A community development corporation linked to the city of Indianapolis has bought the 1.87-acre parking lot that borders the former Market Square Arena site, a move that some say could be the catalyst to finally redeveloping the entire vacant site.

New apartment projects carrying premium rents are popping up all over downtown, but the strong demand for urban living isn't providing much of a boost for the condo market.

The city of Indianapolis is finally poised to close, after three years of twists, a complex redevelopment deal on the 1,600-space former Bank One parking garage.

Four properties for sale along a two-block stretch of East Market Street downtown are likely to offer the first signs of what’s in store for an area real estate brokers think will get a boost from the recent removal of the Market Street interstate ramp.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved a 10-year tax abatement Wednesday afternoon for a controversial public-private plan to redevelop a vacant downtown office building.

The Capital Improvement Board could be forced to give up one of its most profitable assets so the city can pull off a $65-million public-private downtown development deal. The city has agreed to help a developer revitalize the vacant former Bank One operations center in part by acquiring an adjacent parking garage for $18.5 million.

The city has unveiled a dramatic plan for new housing and retail development to revitalize the old Market Square Arena site. Despite some shortcomings, the project deserves a chance to give the stagnant area a boost.

A $65 million public-private plan for the redevelopment of a vacant downtown office building is raising eyebrows for its unusual approach and potential risk to taxpayers. The plan calls for a private developer to acquire the former Bank One operations center, surface parking lots and an adjacent parking garage from a private owner for $18.5 million, then sell the 1,680-space garage to the city for $18.5 million.

With the Nov. 6 mayoral election looming, Mayor Bart Peterson seems content to wait for a third term to choose who will redevelop the Market Square Arena site. He's willing to put off the opportunity to wipe past failures clean in large part because the political climate has changed.

A high-profile local firm that quietly negotiated last fall to salvage the stalled redevelopment of the Market Square Arena site abandoned its plans when the city decided instead to solicit new proposals early this year.

Two new proposals for the parking lot formerly known as Market Square Arena are shorter and less dramatic than plans for a 31-story tower that fell through last year. But each of the new sets of plans has its flourishes.

A who's-who of local firms is planning bids to redevelop the Market Square Arena site with mixed-use projects that would depart sharply from previous efforts focused on residential. New plans are expected to include retail , offices, apartment units and condos backed by high-profile local developers that didn't bid before.

When Mayor Bart Peterson announced Aug. 31 that the efforts of a partnership to build condominium towers on the former Market Square Arena site had failed, he gave his administration 60 days to put together another deal. Peterson's vision: Hold onto the concept of a residential tower, but add "significantly more retail."

Rival developers are dusting off plans for the former Market Square Arena site now that the partnership the city chose for the project appears on the verge of missing the Aug. 31 deadline to buy the land.