Mayor’s budget plan proposes $50M infrastructure TIF for downtown projects

A proposed look at the western block of the Georgia Street downtown plaza. (rendering provided by the city of Indianapolis)

Property taxes from downtown developments would help fund pedestrian-focused infrastructure improvements at specific locations under a new proposed city financing plan.

As part of the 2025 city budget package unveiled by Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett on Monday evening, the administration is proposing to use about $50 million in tax increment financing bonds from the downtown TIF district to fund infrastructure improvements. The City-County Council’s Administration and Finance Committee unanimously recommended passage of the proposal Tuesday evening.

Ten projects are listed in the proposal as potential uses for the funds, but Hogsett administration leaders highlighted changes to Georgia Street and underpass improvements at Union Station and at Capitol Avenue and Illinois Street. The entire list of projects won’t be completed with the one bond issuance, Brandon Herget, director of the Department of Public Works, told the committee.

The proposed usage of the TIF is expected to take the cost off of the Department of Public Works’ plate and allow for downtown infrastructure improvements at the front door of new developments. The planned 800-room city-owned Signia hotel is set to be built on the west block of Georgia Street. The aim, according to Chief Deputy Mayor Dan Parker, is to have the the Georgia Street and underpass projects complete before the Signia opens.

Georgia Street was redesigned more than decade ago prior to the 2012 Super Bowl, turning a four-lane road into a two-lane, mixed-use event plaza over three downtown blocks between the Indiana Convention Center and Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Plans call for making the plaza even more pedestrian-friendly and reducing vehicle traffic.

Capital Improvement Board Executive Director Andy Mallon told the committee that reinvisioning the area as “no longer a street” will make it a real asset to the convention center. The Signia hotel is part of a larger $750 million expansion of the convention center by the CIB.

Mallon said cities like Philadelphia, Cleveland, Boston and Denver have large greenspaces directly adjacent to their convention centers. The Georgia Street redesign is necessary so Indianapolis can continue to compete for bookings, he said.

Additionally, the CIB would be charged with managing the operations of the outdoor space. Conventions using the convention center would have another optional space to book, Mallon said.

While the change to Georgia Street will make it more pedestrian-focused, Parker said one lane of traffic will remain through at least part of the plaza. That’s in part due to the hotel, which emergency vehicles will need access to.

The Georgia Street project’s new design is about 50% completed, according to Department of Metropolitan Development spokesman  Lucas González. He said the department aims to have the design finished this fall, but some design items are “still open and in need of further coordination before we can speak to final street layout.”

The Union Station underpass project is expected to go out to bid at the beginning of 2025 with construction starting in spring. Design changes are a major part of the project, but Parker said a large chunk of money, between $12 million and $15 million, will be spent on structural work.

Many of these improvements came out of the The South Downtown Connectivity Vision Plan,  Parker told reporters Monday. The plan was created by the city in conjunction with groups such as artist collective GangGang and includes recommendations for other city projects, like the City Market area, the convention center expansion and Bicentennial Unity Plaza.

The bonds could also be used for Market Street, East Washington Street, East Henry Street, Maryland Ave. and Alabama Street, South Capitol Ave., 20th Street and Lewis Street, and Virginia Avenue and Delaware Avenue.