Big splash, big price tag for old City Hall project
It has a splashy design sure to light up a corner of Downtown and appeal to arts lovers and historic preservationists.
But the redevelopment of old City Hall also carries a hefty $55 million price tag. Nearly half the cost will be financed with public money, including a $9 million city loan.
City officials unveiled the colorful, eye-catching design Thursday at a news conference in the grand rotunda of the 105-year-old neoclassical building. They called the plan the best way to put a shine back on the dilapidated, mostly vacant, old building that remains an architectural marvel, with a soaring, stained-glass dome and grand stairways and balconies.
"We've searched hard for a partner worthy of this building," said Mayor Greg Ballard.
The partner, 21c Museum Hotels LLC of Louisville, Ky., plans to invest about $29 million in the redevelopment project, near the corner of Alabama and Ohio streets, near the old Market Square Arena site.
Plans call for renovating the old building. Just to the north, they will erect a new 10-story hotel with about 150 rooms. The buildings would be connected and would be filled with public art galleries and gathering spaces.
Across the country, boutique hotels are the rage, growing three times as fast as traditional hotels from 2008 to 2013. Cities and developers say the small, artsy hotels, usually with 50 to 150 rooms, help attract visitors who are not interested in staying at a cookie-cutter hotel.
The distinctive buildings are often filled with modern art and public spaces, and create an avant-garde ambiance.
"When people travel, they like to visit places that reflect the local community," said Marsh Davis, president of Indiana Landmarks. "This will truly be an Indianapolis experience."
And the boutique hotels can often turn old, neglected buildings into interesting new spaces.
The city said it will not sell the building but will sign a long-term lease with 21c. Much of the funding — about $25 million — will come through a mix of federal loans and historic tax credits.
The city is offering a $9.1 million, 20-year loan to help finance the project. The city said it will use Downtown tax increment financing as an additional "loan backup payment source," according to a thick handout outlining the project.
About $11 million will come from a federal loan, $4 million from federal historic tax credits and an unspecified amount from the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
The funding must get local approval from the Metropolitan Development Commission and the City-County Council.
In recent years, Indianapolis officials have looked for an interested buyer or partner for the old City Hall and tossed around one idea after another for the building, including a motor-sports museum, a distillery and an innovation center. None of the ideas panned out.
But over the past six months, officials from the city and 21c Museum Hotels collaborated on a project they say will fit in well with the other artsy buildings and towers going up in the East Market Street district.
"We're glad we've found a reuse that will bring this building back to great glory," said Adam Thies, director of the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development.
Company officials said they looked forward to restoring the building and making it a hub of activity again. The company operates three boutique hotels in Louisville, Cincinnati and Bentonville, Ark. It plans to open two others this year in Durham, N.C., and Lexington, Ky.
"This project has everything we look for in a city, a building, a neighborhood and a partnership," said Craig Greenberg, president of 21c Museum Hotels.
Indianapolis officials said the plan is to first renovate the old City Hall, which needs millions of dollars worth of repairs,
then to build the new hotel next door. The goal is to finish the project by late 2017 or early 2018.
Call Star reporter John Russell at (317) 444-6283. Follow him on Twitter: @johnrussell99.