The Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC) of Marion County has agreed to extend deadlines for a downtown apartment project, allowing the developer to continue to qualify for a property tax abatement.
Louisville-based Investment Property Advisors LLC (IPA) completed the first phase of the 9 on Canal Apartments in 2014, Indianapolis Business Journal reports. The development included 304 apartment units, 7,877 sq. ft. of retail space and a 278-space parking garage.
In November 2015, the MDC granted a 10-year real property-tax abatement for a $37.2 million second phase to add 219 apartments, more than 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space and 188 underground parking spots at 350 W. St. Clair St. downtown
The developer’s agreement with the city required it to complete the six-story project by the end of 2017 and add 63 jobs at an average wage of $15 per hour by the end of 2018.
However, IBJ reports that in May, an IPA representative notified the Department of Metropolitan Development that it “was not likely” to complete its commitments by the deadlines, according to the resolution to extend the timeline.
At its Aug. 3 meeting, the MDC approved resolutions extending the deadline for completion to May 31, 2019, and the jobs creation deadline to Dec. 31, 2020.
Work on the second phase should start by October, said IPA co-owner Chase Sorrick. He said that the new construction schedule aligns better with the spring leasing season.
“We wanted our building to open in the early springtime, and so we didn’t want to put a lot of pressure on our construction schedule,” he told IBJ.
The 1.7-acre site, which is occupied by a warehouse, currently brings in less than $6,500 in annual property taxes, IBJ reports. The developer has acquired the property and needs to demolish the warehouse to make way for the apartments.
The MDC also approved at the meeting $7.2 million in developer-backed bonds to help finance the $41 million Ardmore development. The five-story mixed-use project by the base of Massachusetts Ave. is to be developed by Gershman Partners Inc. and Deylen Realty Inc. and owned by GP-Deylen LLC.
Th Ardmore plans include 126 apartments ranging from 553 sq. ft. to 1,631 sq. ft.; 20,000 square feet of retail; and 302 below-ground parking spaces. The project will be built on 2.8 acres at the southwest corner of North Delaware and East New York streets. The site is currently a parking lot.
