Town of Speedway announces plans for 25-acre project near I-465

Rendering of the new Founders Square hotel. (Town of Speedway)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the number of Hampton Inn rooms.

The Town of Speedway has partnered with two local real estate developers on a 25-acre project near Interstate 465.

The project is expected to include a 127-room Hampton Inn and connected conference center, a national grocer, restaurants and retail space, apartments, and possibly senior housing and medical offices.

The project, called Founders Square, at the northwest corner of Crawfordsville and High School roads, will be developed through an economic development agreement with Fishers-based Rebar Development and the Carmel-based Hageman Group.

Rebar President Shelby Bowen told IBJ the firm—which will act as master developer for the site—closed on the acquisition of the land a few weeks ago for about $3 million.

Details of the project were shared in a video posted by the town Wednesday morning, after the project was announced during the State of the Town address Tuesday night.

Speedway plans to invest $5 million in taxpayer dollars toward infrastructure and site work. That work began last week and is expected to be completed by the end of May.

Bowen said the assessed value for Founders Square will likely end up being between $50 million and $60 million, after all the parcels are developed.

An overall investment figure for the project has not yet been made public.

The Hampton Inn and 9,000-square-foot conference center will be owned by MHG Hotels LLC and is expected to be located on the northern portion of the now-vacant land, according to a site plan for the property. MHG is spending roughly $20 million to build the hotel, Bowen said.

Construction on the hotel is expected to begin when infrastructure work is finished, with a proposed opening in 2021.

This will be MHG’s 12th hotel in the Indianapolis area and 17th overall. It also owns and manages the nearby Courtyard by Marriott along Crawfordsville Road.

According to the video, Crew Car Wash has signed on as a tenant for the development and will occupy a parcel along to Crawfordsville Road.

The town and developers are in discussions with a national grocery chain—which they did not identify—to take land on the southwestern edge of the site, abutting Interstate 465 and Crawfordsville Road. A gas station and restaurant are expected to be constructed along High School Road.

The group also is in negotiations with multiple retailers about leases on the property, Rebar President Shelby Bowen said in the video.

The development group have also received offers from two developers interested in putting a senior housing development with 120 to 150 units on part of the property,  while two other developers each have interest in building about 200 market-rate apartments.

Bowen said it has not been decided whether the project will utilize the senior housing or the apartments, or both. General and medical office space is also being considered. Of the site’s 25 acres, about nine are still available for lease.

“It’s a highly commercial, viable site, so we knew it was going to be commercial development, but we wanted to make sure we hit the mark on what people here were hoping to see,” Bowen said.

The town has owned the site since 2010, when the Speedway Redevelopment Commission acquired the former Dollar Inn motel and subsequently demolished the building. It first approached Rebar in 2018 to discuss opportunities to redevelop the property, Bowen said.

The town is currently in dispute with the developer of another project across from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, after work on the Wilshaw hotel abruptly stopped in mid-2019.

Town officials and representatives of Rebar and Hageman Group did not immediately respond to calls requesting comment.

Rebar is also developing an $8 million mixed-use project along Main Street in Speedway. That project, expected to include condominiums, office studios and retail store fronts, was announced in 2019.