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Plans for a new 13-story hotel and entertainment venue across from Gainbridge Fieldhouse were given approval by the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission on Wednesday night.
The $312 million project from Boxcar Development LLC, a holding company for the Herb Simon family, was unanimously approved by the commission after about a half-hour of presentation and discussion. Plans call for the development to replace the former CSX warehouse at 230 S. Pennsylvania St. with a 170-room Shinola Hotel, a 4,000-seat live performance venue operated by Live Nation, an enclosed parking garage and a skybridge connecting to the fieldhouse.
The approval comes one month after the commission signaled general satisfaction with the project’s design during a preliminary review. Slight modifications were made to the design in light of feedback during the meeting, namely creating more room between the hotel’s signage and the top of the building.
In a statement, Boxcar spokesman Phil Bayt said the ownership group was appreciative of the IHPC’s decision, which—in addition to giving a general green light for the new project—also permits the group to move ahead with demolishing the CSX structure, which is partially located within the city’s historic Wholesale District.
The vote also authorizes the property to be rezoned to the CBD-2 designation—matching other properties in the area—and for a variance of development standards to allow the hotel building to enter the sky exposure plane.
“We would like to thank the members and staff of the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission for their thoughtful review and approval of the new 170-room Shinola Hotel and 4,000-capacity Live Nation music venue with a skybridge connection to Gainbridge Fieldhouse,” Bayt said. “We’re proud of the work our partners at Ratio Architects and Populous have done to express the character of the historic Wholesale District through the new development’s distinctive exterior.”
The design of the hotel portion of the project is being led by Indianapolis-based Ratio Design, while national firm Populous Architects is leading the design of the entertainment venue.
In a staff report related to Boxcar’s proposal, city historic preservation officials recommended approval of the development but called for several stipulations for the project to receive demolition and construction permits, including proof of financing, and waiting on demolition and construction until final drawings are approved by the commission and a commitment to a pre-construction meeting.
Boxcar offered alternatives to four of the stipulations to make the project more feasible, including providing a letter from Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever owner Herb Simon, expressing his commitment to the project and ability to fund its construction. The firm also asked to be permitted to move ahead with construction, but withhold new construction until construction drawings were approved by the IHPC.
Additionally, Boxcar requested that the certificate of appropriateness—an authorization that typically expires after 12 months—be extended to four years, since the project is not set to open until September 2027, at the earliest. The commission’s approval of the project takes Boxcar’s requests into account.
Susan Williams, a longtime member of the commission and former president of the Indiana Sports Corp., praised the project design as a thoughtful and a worthy replacement of the CSX structure. The CSX building, built in 1923 and designed by famed Indianapolis firm Rubush & Hunter, is also known as the Indiana Terminal warehouse building. The five-story, 231,400-square-foot building has been used as offices, shops and storage since its construction and was connected directly to the rail line that crosses over Pennsylvania Street. It bears a reinforced concrete frame and brick exterior walls.
“If we have to lose this anchor building on a major corner, it really is wonderful what is being proposed to go there,” she said. “I’ve been on this commission for a long time and I can’t recall seeing a project that was so utterly sensitive to what was there before and to the district in which it lives and to the historic texture of the area. I really think this is going to be an important project for the city, and well designed.”
At least six redevelopment studies have been conducted on the property over the past 24 years—most of them since 2015.
The new structures would be constructed from red-brown colored brick, terra cotta, granite and metal trim, with windows stretching nearly the entire height of the building before cresting with radius corners near its roofline.
IBJ first reported on Boxcar’s idea to redevelop the CSX property in April 2022, but plans at that time called for a 16-story hotel with as many as 225 rooms and a separate 26-story apartment tower, along with a 700-space parking garage and retail space.
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