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The proposed $140 million project that aims to redevelop Old City Hall and add a 32-story tower to the Indianapolis skyline was chosen over a handful of other bids, including from several local development firms.
According to documents obtained by IBJ, local companies Buckingham, Chase Development, Flaherty & Collins, Gershman Partners and KennMar offered proposals for the 1.2-acre site along the west side of Alabama Street, between Ohio and Market.
TWG Development LLC’s winning proposal calls for a 387-foot glass-encased tower with 190 apartments, 24 condominiums, 150 hotel rooms and 8,000 square feet of retail and hospitality space. It also proposes reuse of the four-story Classic Revival city hall building as an art gallery and community or office space.
If developed at the proposed height, the tower would be the eighth tallest in Indiana, ranking between the 376-foot JW Marriott Indianapolis hotel and the 401-foot BMO Plaza office building. It would also be the tallest residential building in the state.
A few of other bids were similar to the one put forth by TWG, while others went in a distinctly different direction, with shorter buildings, a heavier residential focus or even more office space.
TWG is in “exclusive negotiations” with the Louisville-based 21c Museum Hotels to incorporate a branded 21c hotel in the project, with the hotelier also responsible for curating and managing the art gallery—a portion of which is expected to include local artwork.
Scarlett Andrews, deputy mayor of development for the city of Indianapolis, said city leaders were overall pleased with the proposals put forth for the site.
“Overall, we received some really ambitious and thoughtful concepts, and in particular, a lot of them had an eye toward design and how to honor the Old City Hall building and make the most of that parking lot site,” she said. “They definitely did vary in terms of height and overall mix of uses. But we were really pleased with the response and the interest in the site.”
Here’s a look at what the other projects would have included:
Buckingham Cos.
The concept put forth by Buckingham was anchored by a 15-story residential tower containing 280 units, and a hotel—largely based in Old City Hall—with 151 rooms.
The development would have also featured a 288-space parking garage, 8,300 square feet of ground-level retail and either a destination art gallery or restaurant in the existing building. It also would have featured a rooftop amenity.
Buckingham proposed a payment of just more than $2.6 million for the Alabama Street parking lot and the Old City Hall property.
The expected cost for the project would have been $217 million, with plans to request incentives through developer-backed tax-increment financing bonds, consideration for funds through the State Redevelopment Tax Credit program, brownfield funding, federal historic tax credits, Opportunity Zone funds and other channels, although specific figures were not shared in the bid.
Chase Development
In a letter to city officials, Chase Development principal Dan Jacobs said his concept for the site would be similar to what he did with the Block 20 project near Mass Ave.
The plan suggested up to 150 apartments and 15,000 to 20,000 square feet in a five- to seven-story building. He suggested the project could utilize modular apartments built by Indianapolis firm Volumod.
He said he planned to work with city officials on scope and design for the project, as well as seek input—and incentives—from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Jacobs did not include a proposed purchase price for the site, nor did he suggest a potential development cost in his letter.
Flaherty & Collins
Like TWG, Flaherty & Collins proposed a towering hotel and apartment building on the Alabama Street parking lot site, containing a 160-room boutique hotel and 300 living units.
The 36-story project would have also included 5,000 square feet of retail space and a 400-space parking garage. The Old City Hall building would have been repurposed into public space, along with a restaurant and event space.
It planned to buy the parking lot from the city for $3 million, and license at least a portion of the Old City Hall building for use by a hotelier, keeping the city as the owner of the historic structure.
Overall, the proposal carried a projected cost of $250 million, with an unspecified request for tax-increment financing from the city, as well as the use of other public funding mechanisms such as New Markets Tax Credits, Indiana READI tax credits and redevelopment tax credits.
Gershman Partners and Citimark
Local firms Gershman and Citimark, who have partnered on multiple projects, including the redevelopment of the Gold Building and the adjacent neighboring City Market East site, proposed a singular use for the Alabama Street site: a ritzy, 175-room hotel. A height for the structure was not specified.
The developers indicated the hotel wouldn’t include a parking garage, which was featured in most other proposals. The hotel would be branded under the Chicago-based Aparium Hotel Group LLC flag.
The bid also suggested redeveloping Old City Hall into “the cultural epicenter of downtown Indianapolis, bringing together music, film, art, education, community gathering and culinary experiences in a single location.”
Gershman and Citimark offered $2.65 million for the Alabama Street site, but did not include an offer for the city hall structure.
The project’s cost would have been $120 million, with a request for TIF dollars, along with the use of payment in lieu of taxes, a tax abatement, historic tax credits and redevelopment tax credits.
KennMar
The developer of Hotel Indy suggested the creation of a five-star hotel for the Alabama Street site, consisting of 252 rooms, along with 25 condominiums and a 288-space parking garage.
The proposal didn’t directly incorporate concepts for the reuse of Old City Hall, other than to say it would “work with the city on ownership and ongoing management” of the property.
The hotel would have been developed in partnership with Schulte Hospitality Group, a Louisville-based boutique hotel firm. It would have also sought a restaurant user for the property.
KennMar planned to offer the same purchase price for the Alabama Street site as Buckingham—just over $2.6 million. The all-in cost for the project was about $250 million, with the firm asking for a $70 million, or 28%, contribution from the city through a TIF, payment in lieu of taxes and the waiving of certain fees.
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Amazing follow-up coverage!
Agreed!
The 36 story proposal looked interesting.
Buckingham looks the best from the outside and has the best street presence.
Could they have lost due to politics?
I suspect that the lack of financing specifics along with a vague, will rehab the old city hall, sunk that bid.
Thankfully, they went with a tower.
C.D.
Agreed!! We need to be bold and grow our skyline.
Next, the city should encourage Simmons to build one massive signature
building on south Pennsylvania instead of the proposed two smaller ones.
Amen to that. Indy needs more taller buildings.
Keith B., the two towers planned for South Pennsylvania across from Gainbridge Fieldhouse qualify as “high rises” (one is only 6 stories shorter that the TWG City Hall tower). The 26-story structure would be built directly south, along Pennsylvania Street, with 254 apartments, nearly 4,800 square feet of retail space and a 700-space parking garage. The 16-story tower proposed for the southwest corner of Georgia and Pennsylvania streets would have 225 hotel rooms and nearly 18,000 square feet of retail space.
The best man won.
I always wished that the Pan Am/ Hilton Hotel was one massive tower that included the other 600 room hotel that will be possibly built in the future after the 800 room one is built. Imagine a tower that tall with 1400 rooms instead of two smaller towers.Come on Indy here is your chance to shine!
Ron D.
+ 1
I never understood why they didn’t develop that into a single skyscraper.
Then the land that the second hotel is to be built upon could be developed into
an artistic architecturally beautiful open space park.
Great article.
Comparing the expected costs in each proposal….Again….you have to wonder how TWG thinks $140 mil gets this done?
F&C 36 story tower $250 mil? Buckingham 15 story tower $217 mil?
Something isn’t adding up. Hope we don’t end up with a sized down version when they realize costs are much higher than expected.
No doubt that will happen. With construction costs still heavily impacted by inflation, more than likely to never be lower, they’ll be cutting floors real quick because you can’t save dollars in trying to cut the basic quality necessary for doing high-rise construction.
No doubt that will happen. With construction costs still heavily impacted by inflation, more than likely to never be lower, they’ll be cutting floors real quick because you can’t save dollars in trying to cut the basic quality necessary for doing high-rise construction. Best be checking the TWG numbers.
The Flaherty&Collins design would have been just as interesting as the one selected. Im just thrilled to see all the development planned for downtown and the ones that have actually broken ground already. Im almost certain that other developers in state and out will be paying attention to the momentum in Indy and someone will try to out do and shine all previous developments. This is exactly how it all starts. Wouldn’t surprise me to hear within the next 5yrs or so that Indy will get its first 50 story mix use skyscraper. There’s been mention of a World Trade Center tower. I could see putting everything under one roof for that project and it easily reaching 50-60 stories if office,confrence space and hotel for foreign dignitaries to stay at are added. Indy needs one true signature modern designed high rise.
I agree. That would put a huge stamp on this city. At least 800 feet or better.
Kevin P.
Agreed, enthusiasm and optimism breed enthusiasm & optimistism.
Building cranes downtown indicate growth, progress, optimism, and pride.
Any construction(new or remodel) using anything other than brick, stone, or glass should be banned from downtown projects moving forward.
Has anyone noticed the building boom in Austin, TX?
There are a least 10 residential/hotel/office towers currently under construction that are over 500 feet and one that is 1,021 feet tall. Here is a list of the top 10 towers being built by number of floors and the height:
Floors Height
74 1021 Residential/Hotel/Office
66 875 Residential/Office
46 710 Office
58 675 Residential/Office
55 655 Residential/Office
50 633 Residential Office
52 594 Residential
48 567 Residential
45 513 Residential
42 500 Residential
Additionally, Austin has:
One additional building under construction between the proposed City Hall height and 499 feet.
Five additional buildings under construction between 300 feet and the proposed City Hall tower height.
And Austin also has the following buildings 500 feet+ approved or proposed:
Floors Height Status Use
55 707 Proposed Office & Residential
54 691 Proposed Office & Residential
57 684 Proposed Residential
47 628 Approved Office & Residential
43 616 Approved Office
53 610 Proposed Residential
42 540 Proposed Office & Residential
44 500 Proposed Residential
Eight additional proposed buildings between the proposed City Hall height and 499 feet.
Five additional proposed buildings between 300 feet and the proposed City Hall tower height.
Nashville building projects.
Under construction:
Floors Height Status Use
60 750 Under construction Residential
34 524 Under Construction Office
Three additional under construction buildings between the proposed City Hall height and 499 feet.
Three additional under construction buildings between 300 feet and the proposed City Hall tower height.
Buildings 500 feet+ approved or proposed:
Floors Height Status Use
43 620 Approved, Stalled Office
45 610 Approved Residential
49 574 Proposed Mixed-use
46 569 Approved, Stalled Hotel
47 525 Proposed Residential
49 512 Proposed Mixed-use
45 500 Proposed Residential
Eight additional proposed buildings between the proposed City Hall height and 499 feet.
28 additional proposed buildings between 300 feet and the proposed City Hall tower height.
Indianapolis:
0 under construction or proposed over 500 feet.
Two under construction (468′ and 350′).
Two proposed over 300 feet.
Looks like Indy needs to step up and become more bold in constructing High-rise Residential towers before they run out of space downtown building 5 story apartment everywhere. I believe more people prefer to live higher up with fantastic views of the surrounding landscape. Its pretty obvious that this true by looking at what’s going on with the other cities that are booming with their construction.