INDIANAPOLIS — Plans to redevelop the P.R. Mallory factor on East Washington have been put on hold due to unforeseen redevelopment costs. In October, officials announced that Purdue University had selected the building for Purdue Polytechnic, a charter school focused on STEM and related fields for low income and minority students.
Part of the Englewood revitalization efforts near Rural and East Washington streets, it was hoped that the new school would spur further improvements in the area. However, officials have determined that extensive repairs to the exterior and interior, as well as other issues, would double the cost of revamping the building.
The P.R. Mallory building once made batteries on the property. In the business’ heyday in the 1960s, they employed over 1,000 workers; the business began declining in the 1970s and was shuttered. In early February, the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission designated the building as “historically significant.”
Purdue Polytechnic will open in the Union 525 building on the south side of downtown, and it is unclear how long they will be in that space. Officials remain open to creating a campus on the site, or finding another purpose for the property.