INDIANAPOLIS -- With cranes and bulldozers scattered throughout downtown, construction season is here in Indianapolis.
Local officials held a press conference on Thursday to talk about progress on the Hilton Signia Hotel, the expansion of the Indianapolis Convention Center, and other projects underway.
For the hotel, the largest concrete pour in the history of Indianapolis signifies one of the major steps being taken to put the city on the map.
“We compete daily viciously with Nashville, Austin, Orlando, Denver, New York,” said Chris Gahl, executive vice president of Visit Indy.
“This project differentiates Indianapolis because of the brand of the hotel, because of its proximity to the convention center itself, and because of the newness of the project as a whole," said Gahl.
The 800-room hotel and 6th expansion of the convention center are bringing in major conferences like Alcoholics Anonymous and the National Education Association.
Construction is expected to be complete by fall 2026.
“We feel we have the perfect amount of cranes in the air as a city to grow tourism, not too many. Some cities are overbuilding. Here in Indianapolis, we are very methodical and putting new projects online,” said Gahl.
The mayor said that it's estimated over the next 5 years, downtown will see $9 billion in investments for new infrastructure.
Currently, phase 2 of Bottleworks construction is nearing completion and the $4 billion IU Health project is well underway.
“16 Tech continues to expand, Elanco is coming out of the ground across the river in the GM stamping plant site,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett.
With transforming Circle Centre and City Market, the mayor hopes these changes will attract new people to Indianapolis.
According to Visit Indy, the anticipated phase 1 opening for Circle Centre is 2028 and City Market is expected to be complete in 2025.
All of these projects are in the process of being completed while the city bids for a new Major League Soccer team.
“If it goes through all the approval process, the addition of a soccer-specific stadium over at the heliport site, the City of Indianapolis is going to look much different than it does today,” said Hogsett.