Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Indianapolis developer Keystone Group this week will begin construction on the second and final phase of its 220 Meridian office building conversion project, with plans to add another 57 upscale apartment units to the 20-story downtown tower formerly occupied by AT&T.
The firm began working on its conversion of the 51-year-old building at the northwest corner of Meridian and Ohio Streets in 2018. It has redeveloped most of its floors to include 216 apartments, retail space on the first floor and a three-story parking garage.
But AT&T’s exit from the building’s top three floors with the expiration of its lease on May 31 clears a path for Keystone to move forward with adding more units across levels 18 to 20. Construction is set to begin before the end of the week, with the additions bringing the building’s total count to 273 units.
The addition of the new units will bring the total project cost to $124 million, according to Keystone. It did not specify the cost of the second phase.
“Investing in our urban core is not only a strategic decision, but a long-term commitment to the future of downtown,” Keystone owner Ersal Ozdemir said in a statement. “Keystone continues to transform by building new or redeveloping underutilized space into dynamic live-work-play-and-stay environments to elevate Indianapolis into a stronger, more vibrant city for years to come.”
IBJ research has found that the 220 Meridian project is the first large-scale office-to-residential conversion in Indianapolis’ history.
The new construction, set for completion in summer 2026, will include the apartment units and an outdoor deck. Six of the units will feature private patio spaces, a first for the building.
Keystone also is setting the stage for the debut of Harmony Steakhouse, with the Japanese-style restaurant set to open later this month. IBJ first reported on plans for the steakhouse in February 2024.
The city in 2018 contributed a combined $16.7 million to the 220 Meridian project and Keystone’s $110 million InterContinental hotel project at Market and Illinois Streets that opened in February. That support dictates that 220 Meridian make at least 40 of its units available for those earning up to 100% of the area’s median income, at rents below the luxury price tag with which they’re otherwise associated.
According to the 220 Meridian website, a studio apartment starts at $1,942 per month. The most expensive apartment listed—a two-bedroom, two-bath across 1,572 square feet—is $4,198 per month.
The current occupancy rate for the building is 97%, a Keystone spokesperson told IBJ.
Keystone acquired the 220 Meridian property in 2017 for about $20 million from Cleveland-based Geis Properties. As part of the deal, AT&T was allowed to retain 61,000 square feet on the top three floors through May. But the building had otherwise been mostly vacant since about 2009.
Keystone initially considered leaving the sixth through 10th floors as office space, but the firm ultimately opted for a complete conversion to apartments.
The conversion hasn’t been without its challenges. Keystone officials have said construction crews encountered numerous hurdles tied to the building’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing operations.
Among them was the modification to the building’s electrical substations, which meant installing new transformers and connections to give each apartment its own electricity meter for utility billing.
The developer also established a new recirculation system that required new vents and air shafts throughout the building. Each unit in the building has at least two windows that open about 4 inches for additional fresh air, officials have said.
The renovation also worked around the AT&T employees who still worked in the building, including providing a dedicated elevator for the company’s workers separate from the bank for residents.
More than a year was also spent building the parking garage on the second through fourth floors. A pool was also installed in the building.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
More of this, please!
Now if we could only get some high-rise residential development that’s brand new. Nashville Tennessee is exploding with high-rise residential and there’s no reason we shouldn’t have more of it here in indy.
Ive always say the exact something. Nashville’s metro isn’t any bigger but lots of corporate HQ are relocating there and they have Broadway st with all the live entertainment and bars. The other argument is that the demand for high-rise luxury apartments aren’t in Indy and I beg to differ. With the major and minor league pro teams and different companies in Indy as well as all the sporting and convention events, I can see there’s definitely a market here. The article says this particular project is 97% filled. There’s the Old City Hall project thats bringing a new 29 story high-rise breaking ground in July. So im sure downtown Indy could surly absorb 2-3 more 20-35 story high-rise apartments and townhomes.
The idea that Nashville is a true peer city is just not true. As a gamma rated city, it’s a substantial cut above Indy.
I’m in rare agreement with Rhea and Kevin here. We need to think bigger. 4 over 1’s in the core of the city just won’t do anymore. I think back to the multi-use building that houses the Shake Shack next to Regions. Those involved should be ashamed for not building more density with that project.
Nashville was progressive in seeking to improve the city from the standpoint of business, transportation, and entertainment. Indy has one major event per year — the 500 — which is simply bot enough. Nashville has truly international airport with flights to Europe. Nashville has a lively downtown but one must admit that Nashville has been a capital of the music industry with its accompanying stars, promoters, hangers-on and their extensive expense accounts which provide money, prestige, influence and opportunity to the Tennessee capital. Nashville is the center of a metro with transportation throughout the entire region rather than a Balkanized system such as Indianapolis (and in this light, Detroit) that stops at the county line, thereby limiting access to many to easily access job opportunities. And while the Volunteer State is conservative, it does not let this stop its capital city for seeking to improve, grow, and prosper as do some overactive Indiana Statehouse representatives who propose asinine and ignorant bills that actually thwart progress in Indianapolis.
Question for IBJ reporters to address: Does this seemingly successful office-to-residential conversion put the lie to the notion that converting downtown office towers is so fabulously expensive as to be untenable? Genuinely curious about this.