Fire destroys $33M canal apartment project-WEB ONLY

An overnight fire caused massive damage to a $33 million apartment project on the downtown canal being developed by locally based Flaherty & Collins Properties.

The fire was reported around 3 a.m. and continued to burn into the early morning. About 125 firefighters brought the flames under control.

The Cosmopolitan on the Canal project was slated to include 218 apartment units, 18,000 square feet of retail space, and a 338-space parking garage. The site is bordered by the canal, Senate Avenue, Michigan Street and North Street.

Flaherty & Collins spokesman Mark Conover said this morning that the developer had hoped to begin leasing units in May and had a handful of the apartments reserved.

About three-quarters of the 218 units had been framed, and a few had cabinetry and carpentry installed, Conover said.

The cause of the blaze is unknown at this time, Conover said. It appears the most extensive damage occurred to the rear of the complex along the canal.

Company officials hope to get into the building today to determine the extent of the damage, but the project may be a total loss, Conover said.

Jerry Collins, president of Flaherty & Collins, told the Associated Press this morning that the company intends to rebuild. He said the project was fully insured.

The nearby Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana building suffered damage to its north side, which sits closest to the apartment project, said Marsh Davis, president of the foundation.

“It suffered a lot of damage from water, and part of the roof is destroyed,” he said. “It’s bad, but it could have been catastrophic.”

That wing of the organization’s building was completed in 1991 and is much newer than the historic part of the structure, which is largely intact, Davis said.

Firefighters managed to cover a lot of the computer equipment, but Davis said marketing and development staff would need to be relocated to other parts of the building or to other foundation properties.