Here’s how plans for a $300 million complex with a luxury hotel and concert venue could vibe with Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Commission Row—not to mention the proposed soccer stadium a couple blocks to the east.
An investment group led by Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon and his family said Thursday it plans to spend at least $300 million to construct a 13-story luxury hotel and connected 4,000-seat theater on the property after demolition of the existing century-old building.
The National Eucharistic Congress will use about 27,000 hotel room nights over five days. The event officially runs Wednesday through Sunday, but a welcome service took place Tuesday night at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church (see photo gallery in story).
Indianapolis-based TWG Development LLC now says it will cost as much as $264 million to overhaul the historic building and build a 32-story apartment and hotel tower on a lot directly to its north—an increase of nearly 90% from the original budget.
The 34-story hotel’s facade has frequently been used to promote numerous local events and teams, but the 205-foot-tall Clark graphic for Gatorade marks the first obvious product advertisement on the building.
More than 800 truckloads of concrete went into the foundation for the planned Signia by Hilton hotel and Indiana Convention Center addition at Pan Am Plaza over a 12-hour period.
The 100-room hotel is planned for a parcel next to Crawfordsville Commerce Park, which got off to a slow start about two decades ago but recently has landed some major tenants.
The hotel would be flagged as a Tempo by Hilton, a brand launched in early 2020 with a focus on drawing business travelers with higher-end amenities like bars and cafes.
Financial figures made public to the Carmel City Council show the luxury hotel has exceeded expectations for revenue and occupancy since its opening in 2020.
The $101 million project at 17 W. Market St. will include 170 rooms and a rooftop bar with views of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. The opening will come some five years after Keystone first proposed the hotel.
The astronomical event—the only that will pass through Indianapolis for 129 years—has led to a virtual sellout of the downtown Indianapolis hotel supply for Sunday night, with most other rooms throughout Marion, Hamilton and Johnson counties fully booked.
The cost reduction is part of a redesign requested by the board ahead of an expected vote later this year on whether to begin construction.
The structures and public spaces being erased from the site include the former Pavilion at Pan Am event center at 201 S. Capitol Ave. and the Pan American Plaza, making way for vertical construction later this spring.
Officials with the town of Speedway, which is not named in the lawsuit, said they are “carefully monitoring” the situation and in communication with the developers on the matter.
The NBA has contracted with 29 of downtown’s 35 lodging properties, with each committing at least 90% of their inventory at negotiated rates and minimum four-night stays, according to Visit Indy.
More than a year after the original projected completion, the $54 million hotel renovation project shows little evidence of progress. But work behind the scenes continues, the developer told IBJ.
Some call it “ bleisure travel,” “laptop lugging,” “workations” or simply “blended travel.” Whatever it’s called, it could upend the traditional divide between leisure and business travel.
The city on Wednesday and Thursday sold $581 million in bonds for the development through the Indianapolis Local Public Improvement Bond Bank, consisting of $436.8 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds for the hotel portion of the project, and another $155 million for the convention center expansion.
The all-in cost for the redevelopment of Pan Am Plaza is now expected to be $751.6 million. The bond sales to cover much of that cost—creating significant long-term debt for the city—are expected to take place this week.
Most Indianapolis hotels won’t open bookings for another two weeks, 50 weeks before the first of Taylor Swift’s three shows at Lucas Oil Stadium. But downtown rooms are expected to sell out quickly, followed closely by hotels across the Indianapolis area.
