Adjacent Chatham Arch properties could attract redevelopment

Owners of two adjoining properties within the Chatham Arch neighborhood downtown are putting the parcels up for sale together in a joint effort to make them more attractive for redevelopment.

The roughly one-acre properties at 625 E. 11th St. and 602 E. 10th St. encompass an entire city block and are bounded by Broadway Street to the east and Park Avenue to the west.

The northern property fronting 11th Street is owned by Irish & Sons Realty LP and formerly housed the operations of The Frank E. Irish Co., a large Indianapolis mechanical-contracting firm that closed in 2008.

The asking price of $985,000 includes a 15,000-square-foot warehouse and 9,000-square-foot office. The property is zoned for commercial use.

The southern parcel fronting 10th Street is owned by Park Avenue Church of Christ, which would move after the sale. It’s zoned for residential use. CBRE hasn't put a price on that parcel, calling it negotiable.

“They could be sold separately,” said Gordon Hendry, first vice president of CBRE, listing agent for the properties. “But we also think there’s a really good real estate play for the overall redevelopment of both properties.”

Some type of mixed-use development would complement the historic neighborhood nicely, said Abbe Hohmann, president of Site Strategies Advisory LLC.

Other redevelopment occurring in the neighborhood and the fact that CBRE is listing the properties together might bode well for the sellers, she said. The Irish property had been listed with another broker but failed to attract a buyer.

“I like the site,” Hohmann said. “You don’t often find two acres contiguous in the near downtown that can be developed, which intrigued me.”

Multi-family housing developed recently in the area includes The Whitsett Group’s 1010 Central Apartments in the former headquarters of Central Products Inc., at Central Avenue and East 10th Street, just west of the properties listed by CBRE.

To the south of 1010 Central sits the American Red Cross at 441 E. 10th St. As part of a land swap, the Red Cross plans to move to the former Payton Wells auto dealership at 1510 N. Meridian St., clearing the way for the Indianapolis Fire Department to relocate its headquarters and downtown fire station there. IFD's move from Massachusetts Avenue would clear the way for a $43 million apartment and retail redevelopment at its current site.

Those plans, along with other projects in the Chatham Arch neighborhood, might make the properties along 10th and 11th streets more appealing to a developer, Hendry said.

“This is a strong downtown neighborhood that has seen recent redevelopment activity and will see future activity,” he said. “It’s a very vibrant community.”