by Jeremy Stephenson
Our company and local investors want to share our significant opposition to Senate Bill 52.
1820 Ventures is a real estate investment and development company here in Indianapolis. We have been investing in and are planning further redevelopment and development of more than $350 million in projects in an area on the city’s Near Eastside into thriving new office, commercial, residential, and mixed-use areas. These projects include our recently finished Gathyr apartments, a $23M investment, plus a soon-to-be-redeveloped Cole Motor project, a $90M investment in a former automotive factory turned jail turned 200+ units of multi-family apartments. Additionally, we’re making significant investments in an early childhood center plus office and residential space on additional properties that our investment group controls in this area. These developments are national examples of how to think about the future of the place and higher education in an urban environment, as Ball State University is a major tenant in this area.
This entire development is located along the planned IndyGo Blue Line, connecting directly to the bus rapid transit (BRT) route. Blue Line construction will bring well over $235 million in infrastructure improvements to the Washington Street corridor, including 7 miles of street resurfacing, 9 miles of new/replaced sidewalk, 2 miles of new/refreshed crosswalks, 12 stations with bike parking, and 340+ new/replaced ADA curb ramps. While funding is coming from Marion County taxpayers who overwhelmingly approved this tax increase in 2016, much of this work is also being funded with federal tax dollars benefitting our Circle City. This project stands to bring $150 million in critical funding to our city – to upgrade and improve this important corridor.
1820 Venture’s planned $350+ million of investments is in a critical BRT corridor in our city. However, if the IndyGo Blue Line does not move forward because of SB 52 and its planned study committee, then our projected investment in the core of our state and capital city could be at risk of being fully realized. This is not a threat. It is a reality. It’s important to stress that the decisions some make now could significantly impede future economic development in our city.
As a lifelong Hoosier and developer who has developed well over $2 billion of real estate in Indianapolis and other places throughout the country, I can tell you firsthand that public investments in transit are a catalyst for neighbourhood investment. I have personally witnessed in many comparably sized cities, including Austin, Nashville and Raleigh, where walkable, amenity-oriented development and connectivity spurs investment in public transit, encouraging further development and economic activity.
I would ask lawmakers to put aside political differences to make the right decision – a decision the voters of Marion County, who will be directly affected, have already overwhelmingly approved. Don’t be myopic in the decision-making, but be wise with the reality that advancing SB 52 will forego necessary investments in needed transit infrastructure, and it will risk the future multi-million dollar investments that 1820 and many others are looking to make in our city. An investment that benefits construction jobs creates new jobs, allows for the urban transformation of neighbourhoods, and significantly increases tax revenue both at the city and state levels.
Many of you have made very wise decisions in the past to position our city to thrive in the future. Please be fully aware of this decision today and the potential to put some of those past decisions at risk of having us step backward instead of forward.
Jeremy Stephenson
Managing Partner
1820 Ventures
