This is one of four proposed projects for an acre of state-owned land along the canal between
Ohio and New York streets. What do you think? Property Lines has been asking for the other renderings but so far to no avail.
This proposal, from Browning Investments and Dora Brothers Hospitality, calls for more than 250 hotel rooms and retail space,
including along the canal.








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As for the algae, I don't particularly care about the plant form growing on the bottom, but I understand other people not liking it. What needs to be dealt with NOW is all the crap floating on the surface. It's really disgusting in the corner by the state museum right now. And if you look closely, there seems to be a film across the entire surface in some areas. I know removing the plants is a much more complex task, but it would take a park service worker with a bucket and a skimmer less than a day to clean the majority of that stuff off the surface of the water. Or use some people punished with community-service like they did last year!
At the same time, I don't find this rendering all that bad. It's better than the original proposal for the JWMarriott Hotel. By the way, when will we see the revised proposal for that project? It seems to be taking a very long time to get that put together.
I only hope that the delay in seeing the redesign has something to do with Jonathan Hess -- the city's architect liason with the Whiteco architects -- fighting for a better design for the city.
I wonder, do the architects employed here ever travel outside Indianapolis city limits? Do they even live in the city? Have they ever looked at commonplace design magazines, such as Wallpaper, Abitare, or Architectural Digest and seen what is being built elsewhere? Do they comprehend the power they have to impact a city? Do they care?
It seems their only inspirations are the existing mediocre mix of buildings and their bottom line.
I am a designer and it hurts my soul to look upon such ugliness on a daily basis. I have a growing inclination to leave the city soon and the aesthetic choices Indianapolis has made during the last 40 years have a lot to do with that desire.
Rant over. ;-)
And I agree: the rendering shown is awfully bland.
Take the MSA redevelopment proposals for example, everyone is so caught up with the Target factor and/or the any development it good development mindset and forget that this particular site deserves better development (ie. increased density, good URBAN design).
For partial taxpayer-subsidized development (ie. hotel mundane, convention center), the City should set a precedent and require the developers to spend the time/money necessary to create structures worthy of being built in downtown Indianapolis. We have a great opportunity to build upon the progress that has been made over the past few years and it is time to take the next step and raise the bar when it comes to quality urban design.