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Mansur Gives Preliminary Talk On Speed Zone
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Approximately 50 people turned out to hear Speed Zone plans from Mansur
President Chuck Caagan.
Photo by Jay Thompson |
(posted Feb 5)
Mansur Real Estate Services President Chuck Caagan's redevelopment experience
was put to the test by the questions asked by the Old City Speedway Neighborhood
Association members. The residents inquired about displacements, time lines
and tearing down Main Street at their February 4 meeting.
Mansur was selected by the Speedway Redevelopment Commission to serve as
the Speed Zone master developer with the help of Greenstreet Development,
known for redeveloping Stapleton Airport into a mixed use of retail and
commercial.
Caagan said the demographics and neighborhood stability were an influencing
factor to be involved with in the project. The company is expected to use
its own equity in addition to finding other private/public partnerships
for funding. The 26-year-old company has been involved in over a billion
dollars worth of redevelopment projects across the Midwest. Some of the
redevelopment projects Mansur was involved with included Lockerbie Commons,
Janus Loft Apartments, Farm Bureau building, Douglass Pointe, and Fall
Creek Place.
Although Caagan addressed the concerns about stalled projects such as
Cabela's in Greenwood and Gramercy in Carmel, the audience did not seemed
to be concerned about the economy as they are about saving the historic
buildings. Not using the word recession, he said there were issues trickling
across the US that are slowing or stalling development and redevelopment
projects. "There are going to be some issues with redevelopment and
development," he said.
He contended tighter lending policies are tools to weed out the bad projects
while the average or marginal projects may happen. The good projects will go
forward and have an easier time to attract equity if the homework is done
right. He said developers usually "get one really good chance"
to make a presentation because investors hate to see reintroductions of
the project over and over again.
Marilyn Conner did not like idea that the Master Plan shows that Main
Street 's buildings are filled with steel and glass instead of preserving
the buildings. Don Katterhenry said he did not want to see some of the
1926 buildings go.
Caagan said one of the reasons that Speedway Redevelopment Commission hired
them is for the possibility to not throw out what can be reused. He said
they have been involved in 22 historic renovations. He also said some buildings
are "problematic" because they were built in the post Depression
era and weren't built well. Some of the older buildings will
not size up to meet today's pad sizes and uses. "The economics are
not there from our perspective to replicate the original building,"
he said.
As far as a time line for the ten year plan, Caagan expects to see realignment
of 16th Street to be first on the list to happen in 2008.
Speedway Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Scott Harris said
that 40 percent of 16th Street's design engineering study will be completed
in the next six weeks. Harris also said Indianapolis Motor Speedway will
be responsible for developing its vacant land where American Art Clay,
Steak "N Shake, and the Motor Classic Inn once stood. He said the
SRC has had to push the IMS, but they are involved.
Harris said the Speed Zone expansion plans to take in 10th Street to Lynhurst
Drive are still on the board. The reason the public hearing did not happen
February 12 was due to a delay with the "findings", but he expects
to receive those later in the week. He said the commission is ready
to send out the legal notifications to real estate owners.
Liz Glover, owner of Charlie Brown's Pancake and Steak House, said she has been in business for 32 years in Speedway and wants to stay in business a little while longer. She contended the no smoking ordinance has already hurt her business and she was worried about needing to relocate because her building would not be worth saving. Her concerns were how to survive in the interim.
"The plan I am familiar with says the building is going to stay, and
we are not looking at any different," Caagan said.
"The SRC said very clearly to us that they want essentially the home
grown businesses that are there, that already have a great following, stay
there." He called home grown businesses the bread and butter of what
this plan is all about. It makes a better plan to attract national and
regional groups to join the homegrown businesses on Main Street rather
than to "scrape everything."
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