At a Development on Tap event in downtown Indianapolis, city officials and private developers on Tuesday unveiled Phase 1 plans to redevelop the City Market campus, including a West Plaza that would expose and interpret the historic Tomlinson Hall basement, a conversion of the Gold Building into apartments, and public-space and infrastructure upgrades intended to connect the site to the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.

"The platform has been more than just a building. It's been a hub for innovation, collaboration, and transformation," said Dr. David Hampton, executive director of LISC Indianapolis, opening the program and framing the project as honoring the site's history while turning it into a new public destination.

The plans presented call for converting the Gold Building to approximately 354 apartment units, with about 10% set aside as workforce housing; developers said construction on the Gold Building is expected to begin in March and last roughly 26 to 28 months. The redevelopment team also projected about 100 construction and permanent jobs tied to the project's phases.

"The future of downtown Indianapolis is bright and better than ever before," Mayor Joe Hogsett said, thanking the Department of Metropolitan Development and private partners for work on the proposal. City-County Council President Vop Osili described the project as "rooted in inclusivity and sustainability," noting the workforce housing percentage and public amenities as central elements.

Megan Vukovich, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development, said the selection of Gershman Partners and CityMark followed a competitive public process and framed the Phase 1 reveal as the start of a broader blockwide redevelopment that aims to link housing, market activity and street-level public space.

Meg Busch, administrator of the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission, reviewed the site's history, noting the market building dates to the late 19th century and that remnants of Tomlinson Hall — including the arch and the vaulted basement commonly called the catacombs — remain under the west plaza. The market is recorded in the Historic American Buildings Survey and has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, she said.

Eric Gershman, representing Gershman Partners, and landscape architect Chris Merritt presented renderings showing a terraced West Plaza that would "daylight" sections of the Tomlinson Hall basement through terraced gardens, overlooks and preserved interior catacomb spaces with interpretive signage. Merritt said the design is intended to preserve and showcase the brick vaults while providing flexible plaza space for markets and events and improving pedestrian connections, including a pedestrianized alley linking to the Cultural Trail.

Bill Taft, senior vice president for economic development at LISC, and other speakers framed the redevelopment as replacing an interim community-use era for the building with a more permanent mixed-use neighborhood anchor while preserving historic elements.

Speakers noted a prior philanthropic investment: Mayor Richard Lugar's earlier market restoration was supported in part by a $4,750,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment. Presenters emphasized that Phase 1 is intended to retain the site's character while introducing modern infrastructure, new public amenities and residential units.

No formal city vote or ordinance was recorded at the event; the session served as a public program and project update. Developers and city staff described the timeline and design work, but did not present final permitting milestones or binding council actions at the event.

Looking ahead, presenters said the Gold Building construction would begin in March (year not specified at the event), the West Plaza construction would proceed concurrent with other site work, and that future phases would bring an operator for the renewed City Market and additional residential development to the east side of the block.

The presentation closed with organizers offering guided tours of the catacombs and encouraging attendees to engage with the project as it moves through design and permitting.