Indianapolis attempting to take over funding of Signia Hotel project
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The $510 million Signia Hotel project was originally supposed to be privately funded by the Kite Realty Group.
The project itself is going to be the exact same.
The 404-foot-tall, 800-room hotel is still going to be built at the corner of Capitol and Georgia downtown. The only thing that is changing is who is funding it.
The City of Indianapolis will now take on that burden.
The City of Indianapolis was told by the Kite Realty Group that it wasn’t able to secure financing in the private sector.
The city can borrow money on the bond market at lower rates, so it decided to take over the financing of the project. All profits from owning the hotel project will go to paying off the borrowed money.
I-Team 8 reached to the Kite Realty Group by phone, email, and in-person Friday afternoon to find out why they’re backing out on funding the project.
We have not gotten a response.
According to Visit Indy, the Kite Realty Group will still be responsible for developing the project, they just won’t fund it.
“There’s precedents for this type of funding model. When we look at Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale in particular where the city has taken ownership of a project, like expanding a convention center and adding a new hotel,” said Visit Indy Executive Vice President Chris Gahl.
Visit Indy told I-Team 8 the city has been studying the need for this project for over a decade. When completed, it would allow Indianapolis to host two citywide conventions at the same time.
“We know 2,500 construction jobs will be generated by this project, and 400 full-time jobs to run the hotel and convention center expansion will be added in addition to 2.6 billion dollars in economic impact realized, in the next decade alone, because of this project,” said Gahl.
The Indianapolis City-County Council still has to approve the funding for the project.
A proposal for the city to borrow $625 million for the project will be introduced next week. It will then go to the committee. If it passes, there will be a final vote on the project next month.