INDIANAPOLIS | North of South | Pro

[GarfieldPark]

Good progress is being made on the new "Fountain Plaza" at Fountain Square. I think I can tell where the area will be where the new second fountain will be going in. It'll be great once its done -- and it'll also be very nice once they open up the currently closed Cultural Trail lane that goes past it. Its pretty dangerous to have to keep turning in and out of traffic when you are traveling on the Cultural Trail and keep running into the parts that are under construction. Virginia Avenue is getting close to being complete but is not quite there yet. Hopefully by September if we're lucky.

[bwbeaver]

Originally Posted by GarfieldPark

Great photos. Thanks Bwbeaver. I was riding my bike through the area and saw all of the improvements to Delaware and South Streets. It is undoubtedly going to be a completely new, great look down there. Also -- all of that limestone on the Alexander Hotel - and on the new plaza in front of it - looks so "Bloomington". Pretty cool. Makes me feel like I'm back in college walking along 3rd Street or by the Union and Dunn Meadow.

Not a problem! One of the more relaxing parts to my day. It been nothing less than amazing to watch this spring up from an old parking lot into a whole neighborhood setting in under 12 months. Hopefully this has set the bar for future developments to recognize that all components need to be considered when building a engaging urban form. If it has, then we are in for a treat once the other lots start disappearing.

[ablerock]

Originally Posted by bwbeaver

Not a problem! One of the more relaxing parts to my day. It been nothing less than amazing to watch this spring up from an old parking lot into a whole neighborhood setting in under 12 months. Hopefully this has set the bar for future developments to recognize that all components need to be considered when building a engaging urban form. If it has, then we are in for a treat once the other lots start disappearing.

BW do you have any idea when the YMCA will start to go up? Is that more than a year away?

[bwbeaver]

Originally Posted by ablerock

BW do you have any idea when the YMCA will start to go up? Is that more than a year away?

Yes. The YMCA is anticipating ground breaking summer of 2013. I personally cannot wait for it to finish construction and have a brand new facility to choose from downtown. Might even give a little motivation to workout! Ha.

[ablerock]

Originally Posted by bwbeaver

Yes. The YMCA is anticipating ground breaking summer of 2013. I personally cannot wait for it to finish construction and have a brand new facility to choose from downtown. Might even give a little motivation to workout! Ha.

Thanks! I agree, it's going to be sweet.

And congrats on the strong demand for apartments!

[ablerock]

bwbeaver,

How many total apartments will CityWay have? The original number was 320, but the IBJ article about strong demand says 250. Just curious.

[bwbeaver]

As of right now 250 apartments are being constructed in the first phase. There are plans for a "Phase 2", but it is unknown what exactly will be part of that. It certainly will be interesting to see what happens further down the road. IMO, CityWay's overwhelming demand shows there can be a lot of potential in the area. Hopefully it will be the catalyst to more infill connecting with the other neighborhoods.

Here are some more pictures. The built environment is really changing as the finishing touches go in. Next time I hope to venture around to the other construction sites downtown. A large amount has changed all around the city in the last month. Very exciting.

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[unvrsty07]

Wow! This is definitely a great project for the city! All the buildings and the area look fantastic. Thank you for the pictures and updates!!

[moochie]

Bwbeaver, do you have any inside info on when South st. may reopen? From your pics it looks nearly complete.. It sure is making my life hell...

[bwbeaver]

Originally Posted by moochie

Bwbeaver, do you have any inside info on when South st. may reopen? From your pics it looks nearly complete.. It sure is making my life hell...

I don't have a firm date on when they are set to reopen South St., but the DPW has been on or ahead of schedule. The Residence's are to have the first residents moving in on October 1st and it must be completed before for the buildings may be occupied. Hopefully, mid-September if not before we will see South open back up. It certainly has made commuting more difficult, and keeping dirt out of every crevice. The end result will be well worth it. I didn't get a picture of the railroad underpass, but they have started reinforcing the walls to start the refurbishing of the South Street and Delaware Street underpasses.

[k2h]

Were there existing electrical utilty poles that were buried as part of this project? I seem to recall there were overhead electrical utilities along South Street, no?

Thanks for sharing photos.

[GarfieldPark]

In looking back at the pictures earlier in this thread - there definitely were large electrical utility poles and wires along the north side of South Street. There were large poles with wires also along Delaware Street - although they were on the west side of the street. They may still be there. Its hard to tell from the pictures. The ones along the north side of South Street are definitely gone though.

[thehoss257]

Originally Posted by GarfieldPark

In looking back at the pictures earlier in this thread - there definitely were large electrical utility poles and wires along the north side of South Street. There were large poles with wires also along Delaware Street - although they were on the west side of the street. They may still be there. Its hard to tell from the pictures. The ones along the north side of South Street are definitely gone though.

There were utility polls on the north and south of South Street!

[GarfieldPark]

Here'a a link to a story in the New York Times about the CityWay project:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/re...NeN6NcT53UF4rQ

[GarfieldPark]

South Street between Pennsylvania and East Street has re-opened. There are still a few restrictions in a few areas - but you can get through. Delaware is also open to traffic and has the new medians installed which divide the north bound lanes from the new south bound lane. Its steadily coming together and looking pretty good.

[cwilson758]

I'm pretty excited about this project - glad to see the streets re-opened. The foot traffic in the once-dead section will be great.

Initially there was a proposal in the renders to turn the old towing yard into a tree-lined green space - is that still happening?

[moochie]

Originally Posted by cwilson758

I'm pretty excited about this project - glad to see the streets re-opened. The foot traffic in the once-dead section will be great.

Initially there was a proposal in the renders to turn the old towing yard into a tree-lined green space - is that still happening?

The soil there is a bit contaminated, and paying to clean it up has been the major hurdle the owners have had to overcome in selling the property for redevelopment. The owners will sell to anyone for any type of development really. I think the greenspace was just conceptual, never part of any serious proposal. For now, it'll remain a pay parking lot until the right offer comes through.

I doubt we'll see any movement on the site for at least a couple years. and yes, I do have "insider information" on this.

[Indy'd]

Somewhat sad that the median of South wasn't planted, but the brick looks nice. Could use some vertical elements though!

[GarfieldPark]

http://www.indystar.com/article/2012...t|IndyStar.com

City's $98M investment in Downtown development appears to be paying off

Nine weddings already are planned there, apartments are leasing almost as fast as they can be built, and the hotel aims to pre-book 70 percent of its first-year revenue before opening in January.

That's welcome news for CityWay, a $155 million Downtown development, and a relief to Mayor Greg Ballard and Indianapolis' taxpayers, who are on the hook for a $98 million loan to the project.

• INTERACTIVE Map: Explore Downtown's CityWay development.


The mix of 250 apartments, a 209-room hotel and 10 restaurants and shops at South and Delaware streets was a gamble by city officials that seems from early measures to be on track to pay off.

"We're on pace with our expectations in all regards," said Scott Travis, senior vice president of development at Buckingham Cos., the project's Indianapolis developer.

Travis pulled on a hardhat last week and walked the old Eli Lilly and Co. parking lot now transformed into a densely built-up urban block that's under construction and won't be finished until next summer. It has alleys, skywalks, apartments abutting parking garages, and a hotel topped by a glass-walled boardroom with skyline views.

The instant urban feel was just what Buckingham and its Colorado-based architect want. The project aims to serve the nearby workforces of Lilly, Anthem Insurance and Farm Bureau Insurance and link their semi-isolated campuses with the core of Downtown.

City planners long sought, with limited success, to coax Downtown development around Lilly's corporate campus and its thousands of employees. It took Lilly freeing up its own land, Buckingham getting on board as developer and the Ballard administration's financial backing to birth CityWay.

[Indy'd]

I stopped by the "tailgate" event Cityway hosted for the Colts' game. It was a nice sense of place and I really like the development in general. I really wish it wasn't called cityway even more now. How will anyone ever consider this a neighborhood when it is just a brand?