Altman and his wife, Colleen, bought the piece of land at the corner of 51st Street and Michigan Road last year and opened the upscale Catalpa Antiques & Objects in the historic home that sits on the property.
Once completed, the Catalpa Place development will include five shops within a short walking distance of one another connected by walking paths that link to a courtyard. The country French influence in design will be reminiscent of what might be found in New Orleans, the developers said.
“There are places like this, but they’re on the East Coast or in the South,” Colleen Altman said, “so we thought this would be unique to the city.”
Besides the antique store, which is stocked with relics from her trips to France, The Pear Tree and Rosalind Brinn Pope Interiors are open and part of the one-acre development. Both operated by Brinn Pope, a well-known local interior designer, the businesses are at the rear of the property in another refurbished home.
The Pear Tree, which peddles fine European linens and home accessories, is housed on the first floor. The upstairs is occupied by Brinn Pope’s studio. The location is the second for Brinn Pope, whose main office is in Broad Ripple.
“This will be a wonderful location, because it will be a European style that fits our clientele and what we’re trying to develop,” said Terri Gray, Brinn Pope’s assistant.
A smaller version of Martha Hoover’s Café Patachou (French for cream puff) will be built directly to the south of the antique store, with a terrace between the two structures.
The new restaurant will be the fourth for Hoover, who opened her first in 1989 at 49th and Pennsylvania streets. The others are in the River Crossing retail center on 82nd Street and at 126th Street and Gray Road in Carmel.
Hoover needed little prodding from the Altmans, who have been café regulars since the beginning, to open a northwestside restaurant. Hoover wants to open there in September. Construction has yet to begin.
“I love the fact that it is in an area that has been a bit forgotten,” she said. “It’s a beautiful area with a real sense of neighborhood. I think it’s going to attract a very sophisticated clientele.”
While the Michigan Road thoroughfare there historically has never been a hotbed of activity, change is under way just south of the development.
The Indianapolis Museum of Art will reopen May 6 following a three-year, $74 million expansion to its main building. The museum’s space will more than double, adding galleries, restaurants and educational areas to the original 1970 building at 38th Street.
The International School of Indiana built an 85,000-square-foot building for middle and high school classes on the school’s 63-acre Michigan Road campus. The $17.5 million structure opened in August.
Next door is the $12 million Light of the World Christian Church, and across the street is a small gated community being built on 176 acres by local businesswoman Christel DeHaan. She bought the former St. Maur Monastery in 2002 and is constructing an estate behind an enormous wall that sprawls alongside Michigan Road.
The growth should benefit the shops and Hoover’s latest café, said Steve Delaney, a partner and restaurant specialist at The Linder Co., a Carmel-based real estate firm.
“She appeals to the clientele that will be frequenting the shops in that little complex,” Linder said. “That sort of fits her, and she’ll do well. There’s a lot happening all of a sudden over there.”
The last piece of the Catalpa development involves a mansard-style garage that will be renovated and possibly expanded for additional retail space. The Altmans are negotiating with a potential tenant.
The cement-block, brick corner-point look of the garage complements the café, which was designed by New York architect David Webster. He has designed four homes in Indianapolis, including the Altmans’.
Webster met the couple in the mid 1990s after they purchased a house he designed within blocks of Catalpa Place. At one time, he had considered buying the property and converting it into an office. When the Altmans purchased it, they approached him about a partnership. He agreed.
“We don’t know if it will all work,” Webster said. “But it seems that, with the development of Patachou, maybe this corner will be able to support itself.”
Dan Altman declined to divulge how much the owners have spent on renovations.
The commercially zoned property has undergone a string of changes through the years. The home that houses the antique shop was built as a log cabin by Josephine Coburn, who coincidentally sold French antiques there in the early part of the century.
The Coppock Brothers interior design firm operated from the location for years. The Altmans bought part of the land from Robert Baldwin, owner of locally based Safety Resources Inc.
The parcel with the renovated home that is occupied by Brinn Pope was bought from Paul D’Amico.
Colleen Altman began selling antiques with her mother, Lois Fiedler, who operates Heirlooms in the Carmel Antique Mall. Dan Altman is a lawyer.
The development takes its name from the Catalpa tree in the front yard of the antique shop.

Fall Creek Place to Expand Eastward

Tammy Lieber
IBJ Reporter

The success of Fall Creek Place in revitalizing a formerly blighted neighborhood north of downtown has led the project's partners to expand the neighborhood to the east.

Mansur Real Estate Services, the city of Indianapolis, King Park Area Development Corp. and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana plan to acquire land for new housing along Broadway Street and College Avenue between 22nd Street and Fall Creek Parkway, said Chris Palladino, Mansur's director of real estate development and finance.

Depending on how much land is acquired, the fourth phase of Fall Creek Place could include as many as 91 single-family homes, 34 townhouses and 10 rehabs of existing houses, he said.

As in the first three phases, all the targeted land and homes are vacant.

"We're not displacing any homeowners," Palladino said.

Unlike the first three phases, the developers won't have federal money to help with acquisition and infrastructure costs. The main part of Fall Creek Place, which lies between Pennsylvania and Park streets and 22nd Street and Fall Creek Parkway, was spurred by a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The first three phases will have added nearly 400 homes, townhouses and rehabbed properties to the near-north-side housing stock when completed later this year.

The process for builders in the new phase also will differ slightly from the first three phases. One of the criticisms of the early phases of Fall Creek Place was that several small home builders lacked the financial wherewithal to keep up with strong demand for homes in the neighborhood.

For phase four, the five builders active in the project's third phase will be offered the chance to buy lots four at a time in the fourth phase, contingent on the builders' financial ability to do so, Palladino said. Builders must agree that at least one of the lots will be sold to a low- to moderate-income buyer.

Although there are no federally mandated affordable-housing restrictions on the fourth phase, developers consider a broad mix of home prices one of the keys to Fall Creek Place's success and want to continue that trend, Palladino said.

If existing builders don't buy all of the available lots, developers will open up the remaining parcels on a first-come, first-served basis, Palladino said.

Since there's no federal money for the fourth phase, financing the expansion was a challenge, Palladino said. The city will issue bonds for land acquisition and infrastructure improvements. The bonds will be paid off with proceeds from lot sales and from a property-tax-increment-financing district.

Developers hope to acquire land this summer and begin infrastructure work in the fall, he said. Lots could be opened up to builders early next year, with the first construction starting as soon as next spring.

A plan completed in the late 1990s called for the entire area between Pennsylvania and College to be redeveloped, but developers, then unsure of demand for homes in the area, decided to concentrate resources on the western part of the neighborhood, Palladino said.

"This really just finishes the original plan," he said.

Fall Creek Place is one of, if not the most ompressive Urban revitalization projects in the Country. I know that Indy is going to attempt to get the American Planner's Association National Conference here in the near future and are using this neighborhood as one of the many examples of Indy's progress and movement forward.

I lived in Heron-Morton when this started and it is truely amazing at how the area looks now...and the spill-over is very impressive. Meridian Street is starting to reshape and I would expect a lot better retail and commercial options along that corridor as well as College by decade's end.

Indianapolis officials will seek to expand the redevelopment of resurgent Fall Creek Place




Buoyed by the success of Fall Creek Place, city officials plan to seek an expansion of the redevelopment area as part of a plan to create more than 100 new homes there.

On Wednesday city officials will ask the Metropolitan Development Commission to expand Fall Creek Place to include Broadway and College Avenue from Fall Creek Parkway to 22nd Street.

Plans call for the addition of 91 new homes and 34 townhomes and the rehabilitation of 10 homes, said Maury Plambeck, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development. As with the earlier phases, the city intends to acquire vacant lots or vacant houses. No homes in which people were living have been taken.

The city hopes the expansion, if approved, will spread the stability that Fall Creek Place has brought to an area formerly called Dodge City because of the number of shootings that took place there.

Now, "sold" signs and rising property values have replaced the sound of gunfire.

Five townhomes ranging in price from $123,000 to $155,000 in the 2300 block of Central Avenue were sold before the first stick of lumber was put up, Kurt Flock of Flock Realty said Wednesday.

On Friday, his company will close a deal on a home in the 2500 block of New Jersey Street in Fall Creek Proper, a development that preceded Fall Creek Place by at least a year. The new home was purchased in 2000 for $150,000 and is being resold for $222,000.

Terri Coleman, 26, who moved into the 2300 block of Alabama five years ago, has witnessed her neighborhood's transformation from an area so dangerous that she bought bullet-proof vests for her children to wear when they played outside.

"It's definitely better," Coleman said of her neighborhood, which has seen crack houses disappear. Plus, she's learned the home she bought for about $64,000 has nearly tripled in value.

Shana McMahon, 28, who lives near Coleman on Alabama, became a first-time homeowner less than two years ago after learning how affordable property there was at the time. She had been hoping to buy a home not far from her job in Downtown Indianapolis.

McMahon said she's only heard stories of the area's rougher days.

"I haven't seen any problems since I moved in," she said. There is a sense of neighborhood, too, she added. "You can see families with small children going on walks in the afternoon."

The first three phases of the project included about 360 new homes and the rehabilitation of 58 more in the area that was bounded by Fall Creek, Pennsylvania, Park and 22nd.

"What we really created was something unlike any opportunities that people had who wanted to live near Downtown," said Chris Palladino, director of neighborhood development and finance for Mansur Real Estate Services, which is in charge of Fall Creek Place's overall development.

Home prices in the project's first phases have ranged from $94,000 to $350,000, while homes in the planned expansion most likely would start around $125,000 and go into the $300,000 range, he said.

The redevelopment project was made possible by a $4 million federal grant for a "home ownership zone," which was used to help low- and moderate-income residents purchase a home. The city will use $600,000 in federal funds to help those residents put a down payment on homes in the expanded area.

"Fall Creek has exceeded my expectations and the expectations of just about everybody else who's been associated with it," said Mayor Bart Peterson. While Fall Creek Place serves as a model for urban redevelopment, what pleases Peterson is that it's not an "urban gentrification project where the people who are living there are thrown out and replaced with well-to-do homeowners."

The city plans to create a special taxing district in the expanded area to pay for property acquisition and infrastructure improvements in the area.

"It's been tremendous for the neighborhood," said Robert W. Frazier, executive director of the King Park Area Development Corp., a neighborhood group that, along with the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, assisted in the Fall Creek redevelopment. "It's helped to rid the neighborhood of some of the crime that previously existed, it's restored a portion of the tax base to Center Township and made affordable housing available for a great number of people."

He also predicted that the expansion of Fall Creek Place will help attract small businesses to the area, particularly along College Avenue.

Havertys Furniture headed here
Atlanta firm joins furnishings retailers new to Indy, which is called robust market.

Atlanta-based Haverty Furniture Cos. Inc. soon will make its debut in Indiana.

The publicly traded company -- whose stores are called Havertys Furniture -- filed for permits with a state agency for a 46,766-square-foot store at 8310 Castleton Corner Drive.

The company joins a stream of furniture retailers announcing their arrival in the Indianapolis market. Ashley Furniture HomeStore recently opened a 55,000-square-foot showroom at 2003 E. Greyhound Pass in Carmel, near 146th Street and U.S. 31. Earlier this year, Crate & Barrel announced plans to open at the Fashion Mall. Baker Home Furnishings, a division of Kohler Co., has advertised to hire employees for a new store in Carmel.

"I think it's because of our economy," said Mark Perlstein, a partner at Carmel-based The Linder Co., a retail real estate services firm. "Indianapolis is a very strong Midwest hub, and the positive growth and the strong new housing trends are making furniture retailers focus on the market."

Havertys would be a good fit, Perlstein said. "They have a very strong reputation," he said.

Havertys has nearly 120 showrooms spread across 16 southern and central states, selling brand-name home furnishings and accessories in the middle to upper-middle price range.

The retailer had been scouting locations in the Indianapolis area for some time, Perlstein said.

The Castleton location is an obvious choice for the retailer, he said.

"Kittle's Home Furnishings set a precedent in that area years ago, and most furniture retailers like to locate close to each other to provide customers with additional selection," Perlstein said. "Besides, Castleton has the No. 1 super-regional mall and has interstate accessibility and visibility."

Perlstein said he expects Havertys to compete with Kittle's.

Havertys and Kittle's officials could not be reached for comment.

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Trendy retailers targeting city malls
H&M picks Circle Centre; Williams-Sonoma Home eyes Fashion Mall

Two retailers in the early stages of national expansion efforts are eyeing Simon Property Group Inc.’s Circle Centre and Fashion Mall for new stores.

Clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz plans to open an 18,000-square-foot store in Circle Centre this fall, and local retail experts say Williams-Sonoma Inc. is considering the Fashion Mall for one of its first Williams-Sonoma Home stores.

Better known as H&M, Hennes & Mauritz is to clothing what IKEA is to furniture: hip, Swedish and budget-friendly.

Since opening its first U.S. store in New York in 2000, H&M has consistently drawn crowds for its selection of clothing for men, women, teenagers and children. In addition to fashion basics and updated classics, H&M also focuses on turning the latest runway-fashion trends into affordable clothing.

“Our target market is anybody interested in fashion,” said Lisa Sandberg, director of communications for H&M’s U.S. operations.

Stockholm-based H&M is the largest clothing retailer in Europe and has 1,100 stores in 21 countries. It has 76 stores in the United States, most of them on the East Coast. The company is venturing into the Midwest after staking out territory in Chicago, said Lisa Sandberg, director of communications for H&M’s U.S. operations. A store in Fort Wayne’s Glenbrook Square mall opened April 22.

The company is targeting U.S. growth of 10 percent to 15 percent each year, Sandberg said. Typically, H&M opens a flagship store in a new market, such as the Circle Centre location, then adds stores, Sandberg said. Additional stores may carry several H&M lines or may focus on one segment, such as children’s or teen fashions, she said.

“There’s been a lot of fanfare about them,” said Bill French, principal and vice president at locally based Colliers Turley Martin Tucker. “It’s absolutely a good catch from the standpoint that it’s truly an international retailer.”

The Circle Centre store is a typical size for H&M, which usually looks for stores in the 17,000- to 23,000-square-foot range. Sandberg said the Circle Centre store will be one level, but couldn’t offer details on its location within the mall.

A spokeswoman from Simon, which manages Circle Centre, didn’t return calls seeking details about the store, including its location.

Circle Centre offers few vacancies of that size on its first three levels, and a major retailer on the vacancy-plagued fourth floor would be a surprise, retail experts said. Abercrombie & Fitch closed its second-floor location for renovation in late April, but the store’s manager said it will reopen in the same location in mid-July. Several small shops on the first level of the south end of the mall near Nordstrom are vacant, but aren’t contiguous.

Under the Sun, a retailer of Mexican furnishings based on Rockville Road, recently vacated its third-floor space near the center of the mall, but that left only 4,500 square feet open. Store co-owner Ed McMichael said mall manager Simon terminated the store’s temporary lease, saying it had another tenant for the space.

Circle Centre’s overall occupancy rate was 85 percent at the end of 2004, according to company filings.

On the north side, Simon is shuffling tenants around Fashion Mall to accommodate a new store, rumored to be Williams-Sonoma Home. The retail brand is the latest venture from Californiabased Williams-Sonoma Inc., which also operates Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids at Fashion Mall.

Simon is clearing out space formerly occupied by Houlihan’s restaurant, which recently closed, and retailers Bebe and the Walking Co., which are relocating elsewhere inside the mall. Assuming those spaces are combined, that would free up about 15,000 square feet for a new tenant.

Fashion Mall’s occupancy was nearly 97 percent at the end of the year.

Neither Simon nor Williams-Sonoma returned calls seeking comment on a possible store at the Fashion Mall.

The California-based kitchenware retailer launched Williams-Sonoma Home as an upscale home-furnishings catalog in 2004. The company plans to open three to five bricks-and-mortar home stores this fall, according to its Web site. Store sites will include Los Angeles and Palo Alto, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and Cincinnati. Indianapolis isn’t mentioned, but several retail sources said they’ve heard a deal is in the works.

If Williams-Sonoma does pick Fashion Mall for one of its first home-store locations, it would cement the mall’s growing reputation for upscale home furnishings. Crate and Barrel, slated to open at the mall this fall, the two Pottery Barn stores and Restoration Hardware all compete with Williams-Sonoma and Williams-Sonoma Home to some degree. Fashion Mall is the only Indianapolis location for those stores.

Of the two newest entries, Williams-Sonoma Home would aim for the higher end of the market, while Crate and Barrel goes after more of a middle-market crowd. For instance, a handspun jute rug sells for $225 at Crate and Barrel; a handbraided version from Williams-Sonoma Home fetches $475.

If Williams-Sonoma does pick Fashion Mall for one of its first home-store locations, it would be a vote of confidence in the strength of the local retail market, French said. Additionally, it would only add to Fashion Mall’s reputation, which has escalated in recent years with tenants such as The Cheesecake Factory and Crate and Barrel.

“We’ve seen some dramatic improvements to the quality of retailers [at Fashion Mall], which means better selection for consumers in central Indiana,” French said. “Every year, it seems, Fashion Mall has gotten better.”

Construction set to begin at Meridian Lofts condominiums

Nearly two years after closing on the purchase of a pair of historic Meridian Street buildings, Brownsburg-based developer CDD Holdings LLC is finally set to begin converting them into 18 condominiums.

CDD is awaiting final construction plans for Meridian Lofts at 207 and 209 S. Meridian St. to begin work on the units, said CDD partner Larry Dunkerly. Indianapolis-based Construction Planning Management will act as the general contractor.

The condos have been on the market for more than a year, but pre-sales of the units were slower than expected, Dunkerly said. The developer had to sell at least 50 percent of the units in order to obtain financing for construction.

One of the main problems was lack of on-site parking, he said. Developers resolved the issue by arranging for rented parking in the nearby Union Station parking garage and a valet parking service in the condo building’s lobby.

Delays also meant that some early buyers backed out when construction failed to proceed in a timely manner, Dunkerly said.

Smokey Bones BBQ opened on the first floor of the building last year.

CDD now is working on contracts for about two-thirds of the units, Dunkerly said. Century 21 Rasmussen is marketing the condos, which range in size from 1,220 square feet to 2,200 square feet and are listed for $234,900 to $374,900.

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Holy cow, the cranes! I had to go downtown today to take care of some stuff. I hadn't been downtown in a couple of weeks, and the first thing I noticed was all of the construction cranes. Five of 'em. The biotech facility on the canal. The central library. The condo project on Mass Ave. The Conrad hotel. And the Simon headquarters.

Let's get started on the Market Square condo tower!

By the way. Is it some kind of local ordinance that all cranes must have a blue support column with a white arm?

That would be my guess.

Don't forget the Colts stadium, another crane!

That would be my guess.

Don't forget the Colts stadium, another crane!


That would probably be more than one!



<I was downtown and saw all of the cranes too>

Stutz’s future includes condos

Developer envisions high-rise, nightclub as part of biz center

By Tammy Lieber tlieber@ibj.com

Stutz Business Center owner and visionary Turner Woodard last month rolled out a 10-year master plan for the Stutz that could bring condominiums, retail and a high-rise tower to the former auto-manufacturing plant at 10th Street and Capitol Avenue.

Right now, Woodard concedes many of his plans are dreams. But with a blossoming life sciences corridor just to the west along the Central Canal, Woodard said he wants the 80-year-old Stutz to continue to be a hub of activity as its surroundings move into the 21st century.

“I think it would be foolish and not in the heritage of the whole factory to not look and see what the next 10 to 15 years is going to bring and not position ourselves appropriately,” Woodard said.

The 400,000-square-foot Stutz building lies two blocks east of the BioCrossroads research community at the head of the Central Canal. Woodard purchased the building in 1993. In 2001, he bought the 70,000-square-foot Ideal Motor Car Co. building just south of the Stutz and renamed it Stutz II.

Since then, the area has continued its transformation from a manufacturing center. Clarian Health Partners’ consolidated laboratory facility is set to open at the head of the canal next year, and Indiana University School of Medicine recently began construction on a new research building on the west side of the canal. Renovations now under way on Buggs Temple promise to bring restaurants to the area, and IU’s Emerging Technologies Center is hoping to expand on the east side of the canal.

Developments now in progress will bring several hundred new workers to the immediate neighborhood within five years, and Woodard is among developers who believe their arrival will spur ancillary development.

“I’ve thought that as the neighborhood develops, what is really going to be needed is a true mixed-use addition,” Woodard said. “But it may or may not be that. It may end up being more residential or office.”

This year or next, Woodard plans to use part of the Stutz’s roof for rooftop condos using “greenroof” technology, which essentially involves turning all or a portion of a building’s roof into a landscape, where plants and organic material help cool a building and extend the life of roofing materials.

The number of condos built on top of the four-story building will depend on engineering factors and demand for the units, Woodard said. He said the goal is to build four to 12 units priced somewhere between $400,000 and $700,000.

Also on tap are improvements to the existing Stutz buildings, including new entrances and windows. Woodard’s own offices and those of Turner John Management, which handles leasing of the complex, are set to be renovated. Woodard also plans landscape improvements and restoration of part of the building’s façade.

At some point, a nightclub could be added to the Stutz’s basement.

Further down the road, the Stutz’s 10-year plan calls for a tower to be constructed at the southeast corner of 11th Street and Senate Avenue, on the site of existing non-historic loading docks and a two-story warehouse.

Woodard plans to lead development of the short-term improvements, but in an introduction to the 10-year plan said he may need to team up with another developer on the tower.

Several versions of the tower are featured in the 10-year plan, including 12-and 24-story options with different design styles.
“We have not really hit on a design that has totally wowed me,” Woodard said. “If I can, I want that.”

Regardless of the final design, the first four floors will mirror the style of the original Stutz factory. Stutz owner Harry Stutz originally planned a fifth building on that site but sold the factory before it was built, Woodard said.

From the fourth floor up, details are still up in the air, he said. The mix of uses could include combinations of retail, parking, offices and apartments spread over eight to 24 floors, Woodard said.

Although the tower is still in many ways a dream, it’s possible construction could begin as soon as 2008, he said. A second tower a block south is also a possibility.

Regardless of where Woodard’s 10-year plan takes the Stutz, changes to the neighborhood appear imminent. The Stutz’s location bodes well for the complex, said Terry Sweeney, director of real estate at Indianapolis Downtown Inc.

The Stutz sits near the Indiana Avenue and Canal cultural districts and between two of downtown’s greenspaces, the canal and the War Memorial plaza. The Stutz and its tenants, which include a concentration of artists and other creative professionals, have also been influential in the city’s burgeoning arts and cultural movement.

“With the intersecting of the cultural districts and the research community, it will create an interesting dynamic that should help attract people to the area,” Sweeney said.

The area northwest of downtown, which is made up largely of former and current industrial buildings, will change substantially in the next five years as development spreads north of downtown’s center and south from Methodist Hospital at 16th Street, Sweeney predicted.

“More and more buildings are being renovated for either office or residential use,” he said.

Just to the north of the Stutz, Shiel Sexton Co. Inc. and Gregory & Appel Insurance are teaming up to redevelop the former S. Cohn & Son Inc. building at 1402 N. Capitol Ave. The partnership received approval from the Metropolitan Development Commission on May 4 to redevelop the industrial site for retail and office use.

Plans call for a four-story office building and a one-story retail building on Capitol between 14th and 15th streets.

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City plans to buck public housing trend
Replacing Parkwood with high-density units is part of an effort to revitalize entire area.

Friday's ceremony to demolish Parkwood -- a dilapidated Northeastside public housing complex -- had all the makings of a typical ground-breaking. Politicians. Photo ops. Poster boards of future plans.

But the project itself, which will create a new high-density public housing development called the Villages at Mill Crossing, is hardly typical -- a blueprint for renewal that, on its surface, runs contrary to the modern tenets of urban planning.

Some see the project as a throwback to the kind of public housing that has come to symbolize urban blight -- tired behemoths that often became magnets for despair. Nationwide, planners have long since moved away from building such projects, preferring instead a strategy of diffusion: single-family development scattered around a region.

Lawmakers and experts, however, hail the Villages as a cutting-edge path to revitalization, the surest way to renew a long-depressed area of Indianapolis.

The city's plans call for replacing the shattered residences of Parkwood and the adjacent Sherman Forest with 400 new or renovated apartments and townhouses. The new residences will house low- and moderate-income families.

More broadly, officials hope the project will anchor redevelopment in the neighborhood known as the Meadows, so named for a now-extinct shopping center built nearby in the 1950s.

The combined $35 million effort -- to be paid for with a mix of federal, city and private investment -- will welcome its first residents in 2006 and finish in 2008.

"This is one of the single most important days for housing in the city of Indianapolis," Mayor Bart Peterson said during Friday's news conference. He was joined by fellow Democrats U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh and U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, as well as other officials.

Signs of neglect are obvious along the area's main east-west thoroughfare, 38th Street, which cleaves its way through a community of abandoned storefronts and weed-ridden lots. The three-story Parkwood complex itself is now little more than a shell of plaster, stone and broken windows.

"To build a neighborhood, sometimes you have to destroy what no longer works," said Patrick E. Clancy of The Community Builders, the project's Boston-based developer.

Not everyone in this community is enamored with having a high-density housing complex in their midst, old or new.

Some, like Marsha Smith, a 61-year-old who owns the Smokin' Good Soul Food restaurant a few blocks away on 38th Street, said the Parkwood redevelopment brings thoughts of both promise and peril. She fears the new residences, like before, would not be maintained and would soon fall into disrepair.

"You can't keep building up these places just so that people can tear them down again," she said.

Land-use experts, however, say planners have since returned to higher-density projects in the past decade as property values in many areas have risen and the need for affordable housing has grown. Many cities -- including Indianapolis -- have tapped into a federal program dubbed "Hope VI" meant to redevelop dilapidated public housing.

The revitalization of Parkwood is not part of the Hope VI program, but it is modeled on its principles.

For instance, like many Hope VI projects, the Parkwood effort is just one component of a broader redevelopment push that includes new retail along 38th Street, the recent opening of the nearby Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School and a greater offering of community and after-school programs.

And unlike large-scale public apartments of the past that housed all low-income residents, the Villages at Mill Crossing will include a mixture of income levels. Developers also plan to sell some units at full market price, said Jim Davie, executive director of the United Northeast Community Development Corp., a local nonprofit group involved in the Parkwood project.

In addition, officials plan to screen prospective tenants. The goal: Find new homeowners who will spur community activity and redevelopment.

"It's not automatic and it does take time. But it has been successful," said John McIlwain, a senior fellow for housing at the Urban Land Institute in Washington. "The city starts to clean up the area around it. People start to paint their homes, add porches, start to invest in the homes themselves. You see new stores come in. When you build these projects, things start to fall into place."

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Hopeful: Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., speaks at the ceremony marking the demolition of the dilapidated Parkwood public housing project. As part of a $35 million plan to revitalize the surrounding area, city officials and developers will replace the rundown complex with new mixed-income units.

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