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Ratio finishing City Market design work

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Ratio Architects Inc. will complete a design contract on a renovation project at the Indianapolis City Market originally awarded to Woollen Molzen and Partners Inc., a longtime local architectural firm that closed earlier this year.

The Metropolitan Development Commission is set to award Indianapolis-based Ratio a $120,000 contract Wednesday to complete the work started by Woollen Molzan. The vote follows the arrival of Woollen Molzan partners Lynn Molzan and Kevin Huse to Ratio late last month after the closure of their 56-year-old firm.

Woollen Molzen began designing renovations to the downtown historic structure’s main hall and east wing in 2009, as part of a $3.5 million project that began last year.

About $800,000 will be spent to convert the market’s east wing into a hub where bicyclists can store bikes and shower. And upgrades including new lighting, restrooms and vendor stands are under way within the main hall.

Bids for the main hall came in about $700,000 over the original $2.7 million estimate, and the project started a few months later than the announced early-fall date.

Both the main-hall and east-wing projects are on track to be finished sometime in July, Ratio Managing Partner Bill Browne said.

Ratio will be involved in plaza work outside the bike hub and will finish vendor layouts in the main hall.

“As an avid cyclist myself, this is a wonderful addition to the downtown,” Browne said of the bike hub. “Obviously, with the Cultural Trail running nearby, the opportunity to have a bike area is really pretty nice.”

The bulk of the money for the project was generated by a downtown tax-increment-financing district and from budget savings derived from efficiency gains that the market found through an independent energy audit.

A funding source for the market’s west wing has not yet been identified. Original plans called for demolishing that section as part of the current renovations, but the west-wing project was put on hold when bids for the overall renovation came in over budget.

The city had explored using funds from the sale of its water and sewer utilities. Mayor Greg Ballard said last week he’s not inclined to tap that money, but he eventually hopes to address that part of the building.

Founded in 1886 and located just north of the City-County Building at Delaware and Market streets, City Market has long been a lunchtime institution. But its business has endured a slow, steady slide for decades as its customer base moved to the suburbs.

A bar on the second floor, Tomlinson Tap Room, opened in November.

Ratio Architects is the city’s fourth-largest architectural firm, based on local billings, according to IBJ statistics. It has designed several of the city’s most notable buildings, which most recently include the addition to the Indiana Convention Center.

 


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  • Seriously?
    So does that mean all the people who worked on the project and didnt get paid for it are going to be paid now?

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  1. City-County Councilor Angela Mansfield and Bob Lutz have a case of wishful thinking.

    They obviously don't really care about the cost.

    They should.

    Extending Federal Benefits to Same-Sex Couples Will Cost $898M, CBO Says

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/22/extending-federal-benefits-sex-couples-cost-m-cbo-says/

  2. Brett, be careful what you lie about, the truth always comes out.

    "IMS's George Honored: Tony George, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president and chief executive officer, received the inaugural Pioneering and Innovation Award at the Autosport Awards Dec. 5 in London for his leadership in the development of the Steel and Foam Energy Reduction (SAFER) Barrier. George received the award at the annual gala at the Grosvenor House on behalf of the creators of the SAFER Barrier from Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the leader of the Bahrain International Grand Prix circuit. This is the fourth major award that has been presented to honor George and the SAFER Barrier development team. The SAFER Barrier also received the Louis Schwitzer Award, SEMA Motorsports Engineering Award and GM Racing Pioneer Award in 2002. The SAFER Barrier was installed in all four turns of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway a pioneer in safety for drivers, cars and tracks -- in time for the 86th Indianapolis 500 in 2002. It since has been installed at more than a dozen other tracks, and the latest iteration will be installed at the Speedway in the spring.(IMS PR), see more on my Indy Track News page.(12-7-2004)"

    As far as the cart safety team, I cannot find anything on its date of creation. The Delphi Safety team was created in 1996. For some reason there is not much info out there on defunct racing series.

  3. Great article Anthony. Glad IMS is finally being run like a business and not a personal check book to finance the "Vision".

    Things are looking up but 15 years of scorched earth won't be fixed overnight. Unfortunately the TV ratings are still poor and that won't change anytime soon with the brilliant 10 year contract signed under the former regime.

  4. Brett not sure why you wonder what he said in his quote. "''I would like to jump in a time machine, go back to 1995, and tell the owners and Tony George not to split,'' Franchitti said. ''As soon as my time machine is done, I know where I'm going.''"

    Pretty clear, he would love to go back and tell TG and the team owners not to split.

    I am not sure there is anyone who wanted the split, and I don't think there is anyone who would not like to go back and prevent the split. But, as has been discussed ad nauseum, without the split carts management by team owners would have run all of ow racing into bankruptcy. If cart had such a wonderful product, then losing IMS would not have forced it into bankruptcy. If NASCAR lost Daytona or Charlotte, it would not fail like cart did.

    Truth,

    So you predicted that cart would go into bankruptcy and cease to exist while Indycar would continue on? I missed that prediction.

  5. I want to live in a city that has a garage structure to be proud of for it's innovating design!

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