INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) announced official ownership of the Drake located at 3060 N. Meridian St. has passed to the City. As part of the acquisition of the historic building, DMD plans to begin a redevelopment process focused on affordable housing.
DMD paid $1,015,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to purchase the site from The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. In addition to gaining possession of the Drake, the purchase also resolves the lawsuit between the City and The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
In line with the City’s priority to develop housing along transit corridors, the City will release a Request for Proposals for the Drake to restore the historic apartments into a majority affordable housing development. The Children’s Museum, along with other community stakeholders, will participate in the City’s development process and sit on the review committee during the search for a development partner.
Constructed between 1928 and 1929, the Drake is an eight-story, late Tudor Revival apartment building located mid-block on North Meridian St. between E. 30th Street and E. 32nd St. The Drake opened nearly 100 years ago as a luxury, 26-unit apartment building that became vacant in 2016. The Drake was designated as an Indianapolis Historic Landmark by the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission in 2019, which placed it on the Marion County Register of Historic Properties.
