The petitioners advocating for the Mile Square district’s passage have just barely garnered the amount of signatures required by law to advance the proposal.
The owner of Gifts and Convenience, a shop in the downtown Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel, is the new franchisee for the mall cookie and desert shop, which closed early this year after a lawsuit from the landlord.
Boston-based Charles Street Investment Partners LLC has filed plans with the city to construct a $15 million, seven-story apartment-and-retail project at Pennsylvania and Vermont streets.
The nine-acre Landing at Monon Marketplace project is expected to include a multistory hotel, office buildings and a new location for an Indiana-based restaurant chain.
It will end a tradition that is just as much part of the Indy 500 fabric as the Borg-Warner Trophy, the yard of bricks, the celebratory milk in victory lane and the singing of “(Back Home Again in) Indiana.”
The program has awarded more than $3.1 million to Marion County businesses since 2004—which has leveraged more than $10.6 million in property owners’ investment.
Downtown Indy officials say they are hopeful that they will get the petitions necessary to create an economic improvement district by a self-imposed deadline of Friday.
Of course, there are no guarantees that Infosys’ vision for its Indianapolis tech hub will pan out. But without the benefit of hindsight, it appears the city, state and airport authority waited for the right deal to come along.
