Apartments planned for former bar site near Lucas Oil Stadium

The former Stadium Tavern at 802 S. West St. (Image courtesy of Google)

A Greenfield-based developer plans to demolish the former Stadium Tavern near Lucas Oil Stadium on the south side of downtown to make way for a 21-unit apartment project.

The project, known as Stadium Lofts, would occupy a quarter-acre site at 802 S. West St., southwest of Lucas Oil Stadium. It is being developed by McCarty West Associates LLC, whose principal is Don Miller Jr., CEO of DMJR Development LLC. DMJR is also involved in a large-scale project in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood called Monon 30.

Miller could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday through a representative for Demerly Architecture, the design studio on the project.

Stadium Lofts would be four stories tall with a total of 9,500 square feet, according to documents filed with the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development.

The first floor would include a lobby area and some leasable street-level space. A 22-space parking lot would be adjacent to the building. Apartments would be on floors two through four, with a shared rooftop deck above.

The sizes of the units and their anticipated rents were not included in city filings.

McCarty West Associates owns the former Stadium Tavern site and is in the early stages of requesting the site be rezoned to accommodate the development. Currently zoned I-4, an industrial designation, the holding company is asking the city for approval to designate it as a D-10 district, which allows for housing developments, including mid-size apartment buildings.

The request is expected to be heard by the Metropolitan Development Commission Hearing Examiner on Sept. 14. After that, it woukld be heard by the full Metropolitan Development Commission, followed by City-County Council. DMD staff has not yet made a recommendation on the rezoning request.

Stadium Tavern closed “temporarily” in March 2022, according to a post on its Facebook page, and apparently never reopened. It is listed on Google and Yelp as permanently closed. Its website has expired, and a message left with a phone number associated with the restaurant was not returned.

The apartment project marks the latest step in efforts to revitalize the south side of downtown, near Lucas Oil Stadium. The Indianapolis Colts in recent years have bought up nearly two-dozen parcels south of McCarty Street to capitalize on parking for game days.

Indianapolis-based TWG Development LLC is building a $58 million, 253-unit apartment property on South Meridian Street, just north of Interstate 70. And Shapiro’s Delicatessen owner Brian Shapiro and partners The Louderback Group and Dora Hospitality Group are developing a hotel and apartment project at the southeast corner of Meridian and Sycamore streets.