City officials continue to meet with representatives of The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis to discuss the future of its property at 3060 N. Meridian St., the Drake apartment building.
Historic preservationists were stunned when the museum announced in July [PDF] its intention to demolish the Drake as well as the former Salvation Army headquarters immediately to the north at 3100 N. Meridian.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Children’s Museum to raze North Meridian properties
Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission (IHPC) staff prepared a draft Historic Area Preservation Plan [PDF] for the property, which includes the apartment building and garage. Citing the architectural and historic character of the structures, the plan’s stated preservation objectives sought to “Encourage adaptive reuse/redevelopment … that preserves the exterior features and not demolition.”
The IHPC passed the declaratory resolution at its Sept. 4 meeting. [PDF] By law, the resolution needs to be adopted by both the Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC) and the City-County Council. Once adopted, the plan would become part of the City’s Comprehensive Plan and limit the property owner’s ability to move forward with demolition.
After hearing from attorneys for the museum, [PDF] Department of Metropolitan Development staff requested and received a 30-day continuance of the Oct. 2 deadline. The case will be heard at the Nov. 6 MDC meeting.
