Condo Project Planned for Downtown Indianapolis

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Eric Martin

 

Mass Ave. has long been a powerful draw for boutique shoppers, fans of the performing arts and people seeking trendy dining, but lately the allure and size of the street's residential developments have been getting a lot bigger.

 

Large luxury condos are making their way to the avenue and will take up the majority of a new 10-story building planned at the street's south end -- a development that will continue a condo boom that is expected to create more than 1,100 Downtown units by 2010.

 

The building, known as Three Mass Ave, will stand adjacent to and south of McNiven's Restaurant and Bar on what is now a parking lot bordered by New York Street. The first floor will hold 19,000 feet of retail space, perhaps including a wine shop, organic grocery store or sidewalk cafe. The upper nine floors will house 46 residences, some with two stories. Units will be priced from $400,000 for two-bedroom, two-bath condos to $2 million for custom-built penthouses. The project also will have one or two levels of underground parking.

 

The building will be designed by Schmidt Associates and developed by Halakar Properties and Pillar Investments LLC. Contractor Keystone Construction should break ground by March at the latest, and tenants could start moving in by early 2008.

 

The developers declined to reveal the price they are paying to acquire the land from Horizon Partners or the estimated cost of construction. They did say they are not seeking tax abatements, and Terry Sweeney of Indianapolis Downtown Inc. said the property taxes on the project will help Center Township, where about half of all structures are tax-exempt.

 

The building will rise four floors above most of Mass Ave.'s century-old rustic brick structures. In order not to obscure views of the sky for Mass Ave. pedestrians, Schmidt designed the building so that floors seven through 10 are each a few feet smaller on the outside. But Robert Shula, a member of the Metropolitan Development Commission, worries that the building's top could become an eyesore.

 

"I can understand how the first six floors blend into the neighborhood, but it looks like Flash Gordon did the top of the building," he said at a Wednesday hearing about the building. "I don't understand why it has to be so futuristic."

Style didn't stop Shula from joining the majority of commission members in a 5-1 vote Wednesday to allow the development to proceed. Scott Keller, a former developer and City-County Council member who represents the district that includes Mass Ave., said the design is a good compromise because the land is too valuable to make a shorter residential building economically viable.

 

Although the least expensive residences will cost twice the price of the least expensive lofts at One Market Square, a 208-unit project nearby that has sold slowly, demand on Mass Ave. seems to be high. Sheri Barnes, an agent with Re/Max Preferred, said she has sold 11 of the 23 units at 757 Mass Ave., another new project, for $290,000 to $1.2 million -- without even showing buyers a model. She also manages sales for a building at 707 North St., three blocks east of Mass Ave., where two penthouses have presold for $800,000 to $1.2 million. Beilouny Luxury Properties, which owns both buildings, plans to break ground on the 23-unit project on North Street this fall.

 

"With our new stadium and all the positive things happening Downtown, I think we're catching up with the bigger cities," she said.

Halakar President Todd Maurer says he, too, has interested buyers who think the price is worthwhile.

 

"These are going to be in a high-class neighborhood with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops," he said. "It's the life you want to live."

The units will range from 2,000 to 5,000 square feet, with balconies ranging from 100 to 2,000 feet. Amenities, including a rooftop garden, will be incorporated into the design.

 

Michael Harrison, housing and economic development coordinator for the Riley Area development corporation, said these projects are helping meet the area's goal of increasing Downtown's population from 20,000 people in 2003 to 40,000 by 2020.