Downtown Project update

There is a large number of projects either under construction or planned downtown. I’ll start with those under construction today; look for planned developments soon.

The main branch of the Library, which is set to open in a few weeks. Looks quite nice, hopefully all that money and wasted time will be worth it.

Lucas Oil Stadium, still on schedule to open August 8 of next year with the Drum Corps International event. I’m concerned about the necessity of a hugely expensive sports stadium when we have a dire need for better public schools and mass transit infrastructure. However, I hope this will bring some life to the south side of downtown.

The Cultural Trail is almost finished with its first leg on Alabama Street. They’ve just release a promotional video. This is the most exciting and innovative project to grace our streets in a long while. It is slated for a 2009 completion.

3 Mass Ave. I can see the large construction pit from my office window. This project will feature a green roof, underground parking, ground level retail, and condos. The project looks to be behind schedule for its stated Summer 2008 opening.

The Maxwell, on East Ohio. Ground level retail, lower condo prices than other recent downtown developments, and nice density. Another project I can see from my office window, its construction appears to be a bit farther along than 3 Mass Ave

707 E North. Luxury condos. I would imagine this would probably be finished by Summer of 2008 from the looks of it.

Shelton Condos on North Delaware. A rehab project with affordable condos. The building was designed by a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Meridian Arch on Meridian and St. Clair. A rehab of an old church into condos with multiple price points.

Lockerbie Park at Michigan and College. A very large project that is partially complete. Unfortunately, sales of the brownstone units on Park Avenue has been quite slow. Hopefully this will not discourage development of the mixed-use building at Michigan and College.

Renaissance Flats in St. Joseph’s Neighborhood. Affordable and dense, this type of development has been fought against in other neighborhoods. Hopefully it can serve as an example of solid infill. The construction looks to be near completion.

Comments 7

  • Renaissance Flats in St. Joseph’s Neighborhood. Affordable and dense, this type of development has been fought against in other neighborhoods. Hopefully it can serve as an example of solid infill. The construction looks to be near completion.

    It’s good to see that basically unused parking lot go. Are other neighborhoods fighting these developments because they are new construction? If so St. Joe has already allowed new construction in the past, maybe that’s why there was no fuss?

  • That’s basically the reason. They (specifically Broad Ripple, Old Northside, and Chatham Arch) are afraid of added density and more cars parked on the street. As well as changing the “historic character”, as if they are outdoor museums. I’m not familiar enough with this project to know why it was successful in St. Joe’s, but it is a good sign that they “get it”, because it is a designated historic district.

  • The Cultural Trail people should learn how to spell “avant-garde”.

    St. Joseph, like all historic districts, has policy set by a small, self-selecting neigborhood association that opposes almost everything.

  • Thanks u-phile. The St. Joe project was approved before I started paying attention.

  • neighborhood associations are one of the biggest barriers of indy becoming a world class city.

  • The city says there are 13,000 downtown residents, yet most of the neighborhood association meetings have about 50 voting attendees when these projects are up for consideration. Because the IHPC pays enormous deference to them, these 50 un-elected people end up setting policy for all 13,000 downtown dwellers.

  • Urbanophile has a good point. I worked for the IHPC for years and I could tell some stories. As early as 5-10 years ago, the neighborhoods held considerably less influence. One could argue that things are finally evening out.

    The record, however, makes one thing very clear. Each time the Commission composition changed, its direction changed, too. Sometimes there were sea-changes with the departure of only a few Commissioners.

    We tend to remember only the last few years, where very little has changed. Betty Landis was the last to leave, replaced by Sheriee Ladd in 2003. The new mayor will surely shake things up with his appointments. Being somewhat familiar with the local preservation community, I don’t know too many individuals who could do a better job than the current team.

Leave a Reply to The Urbanophile Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *