Apartments planned for near south side as downtown Indianapolis grows

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The old stucco building at the corner of Morris and South Meridian streets has dominated that spot in the Old Southside area for decades.

Over the years, developers have floated redevelopment ideas, but nothing stuck until recently.

Developer and president of BWI in Indianapolis, Gary Hobbs, bought the land and is preparing to break ground this fall, the design calls for street-level retail and multiple floors of apartment space.

The design, or at least suggestion for the design is in part from the people that will drive by it the most, according to Hobbs. 

“We have adopted some of the feedback from the community into our current design philosphy,” explained Hobbs.

Hobbs said the development will cater to residents not looking to live in the high-end developments downtown. He is however catering to millennials, working families and a few corporate types. 

“For the most part those millennials, those individuals that are making between 30 and 80 thousand dollars a year on average,” explained Hobbs.

The high-end apartment market in Indianapolis has been nothing short of explosive in the past couple of years, Bob Schultz of Downtown Indy Inc. told News 8. 

“It is clear that downtown is the fastest-growing neighborhood in Marion County the statistic says that and the demand for that has been so and the supply and demand have been pretty much at pace.”

“So that vacancy rate is starting to level off a little bit and so start to creep down a little bit and so we want to continue to pay attention to that,” added Schultz.

Hobbs is hoping to break ground later this year. 

There is another development for close to 300 apartments planned about a block north of Hobbs’ development. That development is expected to include retail and an extended stay hotel.