A Shinola hotel, music venue may replace the old CSX warehouse in downtown Indianapolis

A $300 million development project will house an upscale Shinola hotel and 4,000-seat live entertainment venue at the long-blighted corner of Pennsylvania and Georgia Streets in downtown Indianapolis.

Boxcar Development LLC, an investment group led by Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon and the rest of the Simon family, submitted the preliminary proposal to demolish and redevelop the vacant CSX building at 230 S. Pennsylvania St., a former railroad servicing warehouse.

The development would be only the second luxury Shinola hotel brand.

Boxcar has already signed a letter of intent for a 13-story, 170-room hotel and a Shinola retail store with brand owner Bedrock Manufacturing and Sage Hospitality Group, which operates the original Shinola hotel in Detroit.

"Shinola brings an upscale vibe that is both retro and modern at the same time," Phil Bayt, an Ice Miller LLP attorney who represents Boxcar, told IndyStar. "It will be a unique blend of bringing the interest in a consumer product into a hotel."

Indianapolis-based Ratio Architects will lead the hotel design.

Developers considered a second tower designated for apartments, Bayt said, but Live Nation expressed interest in a downtown live music center, and Boxcar decided to go in a different direction. Bayt said the plans for apartments were never finalized.

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Boxcar is finalizing details on an agreement for the 4,000-seat music venue with Live Nation, a news release from the investment group said. Populus, the company that designed the Las Vegas Sphere, will design the venue.

Designers will construct the project to be "complimentary to and reminiscent of the historic Warehouse District in which much of the project will sit," the release said.

The development will incorporate retail space on the ground floor, a two-floor parking garage and a pedestrian skybridge over Pennsylvania Street to connect to Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

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Since the project is located within the Wholesale District, the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission must approve proposals. The plan will be available for public review in late July and go before the commission Aug. 7.

If approved, demolition of the CSX building would begin near the end of 2024 with construction wrapping up in 2027, the release said.

Alysa Guffey covers retail growth and development for IndyStar. Contact her at amguffey@gannett.com.