An $85 million project anchored by a new Marsh grocery store would
transform an expanse of surface parking lots in the northwest quadrant of downtown. The plan by Flaherty & Collins Properties
calls for 487 apartments, the first new Marsh store since 2004, a parking garage and additional retail space on properties
bounded by Michigan Street, Capitol Avenue, Vermont Street and Indiana Avenue. Mayor Greg Ballard, Marsh CEO Joe Kelley and
officials with Flaherty & Collins announced the project, first reported at IBJ.com, at a press conference
Tuesday afternoon. Much of the land needed for the development is owned by locally based OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc.,
which uses it for employee parking. To make way for the development, the city would foot the roughly $13 million cost of building
a 930-space parking garage for OneAmerica at the northwest corner of Illinois and New York streets. The total cost of the
development, including the city's contribution from tax-increment financing district revenues, will be about $85 million.The
apartment community will be known as The Axis. The 40,000-square-foot Marsh, at Michigan and Senate streets, would occupy
the first floor and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2013. The chain also will keep its store in the Lockerbie neighborhood.
What do you think?
Welcome to Property Lines, a place to feed your appetite for conversation about real estate in Indianapolis. I'm your host,
Cory Schouten,
IBJ's real estate beat reporter.
Rendering: $85M project calls for Marsh and apartments
January 24, 2012
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Now the best use is a grocery store and some apartments?
Perhaps Mayor Ballard could aim higher and attract a large new employer with high skill/ paying jobs looking for a new headquarters instead of a few temporary jobs that only produce a few low paying grocery clerk and retail jobs.
His people dont seem to have a clue. No wonder Mead Johnson, Hill Rom, Navistar, GM, Eli Lilly, Rolls Royce, and others are making large investments elsewhere.
As for the design, it is nothing spectacular in my opinion, but let's be honest, it is by far one of the most attractive grocery stores I've seen lately. Although, I seriously doubt that a first floor grocery store will attract people to their outdoor seating, unless they plan to incorporate smaller tenants like a small restaurant or coffee shop.
One very minor concern, however. As a downtown resident, the biggest problem with the Marsh on NY and Alabama is that it has no real competiion and thus prices are significantly higher than in other parts of the city. This is fine for a quick stop after work for one or two items, but when purchasing a week's worth (or more) of groceries it's a signficant cost difference.
A second grocery is great for downtown, but the fact that it is also a Marsh makes me wonder if there will be any decrease in prices. I suspect not. Marsh has no real incentive to lower the prices at the new store and will likely price at the same levels as at its existing store.
Moreover, by saturating the market with a second grocery, Marsh makes it unlikely that another grocery will open in the near future. (Whatever chance there might have been for a Kroger expansion at 16th and Central is probably dead, right?). Seems like a rather smart business decision to me as Marsh protects one of its most valuable properties from competition, and arguably increases its market share by providing more convenience with two stores.
I don't want this to be interpreted as a complaint, because I support the development and the addition of a second Marsh. But I do have to say that I doubt that the new grocery will have the effect many downtown residents want with a second grocery: a decrease in prices via competition.
Thanks for the effort.
Then, at Illinois Street, you meet the brutal reality of downtown Indy - surface lots, parking garages, four rushing lanes of traffic, and megaliths that generally do a very poor job conversing with pedestrians. Another Central Park on this strip could counterbalance any positive impact of The Axis.
Hopefully the city will set a high standard.
This type of development is LONG overdue for those gaping surface lots in the NW quad. I'd prefer higher intensity development, and the design leaves a bit to be desired, but it's a step in the right direction. Feels like I'm living in a real city!