Monday, 27 September 2010

Indianapolis - A new downtown development will benefit Eli Lilly and thousands of people who live and work downtown. Eyewitness News broke the story Friday about the development.

It will include apartments, an upscale hotel, and a YMCA in an area near Lilly's corporate headquarters just south of downtown at Delaware and South Streets.

With 26 upscale properties in the US and Europe, Dolce hotels and resorts is considered the standard for business travel. Now it's the anchor for a new $150 million development located on the campus of one of the city's largest employers.

"It's really one of the city's last undeveloped parcels," said Mayor Greg Ballard.

North of the Eli Lilly main campus along South Street, city officials announced the site for the new hotel, retail and restaurants, and more than 300 high end apartments.

"At a time when cities across the country are struggling to survive, cutting essential services and working just to keep the doors open and the lights on in government and private industry alike, Indianapolis is building," said Mayor Greg Ballard.

Composed of ten buildings spread out on 14 acres of property donated by Lilly, the idea is to serve current and potential employees of the drug giant and two other major businesses as well as nearby neighborhoods.

A key piece to the project is a 75,000-square-foot state of the art family YMCA. Eric Ellsworth, president of the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, says it fits into the Y's agenda for the city.

"The new downtown YMCA will be part of the YMCA's city agenda which will include a new YMCA in Pike Township, a continuation of our services at the Athenaeum," said Ellsworth.

Dubbed "North of South," the project aims to connect the city with the near south side while giving major employers room to entertain.

"This will be a very important link that will enable our employees and people we intend to recruit and retain over the years to have access to a state of the art fitness facility to restaurants to retail and to hotels," said John Lechleiter, Lilly CEO.

In what may be the last big development downtown, there are high hopes that what is now a parking lot will not only keep the city's big players happy but generate jobs and millions in tax revenue.

It is the anticipated property tax revenue that will pay back the bonds to pay for the bulk of the project. It is one that must still be approved by the City-County Council. They're expected to do that by the end of this year with work to begin here in 2011.

WTHR
Sept. 27, 2010
By Kris Kirschner