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Redevelopment at the old Indianapolis City Hall will cost an estimated $100 million more than initially planned as developers look to gain final approval from the city's historic preservation commission and break ground on the site by the end of the year.

Local developer TWG and Mayor Joe Hogsett, who hailed the development as "precisely what we know our city needs," last August unveiled a $140 million plan to renovate the historic building, which has sat vacant since 2016.

Last week, the Central Indiana Regional Development Authority approved a budget of $264 million for the project, adding an additional $100 million that nearly doubled the price.

City officials suggested that historic preservation and complex architectural designs had added to the price tag, alongside rising interest rates.

The project includes a turnaround of the vacant 114-year-old building and the construction of a new 32-floor high-rise residential tower with retail space on the ground floor and four levels of parking garage space.

Director of Metropolitan Development Megan Vukusich said the city submitted the proposal to CIRDA with the $264 million total budget that included a request for $8 million in state READI 2.0 funds and a $14.8 million local match, which the City-County Council approved in the form of a single-site tax increment financing plan, or TIF.

Vukusich said it was her understanding that developers underwent "further due diligence on the site" that ultimately increased construction costs because of necessary architectural design. The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Association must approve redevelopment plans due to the age and historical significance of the building.

City officials directed questions on the site's design to TWG.

Chase Smith, TWG Vice President for Market Rate Development, confirmed the $264 million budget for the project to IndyStar but declined to answer further questions on why the budget increased or what preservation is planned for the site.

CIRDA requested funds for the project to be pulled from the Lilly Endowment. Those funds are awaiting approval by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

CIRDA last month approved two other downtown projects — a $650 million budget for the decade-long planned redevelopment of Circle Centre Mall and $298 million for the City Market campus overhaul.

First design plans met with intrigue but lingering questions

TWG presented initial blueprints, designed by the Atlanta-based architecture firm Smallwood, to the city's historic preservation committee in November, three months after the announcement of the renovation.

Members of the commission expressed excitement about the overdue redevelopment of a downtown landmark, but pressed developers and designers on the preservation plans, particularly on the interior design, which was not presented at the initial meeting.

"I am excited to see this block restored after many years of vacancy. I am really in support of this project," commissioner Anson Keller said at the meeting. "But I think there is still a lot of work left to do on this project to get it to where it needs to be."

Among commissioners' chief concerns were what would happen to interior elements, such as the old council chambers, and how a modern high-rise would coexist next to a century-old building.

"We are the IHPC so we are really going to care about this historic building to a very high level and I can’t emphasize that enough," said commission president Bill Browne at the time. "Interior is not something that we do a lot of, but we appreciate the value that this interior has. The restoration of that is going to be important and the reuse of that is going to be important."

The old City Hall building will become home to a 21c Museum Hotel public art gallery ran by Louisville, Kentucky-based 21c Management LLC, which would also operate the hotel on the site, and allow a handful of tenants to rent space on the upper floors.

The tower will sit on the adjacent parking lot and house 190 new apartment units, including a mix of studio to three-bedroom units and 24 condominium units as well as 10 affordable units for residents making 30% and below of the area median income as part of the city's affordability requirements for projects with city financing. A multi-story parking garage and 150 hotel rooms will be situated on floors in between the ground-level retail floor and upper-level residences.

A two-level walkway will connect the first and second floors of the buildings, according to the design.

A lengthy history in downtown Indianapolis

Old City Hall has had multiple past lives.

City services ran out of the site until 1962, when the City-County building opened. Then, the building served as a home for the Indiana State Museum from 1967 to 2002 and the Indianapolis Public Library from 2002 until 2007.

The city used the building for a hodgepodge of activities from 2007 until 2016.

Because old City Hall has been locally designated as a landmark since 1974 but is not a state-designated landmark, the Indiana Landmarks association is not working with the developers, said Mark Dollase, Vice President of Preservation Services at the association.

Dollase said he is sometimes asked to give input through public comment at IHPC meetings but has not been asked to do so yet regarding the old City Hall plans.

The project has not yet gone before the historic preservation commission for final approval. Developers still plan to break ground by the end of 2024, Smith of TWG said.

A city commission on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for a new taxing district in Indianapolis driven by Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration intended to help fund a proposed soccer stadium a couple of blocks east of Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Members of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6-1 to create a new professional sports development area, or PSDA, which is a key financing component of Hogsett’s effort to lure Major League Soccer to the city.

The commission didn’t immediately reveal how individual members voted.

The approval follows months of discussion about the plan that calls for the closure and demolition of the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport and adjacent parking lots for the development of a soccer-specific stadium at 355 E. Pearl St.

Hogsett’s PSDA proposal specifies more than 110 non-contiguous addresses throughout the downtown area. Taxes from the properties would provide a majority of the funding for the stadium, to be developed on land east of Gainbridge Fieldhouse that includes the Downtown Heliport.

The PSDA would collect state retail taxes, local and state income taxes, and food and beverage taxes to pay for the public portion of the stadium. Innkeepers taxes and admission taxes could also be collected within those boundaries. The owners of the MLS franchise would be required to cover at least 20% of the stadium development cost.

The MDC’s vote was the final step in the local legislative approval process ahead of a July 1 state deadline. The commission had previously given preliminary approval, followed by a 16-8 vote in favor of the district by the City-County Council.

The confirmation of the taxing district now allows the Hogsett administration to request authorization from the State Budget Committee—a step required because the funding plan relies on up to $9.5 million per year in state taxes.

Hogsett said Wednesday he expects the committee and the State Budget Agency to consider the matter as soon as August, after the city formally submits the plan alongside a feasibility study for the site—and, potentially, identities of the investors involved in trying to win a top-tier soccer club for the city.

“When I flew to New York City to meet with Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber in April, he made clear the City’s role in securing an expansion club was creating the financing framework for a soccer-specific stadium on an appropriate site,” Hogsett said in a media release after the commission’s vote.

“Today, I was proud to see the Metropolitan Development Commission vote overwhelmingly to confirm a stadium development district at the Downtown Heliport, marking the final step in the local legislative process ahead of the July 1 deadline outlined by state law,” he said.

Dan Parker, chief deputy mayor, said the administration anticipates the feasibility study from Chicago-based Hunden Partners will indicate the city has sufficient revenue within the taxing district to cover debt on a stadium, although it is still unclear what the city has generally budgeted to construct the venue.

Approval of the PSDA comes six months after both the City-County Council and the commission approved a separate PSDA put forth by the city and Indianapolis-based developer Keystone Group.

That plan called for a $1.5 billion mixed-use project anchored by a soccer stadium to be called Eleven Park at the former Diamond Chain Manufacturing site on downtown’s southwest side. But the administration walked away from negotiations on that project earlier this year, alleging the project didn’t make financial sense.

The city pivoted to the heliport site amid continued concerns about the viability of developing Diamond Chain, which sits on a tract that was home to multiple burial grounds in the early days of Indianapolis.

The city said earlier this month that had the City-County Council or MDC voted down its new PSDA, it would not submit the formerly approved Eleven Park PSDA to the state for approval.

So far, little is known about the group that would be investing in an Indianapolis bid for an MLS club, as participants have refused to reveal themselves. But ahead of the vote, Hogsett said he expects those individuals will make themselves known before the city provides its request to the state.

He also said he is confident there will be a strong local component to the group—an element he said Major League Soccer executives have said is key to a successful bid. And while he did not answer directly whether Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon is involved, Hogsett indicated he would support Simon as an investor.

IBJ reported in May that a company affiliated with the Simon family, owners of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, had paid $10.5 million to acquire a 5.2-acre surface lot at 101 S. Alabama St.—which sits west of the Indianapolis Downtown  Heliport and east of the Virginia Avenue parking garage.

A representative for the Simon family told IBJ at the time that the family’s interest in the lot “predated soccer” and that the acquisition was entirely separate from the city’s plans.

The investor group is being organized by Charlotte-based soccer executive Tom Glick, who has experience working for numerous domestic and international teams, including New York City FC and Charlotte FC.

Dan Parker told reporters Monday that while the city doesn’t know specific identities, Glick has shared that minority investors in other MLS clubs and at least two European soccer teams have expressed interest in joining the Indianapolis group.

It will be up to the investor group to submit an application for an expansion club to Major League Soccer, a move that is expected to come later this year.

Hogsett and his lieutenants have emphasized that the city would not build a stadium until Major League Soccer officially awards the ownership group an expansion club.

The council, and to a lesser extent the Metropolitan Development Commission, will also have extensive oversight on the stadium development process, including the issuance of debt to pay for the facility and its design. The bodies would also have oversight for any purchase of land by the city that might be used for the project.

The Department of Metropolitan Development has a memorandum of understanding with the Indianapolis Airport Authority that creates a path for the city to acquire the heliport property, at fair market value.

Pro wrestling is officially returning to Indianapolis, and it’s ready to put on some big shows.

World Wrestling Entertainment and the Indiana Sports Corp. on Monday confirmed they have struck a deal to bring WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam to the city over the next eight years.

IBJ first reported on the agreement on Friday, and at that time an agreement had not been finalized.

The parties have since agreed to principal terms for the deal—the first WWE has ever struck with a local sports commission in the United States.

The deal will include WrestleMania, which has taken place in Indianapolis only once before in 1992, and SummerSlam, which the city last hosted in 2008. The city will also host Royal Rumble for the first time on Feb. 1, 2025. All three shows will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium and are collectively expected to generate at least $350 million in local spending.

“We are excited to bring this groundbreaking partnership to Indianapolis and our state,” Patrick Talty, president of Indiana Sports Corp, said in written remarks. “For over four decades, our city’s sports strategy has brought in millions of visitors and priceless hours of international brand-building media coverage. This partnership with WWE continues to push that strategy forward in new and exciting ways. We look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our community and state and showing them all that Indy has to offer.”

The partnership will also consist of multiple WWE events per year for the city, including a mix of Smackdown, Monday Night Raw, pay-per-view events and non-televised “house” shows held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The agreement will also create more events in other Indiana markets like Fort Wayne and Evansville, the latter of which will host Monday Night Raw on Sept. 30 as part of a separate agreement.

Financial terms of the deal between the Indiana Sports Corp. and WWE have not been disclosed, although Talty confirmed the organization used a portion of the state’s tourism bid fund to secure the commitment.

The deal between the two organizations is among the most comprehensive ever struck by the professional wrestling kingpin. In 2018, the company signed a long-term deal with Saudi Arabia to host events in the country through 2028; that deal could be renewed in the coming years to include flagship productions like Royal Rumble or WrestleMania.

“Indianapolis is a fantastic city for major events and we’re excited to invite the WWE Universe to Lucas Oil Stadium for Royal Rumble in 2025, and a future SummerSlam and WrestleMania,” Chris Legentil, WWE executive vice president of talent relations and communications said. “Patrick [Talty] and the team at Indiana Sports Corp have done a phenomenal job bolstering local economics and tourism, and we’re proud to partner with them to shine a light on the great state of Indiana.”

The announcement came as the WWE prepared to host its Raw event Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Indianapolis has hosted several live WWE events dating to the early 1990s, most recently the 2023 Fastlane premium live event at Gainbridge Fieldhouse that drew a crowd of more than 14,500 and featured Pat McAfee teasing the crowd that Indianapolis “deserved a WrestleMania.” This deal was already well in the works at the time of that show.

WrestleMania, the two-day flagship event of WWE, will likely provide a major tourism boost for central Indiana.

The 1992 show in Indianapolis, a one-day affair featuring headliners Sid Justice, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Randy Savage, drew 62,167 people to the Hoosier Dome. WrestleMania became a two-day event starting in 2020.

According to SportsTravel Magazine, an industry trade publication, WrestleMania alone injects about $200 million annually into the economy of its host city and draws crowds of 120,000 to 150,000 people, a mix of local traffic and visitors. The economic impact figure includes the event itself as well as numerous ancillary wrestling shows that often to take place across the city in connection to—but independent from—WWE’s event.

WrestleMania, which is generally held in early to mid-April, has taken place outside the Midwest for more than 15 years, with the last such event in the region in Detroit in 2007. The 2025 shows are set for Las Vegas, with expectations of drawing as many as 180,000 visitors.

But hosting the event is a costly endeavor as well, with some economists pegging the price tag for host cities at about $20 million, with most of the cost tied to added security and road controls, discounts on stadium rentals and other spaces, and tax or financial incentives offered to entice WWE to select the city as a host.

Talty said discussions are still under way about who will foot the costs for the event, including the role Indiana Sports Corp. and other organizations may have in fundraising efforts.