| Indianapolis Outlook
Indianapolis
Looks to Go Deep
by Craig Barner Basketball
has long inspired visions of competitive triumph in Indiana.
But it is
football that has Hoosiers dreaming big - and not just because of the Indianapolis
Colts' first-place finish during the regular National Football League season.
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In late December, an
$800 million development project was proposed that would result in a new Colts
venue with a retractable roof.
Another major user in sports would be the
National Collegiate Athletic Association for its men's and women's March Madness
basketball tournament. The NCAA has named Indianapolis as a permanent backup site
for the tourneys' Final Four games.
The Indiana Convention Center would
also be expanded as part of the project.
Approval is needed from the Indiana
General Assembly and the Indianapolis-Marion County City-County Council for the
project to go forward, said Steve Campbell, director of communications for Indianapolis
Mayor Bart Peterson.
"Everything looks good," he added. Peterson
announced the project with Fred Glass, president of the Marion County Capital
Improvement Board, and Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay.
"The good news
is not if we should do the project but how we should do it," Campbell added.
Funding
Matters Funding is the question mark as the project is debated in the general
assembly.
The plan calls for the Colts to kick in $100 million and the
federal government $10 million.
In addition, a number of financing mechanisms
will be deployed.
These include a controversial element calling for $50
million in one-time development fees to be obtained by licensing a gaming facility.
Moreover, about $46 million in tax revenues would be derived annually from the
facility that would have pull-tab machines - akin to slot machines.
The
plan also includes revenue derived from convention, hotel and similar fees to
bring in about $23 million annually.
No increases in city property, sales
or income taxes have been proposed to help pay for the project.
The convention
center would be expanded into the RCA Dome, where the Colts currently play. The
project site is directly south of the dome.
If the general assembly approves
the project, construction could start this summer, Campbell said.
Dallas-based
HKS Architects has been named the designer, and Indianapolis-based Hunt Construction
Group has been named the construction manager.
No general contractor has
been named yet.
"We're going to use a lot of local Indianapolis firms"
in contracting and consulting capacities, Campbell added.
An
OK Outlook The proposed facility would boost a steady picture of construction
in Indianapolis.
Through third-quarter 2004, the latest data available
from McGraw-Hill Construction, Indianapolis had experienced a 2 percent decrease
in construction starts, to $4 billion.
Infrastructure starts increased
less than 1 percent to $551 billion. General building starts went down 6 percent,
to $1.31 billion, and residential starts declined 1 percent, to $2.14 billion.
McGraw-Hill projections show the state of Indiana was expected to end
2004 with $13 billion in construction starts, up 2 percent from 2003's $12.8 billion.
In 2005, the state was expected to see a 4 percent increase in starts, to $13.5
billion. Red-Hot Residential There are several bright
spots in construction in Indianapolis.
An "incredible surge"
in residential development is driving construction in the city's core, said Terry
Sweeney, vice president of real estate development for Indianapolis Downtown Inc.,
a nonprofit group that promotes the city.
In January, the IDI data indicated
24 projects were under way in the downtown area, ranging from a modest seven-condominium
project to the 417-unit Residences at Market Square, a $175 million undertaking.
The
strong employment base, cultural venues and retail opportunities are increasingly
attracting families.
"I call it the baby carriage barometer,"
Sweeney said. "I see more families coming downtown on the weekends and during
the day. They park and pull out baby carriages and have four kids in tow."
Steve
Sullivan, CEO of the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, said most projects
downtown are new construction, but some structures that previously housed other
activities are being converted for residential use.
Outside downtown, residential
construction is also strong. Fall Creek Place, a housing development nearing completion
in a 26-block neighborhood just north of the city center, will bring more than
300 single-family homes and multiunit dwellings to a formerly blighted area. Development
on the city's Southeast Side is also strong.
The hot market has driven
up housing prices 40 to 50 percent over just the last five years, Sullivan said.Medical
Specialty Two Indianapolis strongholds, life sciences research and health
care, continue to be steady.
Clarian Health Partners, a partnership of
Indiana University Hospital, Methodist Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children,
has recently finished a new hospital in suburban Avon and is building another
in north suburban Carmel and a laboratory downtown, a project profiled in this
issue.
OrthoIndy is building an orthopedic hospital on the city's Northwest
Side, another project profiled in this issue.
Eli Lilly and Co. has eight
projects under way, including a $200 million Biotechology Research and Development
Laboratory.
Outside health care, two major projects that are ongoing include
the $1 billion expansion of the Indianapolis International Airport and the $832
million capital improvements in the Indianapolis Public Schools. Total
construction starts in 2005 are projected to rise in Indiana but fall in Illinois
and Wisconsin.
|
Indianapolis Starts
(first three quarters each year; in
millions) | | YTD
2003 | YTD 2004 |
% Ch., 04/03 | | General
Building | $1,389 |
$1,306 | -6% |
| Infrastructure |
$549 | $551 |
+1% | | Residential |
$2,164 | $2,141 |
-1% | | Total |
$4,102 | $3,399 |
-2% | | Source: McGraw-Hill |
Through third-quarter 2004 Indianapolis saw a 2 percent decline in
construction starts. | 
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