Arts vision for Virginia Avenue

June 8, 2009
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Fletcher Place ArtsA proposed $9 million project called Fletcher Place Arts calls for 56 mostly one-bedroom apartments, 8,700 square feet of first-floor retail or office space, and a second-floor office suite to accommodate a not-for-profit organization. It would take up about an acre at the corner of Virginia Avenue and McCarty Street and include a common area on the roof and a large art installation in the atrium. The developer, Craig E. Von Deylen of locally based Perkins VonDeylen Architects, said what really sold him on the site is the planned arrival of the Cultural Trail. The five-story project must win a zoning change from the city before the developer demolishes the existing one-story structure. He's been talking with the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, or iMoCA, about occupying the not-for-profit space. The full story is here.
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  • IndymanJune 8, 2009 10:51 AM
    Awesome news for Fountain Square and for the City. It is good to see projects starting to move forward again, I am sure it makes your job easier Cory.

    This is another nail in the coffin of the argument that amenities like the cultural trail do not spur development. This hopefully will be the next anchor in the redevelopment of FS.
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  • IndymanJune 8, 2009 12:18 PM
    Sorry, meant Fletcher Place. I saw Virginia and thought FS. It will be good for FS, though because it will help bridge the I-65, 70 gap. Anchor both sides of the bridge with strong anchors, and you will get a lot of cross over. Need to make the Virginia Ave bridge more pedestrian friendly, maybe even a separate art bridge to help connect the two areas.
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  • Sandra JarvisJune 8, 2009 12:26 PM
    Great project for Virginia Avenue / Fountain Square / Fletcher Place ! ! !

    The design is totally awesome and a cool project like this is much needed, it will really help to bring attention to this area of town.
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  • IvoJune 8, 2009 12:41 PM
    Cool mix of uses. Def will help anchor the area.

    Indyman is right about a pedestrian plan for that bridge.
    Will the CTrail make that reality?

    Cory or anyone else: what's the plan for taking the CT over 65/70 at that crossing?
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  • JGJune 8, 2009 1:09 PM
    Along Virginia is a nice example of exisiting single and double story buildings that sit right up to the road. Unfortunately many are vacant or under/misused. More medium density residential projects like this will only help. I would like to see the White Castle warehouse on the other end of the bridge replaced with another mixed use development. (Personally I would like to see every White Castle leave the face of the planet.) A warehouse such as that has become inappropriate for the area.

    The cultural trail will use the existing bridge over I65/70. The bridge is rather crowded and I do not know how it will impact traffic lanes etc.
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  • LeviJune 8, 2009 1:18 PM
    Hate to be pessimistic, but that's not going to get built. $1,400 for one bedroom apartments is way too high for that area and I'd be shocked if someone finances high end apartments in that neighborhood. Like the concept, this reminds me a lot of Ralston Square. Unrealistic given the location and the market.
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  • CorrNDJune 8, 2009 1:58 PM
    Levi, I generally agree regarding the residential price point, though I doubt it's a killer for the overall viability of the project. They're probably looking to market to young singles working over at Lilly, but even so, $1400 is NOT a reasonable price point for 1BR apartments ANYWHERE in Indy. My friends were renting a 2BR, 1600sq.ft. condo just ~2 blocks away in Fletcher Place for $1050/mo.
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  • AblerockJune 8, 2009 2:25 PM
    This is one of the better developments the city has seen in recent memory.

    But...

    Not disparaging this design, architecture of this quality should should be the bare minimum that Indianapolis citizens expect.

    A rising tide lifts all ships, as they say.

    I hope it's built and sets a new baseline standard for development along The Cultural Trail, Virginia Avenue, and throughout Indy.

    Perhaps then we'll begin to see the dynamic and visceral architecture to which Wil Marquez alluded in an earlier post.

    --

    Also, $1400 is steep. :-)
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  • dps dudeJune 8, 2009 8:07 PM
    Great idea - great location. Only 1 BR's? Why not 1's/2/s? Rent it between 900 and 1200 - and it will fly...This is what the market will bear...
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  • JoshJune 10, 2009 1:57 PM
    Looks like the movie theater anchor for a lifestyle center.
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