Latest news with #HolladayProperties
Chicago Tribune
19-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Burns Harbor receives a lone bid for land it owns and hopes to be developed
Burns Harbor hopes to sell land it owns off Ind. 149 so it can be developed, two years after a developer withdrew from a $32 million project in partnership with the town. The Redevelopment Commission on Wednesday opened a bid from one company to buy 25 acres the town owns at Haglund Road and Ind. 149. The property is located across the road from the current Town Hall. Sloane Avenue Group and Redstone Group of Grand Rapids, Michigan, proposed to pay $25,000 for the land and to assume all costs of infrastructure, engineering, soil analysis and potential wetland mitigation. It was the only company that responded to the town's Request for Offer (RFO). Commission members didn't discuss the proposal because they wanted time to review and evaluate it. The proposal will also be reviewed by the town's consultant, Tina Rongers, and Town Attorney Clay Patton. A decision may be announced at the Redevelopment Commission's July 11 meeting. Councilwoman Roseann Bozak, who is the commission president, wouldn't release a copy of the proposal, citing that it hasn't been reviewed yet by the legal counsel. Bozak said they are looking for a mix of residential and commercial on the land, like the town intended to develop with its prior partner, Holladay Properties. 'We intend on sticking with that,' Bozak said. She wouldn't share what the Sloane Avenue Group and Redstone Group are proposing, beyond taking care of infrastructure, engineering, soil analysis and potential wetland mitigation. A BP pipeline does go through the property. The relationship between Burns Harbor and any party that buys the property will be different than the last time. 'The project will be developer-driven as opposed to a public-private partnership,' Rongers said. Burns Harbor and Holladay Properties had originally reached their agreement in 2019, but plans were then delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Holladay Properties announced in June 2023 that they couldn't go forward because of economic conditions. As a result, the town had to decline a $960,000 state grant from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI), which would have been used to install underground utilities. The town also spent money on a property master plan, Rongers said. The plan's goal was to create a new town center, which would have been anchored by a 22,800-square-foot town hall and community center. Another key amenity was that a section of the Marquette Greenway trail would be built on the property. The development also would have had 40 single-family townhouses, five multi-family luxury apartment buildings with 138 units, along with 5,800 square feet of commercial space in the ground floors of three of the apartment units. During the past two years, a 0.8-mile section of the trail has been built on the property. The Marquette Greenway, when finished by multiple communities, will eventually stretch 60 miles from Chicago to New Buffalo, Michigan. Rongers said that the property is currently zoned residential. Burns Harbor will still retain a 4-acre parcel off of Ind. 149 neighboring the 25 acres to be sold. The vacant lot, which once was the location of a community center, could be the future location for a new town hall. The town in 2018 purchased 28 acres at Haglund Road and Ind. 149 for $250,000 from the Duneland School Corporation.
Indianapolis Star
02-06-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
A new hotel on Monument Circle? Developers want to turn Art Deco tower into a Marriott
Another hotel conversion project is brewing in downtown Indianapolis — this time right on the city's focal Monument Circle. Holladay Properties, a South Bend developer, plans to spend $40 million to convert 11 floors of the historic Circle Tower at 55 Monument Circle into a 175-room AC by Marriott hotel, according to plans filed with the city's Metropolitan Development Commission. Developers are planning a rooftop terrace on the 11th floor, offering views of the city's skyline and Monument Circle. The first three floors of the tower, which has ground floor tenants such as Command Coffee and the Rocket Fizz candy store, would be left alone. Built in 1930, the Circle Tower is one of the few Art Deco buildings remaining in Indianapolis. Egyptian motifs adorn the building as a nod to the country's obsession with Egyptian history and culture in the 1920s. Holladay said in records that the company would preserve the architectural history of the building. Holladay is seeking a 10-year tax abatement from the city for the project. As part of the economic incentive package, Holladay would donate $50,000 to the Monument Circle Public Space Activation Initiative annually. With high interest rates, expensive materials and low office vacancy rates, conversion projects are picking up momentum to bring new life to dense city centers. Down the street, Holladay is converting the office tower at 130 E. Washington St. into 180 apartment units. A Holladay Properties vice president did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon. Downtown Indianapolis is experiencing a boom in hotel construction that will likely not slow down as the city's tourism industry continues to hit new records. Nearby, The InterContinental opened in the historic Illinois Building, located steps off the circle with 11th-floor terrace views, earlier this year. An Aloft Hotel recently opened at 136 E. Market St. The Circle Tower project would be one of a handful of downtown hotel projects expected to come online in the next few years. Others include:
