$150 mil downtown development breaks ground

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - After three years of planning, a $150 million development is under way downtown. Whether you ever go there or not, it could impact you

It will sit in the shadow of downtown Indianapolis, just across the street from the Eli Lilly and Co. corporate campus. CityWay, once called North of South, is a development for living, working and playing.

What's in it for you? The developer, Brad Chambers, CEO of the Buckingham Companies said it'll put a lot of people to work.

"We are creating thousands of jobs and will help to attract and retain the highly experienced and qualified employees Indianapolis must have to compete in the global work force," Chambers said.

CityWay will include more than 300 high-end apartments, 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, a 157-room business hotel and a big new branch of the YMCA.

Nearby business owners Kathy and Gerry Abel see a potential benefit.

"Hopefully it will bring work and business and people into the city and bring money with them too," Gerry said.

In fact, the city claims CityWay will generate $350 million, 2800 jobs, both temporary and permanent, and pump nearly $1.7 million into city tax coffers in the first five years. But the city is on the hook for $86 million it will loan to developers by selling bonds.

Barbara Malone, one of the City-County Council members who negotiated the financial part of the deal, said the risk is worth the potential gain in jobs and new business. She also said the developer does have dollars on the line too.

"I believe he has $7 million at risk, so if it goes down the tubes, he's the first one to go," Malone said.

CityWay should take about two years to build. All of this comes during a very slow economy and in a downtown environment that saw Nordstrom pull out of Circle Center Mall this past Sunday.