Downtown Indy Property to Get New Life

(photo courtesy Prince Alexander Architects)

A Pulaski County company has begun work on the redevelopment of a longstanding property in downtown Indianapolis. Good Oil Co. in Winamac plans to invest more than $17 million to transform the former Emrich’s Furniture site into food and beverage, retail and hotel space.

Demolition crews have begun the partial tear-down of the property at Morris and West streets near I-70. Prince Alexander Architects says Good Oil plans to add a 4,500-square-foot convenience store and gas station, as well as 6,000 square feet of food and beverage retail space in the first phase of the project, which is expected to be complete within six months.

Future phases of the project include a $14 million investment into a hotel and additional retail space. Specific details on the hotel were not disclosed, though the architecture firm says it could be complete within the next two years.

Prince Alexander says the site has seen several attempts over the past two decades, though previous occupants eventually left due to the high cost of needed repairs. The firm says the redeveloped site will benefit the city’s tourism industry, as well as commuters from Eli Lilly and Co.’s (NYSE: LLY) tech campus, IUPUI and downtown Indy.