How a former grocery store’s freezer section will make way for race cars
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (WISH) — When Marsh closed their Brownsburg supermarket in 2017, it was one of 11 stores that Kroger bought. It is also one of five stores that Kroger decided not to keep open.
“Brownsburg is a racing community and we are excited to be a part of it,” said Jody Sturtz of HMD Motorsports racing team.
The old freezer section of the Marsh store will make way for race cars. HMD Motorsports in Brownsburg has bought the old Marsh building for the teams’ new headquarters.
The 65,000 square foot building sits almost right in the middle of downtown Brownsburg.
“Now we are at a point where we don’t have room for the cars themselves let alone to work on them and work on our equipment, store everything so we really needed a bigger better space,” Sturtz said.
In May, I-Team 8 showed you several vacant Marsh properties that sat after the grocer went bankrupt.
Traders Point church bought the Marsh property at the corner of Broad Ripple Avenue and Keystone to expanded their ministry. Academy Sports bought the Marsh store in Westfield and are currently converting the space for youth sports programs.
Earlier this week, Keith Stark, Founder and CEO of ConsortiumCRE, announced that McAlister deli is taking over space in the Greenfield Marsh store. Stark told I-Team 8 that finding the right company to take over these buildings is not as easy as it might seem.
“The economics are much more complicated than anyone on the outside, well why don’t you fill that space, why don’t you just put somebody in there, it is like the cost to do that, first of all I’m underwater with just the taxes, mowing the lawn and things of that nature I’m in a negative cash flow situation and you want me to do what, open up the building and turn on the , some of the utility bills for a building like can be thousands of dollars a week” Stark said.
When Kroger took over the Brownsburg Marsh store, the company leased the property for ten years. HMD Motorsports has bought the property outright, and contractors have already started on the improvements.
“It was in fairly good condition and since it is a warehouse space it is pretty easy to grow into, we are planning on doing a big lobby, storage and offices so there is still a lot to do in it the space is good, it is like a blank slate,” Sturtz said.
In the next couple of months expect to see much faster cars coming in and out of the parking lot. HMD Motorsports plans to have their entire operation moved into the property by mid-summer.