Tower House proposal dead

July 29, 2008
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Tower House on MeridianA local accounting firm has bought the Grain Dealers Mutual Insurance building along Meridian Street for its headquarters after a local developer couldn't secure financing for a proposed $50 million redevelopment (shown here). London Witte Group plans to move its offices from OneAmerica Tower and lease out the remaining space. Locally based developer Inner-Urban Homes & Hospitality let an option to buy the building expire after it couldn't land financing, said company president George Nichols. The group had proposed adding a 14-story tower including a six-floor, 130-room hotel and 160 condos, along with 600-car parking garage over retail along Illinois Street. London Witte principals were not available this morning to discuss details of their plans.
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  • Thank heaven. That's one ugly building.
  • Although I would like to see some hotels in that area again to bring some more people to the street, Ablerock is right.....it looked awful
  • I think that development qualifies for clunker status....
  • Not surprised or dissapointed. The only good thing about that project was that it was mixed use in that neighborhood.
  • It would have brought street life beyond 5pm. An office building with no ground-floor commercial or restaurant facility is a dead zone nights and weekends. A hotel-condo-office-restaurant-retail development on that corner would have been a busy place and a good anchor for the whole near north Meridian corridor.

    Perhaps London Witte will be able to attract a restaurant to their building.
  • It seems all new development has a very similar design (which I have no strong feeling
    for or against) but that I know people who read this blog despise so passionatly
    for some reason.
    It makes me think the designers know something we all don't about what will get
    approval and what will not.
  • I agree - all the 'artist renderings' of new projects are looking the same. Why not some 'art deco' looks, classic designs - brick, sconces,
    and interesting vertical lines? These appeal to the nostalgia-retro oriented it can be made to be 'green' and eye appealing as well. Also there is a very little of this style of architecture in the downtown area. These buildings in cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Cincinnati are all revered and preserved for years.
  • I like dps dude's idea.
    It would go well with the structure that was supposed to be renovated in the project.
    I personally thought it looked like a structure out of a brutalist's dream.
    It would have added life but hopefully we can get other developers in this area.
  • cityside, I think pretty much every design gets approved, outside of the historic districts.

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  1. Thank you for pointing out the absurdity of having The Naked Cowboy at Zoobilation. For the life of me, I don’t know why anyone would want a picture with that guy, but there were plenty of folks lined up to get a shot with him. The event could have used more restrooms out on the bridge, more photo booths and vendors offering something besides meat. There were a few more veg-friendly options this year than last, but it has a long way to go.

  2. Went to Zoobilation Friday night and had a great time. The weather was super nice and the food was very good, for the most part. Lots of sliders this year at many different tents. The slider from Alexander's was inedible, all four in my group ended up tossing it after one bite. Some tents were out of food by 8:30 and one bar area was out of cups at 8:30, not sure how that can happen. Great event in Indy and I look forward to it each year.

  3. Many of the small community hospitals are now owned by the "cash-strapped" Indy biggies, with more coming. The doctor-practise buying has been done precisely to sidestep tiered payments for out-of-hospital procedures. These are no better done, or safer, because someone administers a pain shot or snaps an x-ray in a doctor's office. And the non-payment issue is resolved next year when we all have insurance, even though many still think paying private insurers an extra 10-20% is what makes our system "world-class".

  4. I'd love to see this rendering put into the context of the surrounding neighborhood/area to get a better feel for the surrounding scale. However, just by the looks of it, it appears to be an excellent project. I'm pretty sure that if Scott Olson had said nothing regarding Chicago or Wrigleyville, Mr. "Horrible" would have found nothing bad to say. I'd love to know how Indy is becoming "Chicagofied"...

  5. Truly great and funny play. Vocalists were Broadway caliber and stage settings ideal for small stage. Would go again!

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