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More than $8.5 billion in development is underway across downtown, with more coming as projects in their earliest stages wind their way through the planning process.
Here are some of the biggest projects that made progress in 2024:
◗ Signia hotel and Indiana Convention Center expansion, city of Indianapolis: The city and the Capital Improvement Board broke ground on the $710 million redevelopment of Pan Am Plaza in 2023. Vertical construction on the 800-room hotel started this summer with the largest concrete pour in central Indiana history: 1.5 million gallons of concrete went into the foundation of the hotel and convention center expansion over a 12-hour period in early June. Officials with the CIB, which is managing both the expansion and the hotel construction on behalf of the city, said work is now about 20% complete, which will also include a skywalk connecting to the main convention center building, across Capitol Avenue. The hotel tower is expected to be topped out next December, with the building open for reservations in late 2026.
◗ Circle Centre Mall redevelopment, Hendricks Commercial Properties: Beloit, Wisconsin-based Hendricks, which last December announced plans for a $600 million overhaul to downtown’s faltering mall, is negotiating with Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. about incentives for the project. The group in April closed on its $85 million acquisition of the mall property but is continuing to work through the acquisition of the L.S. Ayres building, the parking garages and the land beneath the mall. Work on the mall could start as early as next year but will take a decade to complete.
◗ CSX building redevelopment, Boxcar Development LLC: The Herb Simon-backed Boxcar group in July announced revamped plans for the site of the former CSX warehouse across Pennsylvania Street from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The $312 million project will consist of a 13-story luxury hotel and a connected 4,000-seat theater on the property, with both venues expected to open by late 2027. The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission approved the designs in September; the city and developers are still negotiating incentives.
◗ InterContinental Hotel, Keystone Group: After more than six years of work, the InterContinental Hotel at the southeast corner of Illinois and Market streets was expected to open this fall. But InterContinental Hotels Group pushed the opening until winter; it is taking reservations for dates starting Jan. 14. The $101 million project, which included a complete rehabilitation of the historic Illinois Building, is the highest-end hotel to open in Indianapolis since The Bottleworks Hotel in 2020.
◗ Old City Hall, TWG Development: Plans for a tower at 222 N. Alabama St., a parking lot next to the former City Hall building, have been fine-tuned over the past year, with the project cost swelling to more than $264 million. The development is expected to rise 29 stories and incorporate the historic City Hall structure, which will be converted into an art gallery, office space, dining and retail. The tower is expected to consist of 186 apartment units, 23 condominiums and 156 rooms as part of a Louisville-based 21c hotel property.•
Check out more year-in-review stories from 2024.
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