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But, downtown Indianapolis is a dying, crime ridden, scarred by riots years ago place. At least that’s what some on this site would have us believe. Why are businessmen spending all this money developing more hotels? Do they know something others may not know?
The people that act like downtown is so terrible never go and stick to their suburbs.
Seems like downtown is becoming over-reliant on hotels and the events industry.
Would be thrilled to see some more office-housing conversions. Hotels feel like diminishing returns; it’s time for the pendulum to swing the other way.
It’s a matter of finding the sweet spot of how many hotels are needed. One reason Indy was in jeopardy of losing some of its biggest conventions and sporting events like the NFL combine is lack of hotels. Other cities like Nashville, ATL and Vegas are fighting to lure events from Indy. So the city has to compete to keep conventions and sporting events. Indy is even losing the BIG TEN college football championship as well. Yes, Indy is a convention and sports city and rely on it to attract tourism. Nobody is coming to Indy just to sight see. It would help if the city had other major attractions like a huge water and amusement park as well as a downtown casino. Convention goers need something to do after attend an event other than going to a typical restaurant downtown.
The events industry is what Indy has, ever since the Great Inland Sea of the Cambrian era went away. Otherwise, its watching crops grow, and be harvested, and empty fields. Please don’t get me wrong…I love living in Indy. But people don’t generally come here for the outdoor recreation. No Mountains, no Great Lakes, no sea shore. Eli Lilly and other major manufacturers are loath to allow tourist groups in their offices, labs, and plants.
What Indy does really well, and better than most, is events. Sporting events, car shows, game conventions, conventions generally. If we could get more direct flights, it would be better…hard to get to Indy from the east and west coasts on direct flights.
So build the hotels, and bring on the big conventions. Taxes are paid, employees are paid, and the city benefits.
I love the downtown casino idea.
If nothing else, it could activate, light-up, and provide security/foot-traffic for what is otherwise an unsafe, dark, life-less late-night walk home from a bar or restaurant.
Most modern office buildings are poor candidates for office to residential conversions. Their floor plates are too large and the windows are too far away from the perimeter of the buildings, they generally need to have bathroom and kitchen facilities and A/C and heating installed for every unit, and they often lack adequate parking for a residential building. By the time all this work is done, the return on investment usually does not make sense. With hotels that have rooms that can be rented out each night at a high volume, and usually a need for fewer parking spaces, it can make more sense to do a conversion.
This is why you see few modern office to residential conversions, even in cities like San Francisco where there is a high demand for housing, an over abundance of office space, much better public transit, and many state and local initiatives to waive taxes and environmental reviews on such conversions.
Much older office buildings with much smaller floor plates and interior light courts are usually better candidates for residential conversion because they are easier and cheaper to subdivide into separate units, but they have their own issues with out-dated utilities and structures, ADA compliance, and historic preservation rules. Sometimes, historic preservation tax credits can be secured to subsidize the conversion of older buildings to help the project pencil out. But, again, hotel conversions often make better investments, which is why in Indy you have seen many older office buildings converted into hotels.
Letting the state chase away one of downtown’s biggest employers in 2015 was a bad move. Salesforce gave us a chance, Indiana blew it.
Indianapolis is also facing big competition from Fishers and Carmel for corporate headquarters. I am hopeful projects like the soccer stadium and the CSX redevelopment help on the front of bringing more amenities to downtown.
A casino sounds like a good idea, however, have existing casinos spurred neighboring development and activity? From my perspective, there’s not much. In fact, it’s probably the opposite.
Also, I question whether Indy can continue to participate in this “arms” race for extra-large conventions. Indy will have difficulty competing with Vegas, Chicago and others. Indy needs to find a sweet spot (which may have already happened – church groups, FFA, etc.) and out-perform those other cities – bigger is not necessarily better.
I don’t think they’re competing for bigger conventions, I think they’re doing what they need to in order to keep the conventions they have that are growing. We can’t just take the attitude of “you’re too big, move along from here”.
And it’s worked in the past. PRI outgrew Indianapolis and left for Orlando, which has a mammoth convention center. They and their attendees couldn’t wait to get back. And this is a convention in December …
Yep Kevin, a little more retail downtown, and a little more to do — casino would be a good start, maybe a water/amusement park with indoor-outdoor all-seasons components — if not downtown, somewhere in the city proper or the burbs. The amusement park is one entertainment element that I’ve heard several people, especially with younger children, say is a big missing piece for Indy. Ever been to Copenhagen? Tivoli Gardens is really accessible and right in the heart of the city. I know, lots of wishful thinking. *I think there was a day a Tivoli-like space was a part of the early vision of White River State Park.
Spicey Take: Let’s finish Pelli Clarke Pelli’s unfinished “Indiana Tower!”
I thought the original plans for a hotel in this building conversion as reported in IBJ on October called for it to be “luxury.” Moxy is not luxury. It’s at the lower end of Marriott brands. I do agree with the amusement suggestion. At least a Ferris wheel in White River State Park?
I thought the King Cole building off of the circle was supposed to be a Moxy? Maybe I’m confusing “M” branded hotels, but bringing a hotel online in that area of downtown is a good idea as it will activate more of the vacant retail that has been missing since COVID. The downtown retail landscape is actually pretty solid if you count the Mass Ave area as downtown, and with the redevelopment of Circle Centre it will likely improve vastly in the coming years.
The hotel at the King Cole building is supposed to be a Motto hotel by Hilton.
Take it from someone who moved from the suburbs to downtown over 15 years ago, there is plenty to do downtown. And with the exception of only 2 of the places noted below, has been to all of the others, many multiple times. And they are virtually all for the entire family.
Entertainment/Educational Venues in or near downtown: Indiana Repertory Theatre
The Cabaret, Epilogue Theatre, Footlite Theatre, Old National Theatre (Murat), Hilbert Circle Theatre, Clowes Hall, Schrott Center, Phoenix Theatre, Madam Waker Theatre, Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, Helium Comedy Club, Basile Theatre at the Athenaeum, Buck Creek Theatre, Everwise Amphitheater, The District Theatre, Fringe Theatre, HI-FI Annex, Indiana State Museum, Eitejorg Museum, Newfields, Indiana Historical Society, Indiana War Memorial Museum, NCAA Hall of Champions, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Children’s Museum, Indianapolis Zoo and Gardens, Oldfields-Lily House and Gardens, The James Whitcomb Riley Home, President Benjamin Harrison Home and Center, Kurt Vonnegut Museum, Holcomb Planetarium at Butler, Indiana State Police and Firefighters Museums, Crispus Attucks Museum, Lucas Oil Stadium, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Victory Field, Back 9 Golf and Entertainment, White River Park, Garfield Park Conservatory, and the list goes on and on and on….