Airport enters development agreement with Holladay Properties

As part of its ongoing effort to repurpose hundreds of acres of unused airport property, the Indianapolis Airport Authority has entered into a development agreement with Holladay Properties, it announced Friday.

Under the agreement, Holladay will work to develop five parcels of land—266 acres total—on the north side of Indianapolis International Airport along West Washington Street.

Under the terms of the agreement, Holladay has exclusive marketing rights for the 266 acres. In this role, the developer will act as an intermediary—identifying development prospects, then bringing them to the authority for consideration.

The agreement represents the second phase of the relationship between Holladay and the airport.  In February 2016, the parties entered into a one-year agreement in which Holladay would create a development plan. Now, Holladay will work to land some deals.

Holladay is a South Bend-based developer with Indiana offices in Indianapolis and Portage, as well as other offices in Nashville, Tennessee, and Ashland, Virginia. The company is the developer of Ameriplex, a major business park just southeast of the Indianapolis airport. 

For the airport development project, Holladay is targeting the aerospace, advanced manufacturing and skilled logistics industries, as well as companies that would support those activities.

Chris Wilkes, a partner and senior vice president at Holladay, said the first development projects are expected to shape up within the year.

“We have two or three prospects that we are talking to already,” Wilkes said.

As the agreement is structured, Holladay earns a percentage-based fee when deals close. The percentage varies depending on whether the property is leased or sold and whether Holladay or the property.

What’s not included in the Holladay agreement are two other large parcels the airport is also looking to repurpose.

One of those parcels occupies 206 acres just east of Ronald Reagan Parkway. The airport is in negotiations to sell that land, but airport spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland said the airport is not releasing details until negotiations are complete. 

The other site is a 135-acre parcel just west of Interstate 465. Last year, a developer proposed building a $500 million global brain health center at that location. The airport authority rejected that plan, and is currently working to find a development consultant for that site.