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Commissioners approve waiver and disclaimer for historic synagogue property at 3359 N. Ruckle St.
Summary
The Marion County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution disclaiming county interest in Parcel 1096461 (3359 North Ruckle Street) and waived a $45,000 additional payment required by the original 2013 project agreement, clearing the way for Indiana Landmarks to market or sell the property.
The Marion County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to adopt Resolution 2025-01, disclaiming the county's interest in Parcel 1096461 (listed as 3359 North Ruckle Street) and waiving a $45,000 additional payment required by a 2013 project agreement.
The action resolves conditions recorded when the county transferred the property to Indiana Landmarks after tax forfeiture. County staff presented the request and said the waiver and a recorded acknowledgment that the project agreement is complete would allow Indiana Landmarks to clear title and seek an end user for the building.
Indiana Landmarks representative Mark Delosse told commissioners the building—originally constructed in 1924–25 as a synagogue and described in the presentation as the oldest extant Jewish synagogue in Indianapolis—has been the subject of multiple redevelopment efforts since 2013. Delosse summarized the nonprofit's investments and efforts: a $5,000 initial payment toward a $50,000 agreed acquisition cost, approximately $559,037.93 in total expenditures on the property (including capital improvements, asbestos remediation and insurance), $14,630.44 in property taxes paid to Marion County between 2014 and 2025, and $285,670 in donations toward the work. He said the organization’s net investment in the property is $273,367.93 and that Indiana Landmarks requests the waiver to make the property marketable to an end user who will complete restoration.
Delosse described several past redevelopment efforts that did not result in a finished project: an effort organized as Temple Heritage Center Inc. to create a Jewish heritage center; partnership talks with Ivy Tech to create a preservation trades training center; and a Lilly Endowment-funded study. He said Browning Day prepared architectural studies estimating roughly $2.5 million would be required for full rehabilitation. Delosse also said environmental remediation removed asbestos-containing materials and that the site received a clean bill from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for that work.
County staff summarized that the resolution would (1) disclaim the county’s interest in the parcel, (2) waive the remaining $45,000 acquisition payment recorded in the project agreement, and (3) record the project agreement as completed. Commissioner Barbara Lawrence (Marion County treasurer) called for adoption. A motion to adopt the resolution was made and seconded and commissioners voted in favor; the resolution was approved.
The property is currently zoned SU (special use for religious uses); Delosse said interested parties have inquired about residential reuse requiring rezoning, including single-family and multifamily concepts. Delosse said the building is approximately 12,000–14,000 square feet, has a two-story sanctuary with a mezzanine, and multiple points of egress.
The board's vote closes the county's recorded interest under the 2013 agreement and, according to staff and Indiana Landmarks, should allow prospective buyers to clear title. The resolution does not itself approve a sale or specify a buyer; those steps would follow any title clearing and marketing by Indiana Landmarks.
Commissioners did not record a separate roll-call vote listing individual commissioners’ votes in the public transcript; the meeting record shows the motion was adopted after members voted "aye."
