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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Riley Towers
Riley Towers are three residential high-rise apartment buildings in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Riley Towers were conceived as part of an expansive urban renewal project known as Project H. The complex was constructed between 1962 and 1963. Towers I and II have 30 floors and Tower III has 16 floors. Riley Towers I and II are the tallest residential buildings in the state of Indiana. The towers are distinctive for their cantilevered corner balconies.

The complex is owned and managed by Indianapolis-based Barrett & Stokely, Inc., which purchased the property in 1993. Amenities include a three-level parking garage; a private outdoor swimming pool, lounge, and grilling area; a fitness center; and ground-level retail. An open-air skyway spans E. North St., connecting Tower I to the complex's parking structure.

The complex is named for famed poet James Whitcomb Riley, whose museum home stands in the nearby Lockerbie Square Historic District.

History

Under director Calvin S. Hamilton, the Metropolitan Planning Department prepared a downtown master plan in 1958, which recommended the clearance of "declining" properties in the district for redevelopment. Among the first city-supported urban renewal projects, Project H covered 42 acres (17 ha) in the northeast quadrant of downtown Indianapolis. In 1961, local investors formed the Riley Center Corporation and announced plans to build a four-phased, $40 million "apartment city" consisting of ten high-rises containing more than 1,800 units. Perkins and Will was hired to design the complex.

Beginning in 1962, Phase I included the redevelopment of 4 acres (1.6 ha) bordered by Hudson St. (west); N. Alabama St. (east); Fort Wayne Ave. and E. St. Clair St. (north); and E. Michigan St. (south). Plans included the construction of two 30-story buildings and a third 16-story building containing 500 apartment units, a parking garage, and a restaurant building. However, a year after construction, the complex remained only 50 percent leased forcing the cancellation of future phases. Some 11 acres (4.5 ha) from Project H were later developed in the early-1980s as a low-rise condominium community called Renaissance Place.

Boston-based Windsor Property Group and local developer Joseph F. Sexton entered into a partnership to purchase the complex in 1987 with plans for a $6.5 million renovation. Renovations began in March 1988. Soon after, complaints of mismanagement by residents and maintenance staff, coupled with financial problems, stalled the project. Unable to complete the renovations, the partnership defaulted on a loan from Bank of New England whose assets were seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In December 1992, ownership was transferred to lender Fleet-Norstar Financial Group, which held a $23.5 million mortgage on the complex.

The FDIC sold the complex to local real estate management company Barrett & Stokely in September 1993 for $10 million. Over the following year, the company completed $3.5 million in renovations, including those that stalled under the previous ownership. Among the changes were new roofs, HVAC and security systems, and repair of the towers' brick and mortar veneer. The restaurant building was also converted into a leasing office, fitness center, and community meeting room.

On the evening of January 15, 1992, two decorative spires from atop Tower II collapsed onto Alabama St., striking an unoccupied vehicle. No injuries were reported.

In August 2010, the complex's original 450-space parking garage was demolished and rebuilt for $6 million.

All three buildings continued to have sporadic water infiltration problems as they aged. In 2021, the outer layer of bricks on the façade of the 16-story Tower III was replaced with new bricks with an air membrane being placed between the bricks and the layer of block in the walls. The new bricks are custom made to be as close a match as possible to the original ones. The successful completion of work on that building led the owners to obtain approval from the Metropolitan Development Commission Regional Center hearing examiner to undertake the same repairs on the Towers I and II in August 2022. Work is expected to be completed by June 2023.

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. ^ Key, Peter (February 14, 1993). "A steal at $10 million". The Indianapolis Star. pp. 123–124. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. The three towers, which were originally dubbed the James Whitcomb Riley Center, cost $10.5 million when they opened in 1963.
  2. ^ Koenig, Bill (December 22, 1992). "Lender takes over Riley towers". The Indianapolis Star. p. E4. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Riley Towers Limited Partnership, which had owned the Downtown high-rise apartments, turned over ownership to Fleet-Norstar Financial Group Inc. of Providence, R.I., Friday. Fleet-Norstar held a $23.5 million mortgage on the apartments.
  3. ^ "Really, It's Riley". The Indianapolis News. November 28, 1962. p. 20. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. The full height of the twins will be reached December 8. The buildings will be enclosed and heated by January 1, finished by May 1 and occupancy begun by that date. ... It all was started last May.
  4. ^ "Riley Towers I". Emporis. STR Germany GmbH. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "Riley Towers III". Emporis. STR Germany GmbH. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  6. ^ "Flashback". The Indianapolis Star. December 7, 2002. p. B5. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Indiana's tallest residential building consists of 524 units in three buildings on the west side of 500 and 600 blocks of North Alabama Street.
  7. ^ Glass, James A. (February 2021). "Riley Towers". Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis. Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "Today's Pictures". The Indianapolis Star. February 25, 1963. p. 34. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Besides providing plateaus from which Indianapolis can be seen, the balconies form an interesting pattern of their own.
  9. ^ Higgins, Will (September 23, 1993). "New Riley Towers owners plan fixup". The Indianapolis News. p. B6. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Barrett & Stokely, the Indianapolis real estate management company that bought the Riley Towers apartment complex for $10 million Wednesday, said it will spend $3.5 million sprucing up the place and making it more secure.
  10. ^ "A New Horizon for Indianapolis... Riley Center Apartments". The Indianapolis Star (advertising supplement). May 19, 1963. p. 195. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Riley means James Whitcomb Riley. The James Whitcomb Riley Center is named for the Hoosier Poet and a time when downtown Indianapolis was a gracious spot, a place to enjoy, good to live in.
  11. ^ Wilkinson, Ernest A. (November 8, 1981). "Renaissance Place condos opening downtown today". The Indianapolis Star. p. 44. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. His firm paid the Metropolitan Development Commission about $2,000 an acre for the 11 acres at Renaissance Place.
  12. ^ Hassell, Greg (February 27, 1989). "New team for Riley towers". The Indianapolis News. p. C4. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. The Sexton Co. had managed Riley since 1987, when it bought the buildings along with majority-owner Windsor Property Group of Boston. The towers are still in the process of a $6.5 million renovation. ... 'Until the time Riley towers were bought out, we were very happy,' said former resident Shawn Thorn. 'That is when we started experiencing problems.' ... The buildings' maintenance staff complained that they were fired recently without advanced warning.
  13. ^ "Riley Towers work starts". The Indianapolis News. March 10, 1988. p. D5. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Renovations are under way at Riley Towers, downtown Indianapolis' largest apartment complex.
  14. ^ Drawbaugh, Kevin A. (July 8, 1988). "Steep rent hike at Riley Towers has many upset". The Indianapolis News. p. B6. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Several residents content the apartment's management has been insensitive in passing along the sharp rent hikes.
  15. ^ Key, Peter (September 4, 1994). "Downtown high-rise undergoes a rebirth". The Indianapolis Star. pp. H1 – H2. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Major work included giving the buildings new roofs and heating and air-conditioning systems and repairing the bricks and mortar on the towers' walls. ... The first story will have the leasing office and a security command post, where guards will be able to study 23 monitors from cameras around the property and parking garage. On the second story, will be a health club and Riley Room, a meeting room that will have a kitchen and seat about 100.
  16. ^ "Atennae blown from Riley Towers". The Indianapolis News. January 16, 1992. pp. A5. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Indianapolis police barricaded streets around Riley Towers overnight after two decorative 40-foot antennae on the top of a 30-story apartment tower fell and struck a car on Alabama Street.
  17. ^ Swiatek, Jeff (May 10, 2010). "Riley Towers garage will be razed in August". The Indianapolis Star. p. A8. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Owners of Riley Towers apartments Downtown will start demolition in August of its 450-space parking garage. The 48-year-old steel-and-concrete garage is deteriorated and will be rebuilt for $6 million with the same number of spaces, said Andrew Stokely, vice president of Barrett & Stokely Inc.
  18. ^ Shuey, Mickey. "Riley Towers owner replacing every brick as part of $7M project". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  19. ^ Kukec, Anna Marie (December 2, 2002). "O'Bannons could bunk in guest house or at Fort Ben". The Indianapolis Star. p. B5. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. However, former Gov. Otis Bowen lived in a penthouse at Riley Towers for two years before the state bought the Meridian Street home in 1975.
  20. ^ Cavin, Curt (January 17, 2016). "New Zealander Dixon now Hoosier at heart and home". The Indianapolis Star. p. C2. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. In 1999, Scott moved to Riley Towers, a high-rise apartment building five blocks west of what has become trendy Mass Ave.
  21. ^ Patrick, Corbin (December 16, 1971). "New Dinner Theater To Open". The Indianapolis Star. p. 68. Retrieved May 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb also keeps his official residence at the Riley Towers now.
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