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A new request for proposals for the historic Drake apartment building in Indianapolis has been issued by city development officials, with a focus on low- and moderate-income housing.
Published Friday on the city’s website, the RFP requires bids to include an offer of more than $1 million for the property at 3060 N. Meridian St. and to fulfill federal Community Development Block Grant parameters. That means developers would have to allocate at least 51% of the residential units in the building to individuals and families making less than 80% of the area’s median income.
The solicitation of bids comes a month after the city acquired the Drake property from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, putting to end a two-year-long legal battle that began when the museum said it planned to demolish the structure to make way for more parking and new exhibit space.
Despite the lawsuit, the city and the museum had continued to discuss behind closed doors ways to salvage the building, whether through a new development partnership or the city potentially buying the Drake outright.
The city is asking developers to pay the same price it did for the property: $1.015 million, paid for using federal block grant funds focused on low-income housing. The city is asking developers to identify what incentives would be necessary for the project, such as waiving zoning fees, implementation of developer-backed tax-increment financing bonds, new market tax credits and brownfield redevelopment funds, among others.
“Situated in the historic Mid-North Area and fronting the North Meridian Street and IndyGo Red and Purple Lines, this property presents the development community with an opportunity to preserve The Drake while creating transit-oriented, mixed-income housing opportunities,” Rusty Carr, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, said in written remarks.
The Children’s Museum and other community leaders and organizations are expected to be involved in the selection of a development partner.
The eight-story building, which dates to 1928, has been vacant since 2016.
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