9/30/2005
Media Contact:
Justin Ohlemiller [317] 327-6709 |
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City selects plan for final piece of former Herron School property
Indianapolis – The former Herron School of Art foundry buildings located at 16th and Alabama will be redeveloped into neighborhood-based retail, according to a plan city officials will forward to the Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC) today for approval. The city is recommending selling the three buildings for a total of $48,000 to the Herron-Morton Place Foundation, Inc., a 501(c) (3) neighborhood organization consisting of local stakeholders from the area.
Once the sale is complete, the Herron-Morton Place Foundation will work with a private developer to revitalize the site and attract neighborhood-friendly retail uses, which could include a combination of dine-in restaurants and coffee shops, as well as service-based retail. The foundry redevelopment will begin next year and will likely take three to four years to complete.
Just last week, the MDC approved the sale of the other three former Herron School of Art properties to a development team headed-up by Mansur Real Estate Services, Inc. A mixed-use development -- including a museum of contemporary art, a new charter high school, artists’ lofts and single family housing -- is planned for those sites just to the West near 16th and Pennsylvania.
"The neighborhood residents have been very active in working with us to determine the best reuse for the Herron property, so it is only appropriate that the Herron-Morton Place Foundation take the lead on redeveloping the foundry," said Department of Metropolitan Development Director Maury Plambeck. "The neighborhood retail planned for the foundry site will be a great complement to the future mixed-use development on the main campus property."
The MDC will vote on the Herron-Morton Place Foundation proposal next Wednesday, October 5.
The redevelopment of the entire Herron site will infuse more than $10 million in private investment in the Near-Northside and serve as a catalyst for further economic and cultural development Downtown, Plambeck added.
The redevelopment plans for the Herron property is the culmination of an extensive planning and public outreach process that began August 2004. A reuse committee consisting of community stakeholders and city officials was established to make recommendations regarding the best possible reuse for the Herron properties, and several public workshops were held to gather community input. Using this feedback, the city sent out a request for proposals this Summer that outlined possible reuses.
Three proposals for the Herron properties were submitted to the city. All of the proposed plans were presented for public comment, which was then used in the final decision of the plan’s selection.
The city took ownership of the Herron property this summer after the Herron School of Art moved into its new facility Downtown on the campus of Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis.
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