News Story

Construction crews are ahead of schedule on downtown's Indiana Convention Center expansion, the state's first Signia by Hilton hotel and another Georgia Street remix.

Why it matters: Even before completion, city leaders say, the development has helped the region's surging hospitality and tourism industry secure new events while providing momentum to a post-pandemic initiative aimed at strengthening Indianapolis' urban core.

The latest: The elevator shaft had been completed past the 25th floor of the 38-story Signia by Hilton, and CIB executive director Andy Mallon tells Axios the glass panels wrapping what will become Indy's tallest hotel should reach the 18th floor this week.

• Meanwhile, crews have started work on the second floor of the ICC expansion, crafting the space that will become the new Grand Ballroom.
• The plan to transform the west block of Georgia Street into a park-like setting and permanently close it to vehicular traffic from Illinois to Capitol is making progress and should be open in time for the NCAA Men's Final Four in April 2026.

What they're saying: "It's almost $1.5 billion in investment in new projects just in that three blocks of Georgia Street alone," Mallon said. "It'll add 800 rooms of inventory to downtown, which is absolutely necessary."

• Mallon added the extra space will allow Indianapolis to host what he calls two "citywides," as in citywide conventions or events that sell out simultaneously downtown.

State of play: Mallon said with the support of agreeable weather, crews are firmly en route to an anticipated completion date of late 2026 for the exterior hotel and convention center work.

• "The last floor of concrete will be poured probably in September, roof on in September or October. … And then dried in, we'll have everything sort of weathertight hopefully around Christmas," he said.

Yes, but: The price tag on the roughly $500 million Signia has gone up.

• "The construction market has never been hotter in the state of Indiana," Mallon said.
• All the concurrent work in the region, including projects that share contractors and construction materials, means cost increases for those parts and labor.
• As a result, the CIB has invested an additional $70 million into the project to ensure it stays on track.

Reality check: The Hogsett administration took over the funding of the hotel in May 2023 when the original developer, Kite Realty, was unable to secure private financing.

• Mallon said most of the convention expansion is paid for through tax increment financing funds, while the cost of the hotel itself is funded through hotel revenue bonds.

Zoom in: The project also furthers the downtown resiliency strategy launched by Mayor Joe Hogsett's administration in 2022.

• The idea was to build a sturdier downtown on the other side of the pandemic through a combination of housing, recreational public space, economic development and connected infrastructure investments.

Zoom out: Department of Metropolitan Development director Megan Vukusich said this development — along with projects like the Elanco World Animal Health HQ and the Cole Motor Campus — represents the heart of that effort.

• "It's really exciting to be now in 2025 and seeing the results of those efforts that began a few years ago. The Signia is a really good physical representation of the progress that's being made."

Go deeper: Convention Center expansion attracts attention — and cash

• Indianapolis is a hot market for hotel projects