Butler University to convert Ross Hall into upscale hotel instead of demolishing it

Butler University has dropped its plan to demolish the vacant Ross Hall dormitory and will instead have the 70-year-old building redeveloped into an upscale hotel, the school announced Friday morning.

Plans now call for the residence hall to be converted into a 105-room hotel that will operate under Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.’s upscale Curio Collection flag.

The university has agreed to lease Ross Hall to McLean, Virginia-based hotel developer Purpose Lodging, which will take on the redevelopment project and operate the hotel when it opens during the 2026-2027 academic year.

Butler University President James Danko told IBJ current estimates place the cost of the project in the range of $45 million to $50 million.

“We are excited to preserve the historic Ross Hall and grateful to Purpose Lodging and Hilton for their vision and desire to lead such a transformative project,” Danko said in written remarks. “This Curio Collection by Hilton hotel will be a welcome addition for anyone traveling to Indianapolis, not just those traveling to our campus.”

Ross Hall closed in 2019 before briefly reopening during the coronavirus pandemic. While the historical elements of the building are expected to be preserved, the layout of the floors themselves will undergo extensive reconfiguration to maximize square footage and add private bathrooms to each room—replacing the community amenities that had been shared on each floor.

The Curio is also expected to include meeting space as well as what’s been labeled by Butler officials as a “signature restaurant,” although those details haven’t been finalized.

“The developers latched onto that property, and they brought three or four construction firms through, and they thought this was a great opportunity,” Danko said.

The effort to give new life to the residence hall stemmed from a tour taken by Purpose Lodging last year, as it was looking for a site for a new hotel that would appeal to people visiting not only the university, but also the areas of Butler-Tarkington, Meridian-Kessler, Broad Ripple, Crown Hill and the Meridian Street Historic District. It is also near the RH Indianapolis Gallery at the DeHaan Estate, 4501 N. Michigan Road.

“From a university perspective, when alumni come back to campus, they want to experience the buildings that they experienced as students—they’re not looking for a university that clears the slate every 25 to 30 years,” Danko said. “We have to invest as much in preserving our traditions and these kind of buildings. … It’s a little bit of the phoenix rising from the ashes [idea], and there are going to be a lot of alumni that will be very happy to know that.”

The hotel is expected to be the first in Indiana and on a college campus to carry the Curio Collection flag. Danko said in addition to the opportunity to reuse an existing building on campus, it also fills a need in the market, as there are no nearby hotels.

“I would say this is desperately needed, because if parents are here or there are special events held on campus, [visitors] have to go up to 86th Street or go downtown for a place to stay,” he said.

The hotel is part of the ongoing Butler Gateway Project encompassing 20 individual developments, including the construction of new student housing, Levinson Family Hall and numerous community projects that will be partly funded by a $22.5 million Lilly Endowment Inc. grant focused on development in the area.

Those projects include investments in Tarkington Park, a new safety and transit hub and the Martin Luther King Community Center.

“Hilton is thrilled to bring a Curio Collection hotel to Butler University’s campus,” Brooke Thomas, senior director of the Curio Collection, said in written comments. “This property will offer a one-of-a-kind experience, combining the historic charm of Ross Hall with the elevated service and bespoke amenities that guests expect from Curio Collection.”

The Curio Collection features 172 hotels in 42 countries and territories, with another 84 properties now in development.

Indianapolis-based CSO Architects Inc. and Chicago-based The Gettys Group are design firms on the project. Gettys is separately developing the Motto by Hilton project in downtown Indianapolis.