Finalists Chosen for Waterside Design Competition
(Rendering courtesy of Ambrose Property Group.)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Ambrose Property Group has announced the three finalists for the Waterside Design Competition. The initiative aims to transform key components the more than 100-acre former GM Stamping Plant in downtown Indianapolis, which the real estate firm acquired in April 2018.
The design competition will kick off a 15-year, $1.4 billion redevelopment of the site. Ambrose is partnering with the Central Indiana Community Foundation and Exhibit Columbus for the competition, which will focus on the adaptive reuse of what is known as the "Crane Bay."
The Crane Bay is the former GM Chevrolet Division Commercial Body Plant on the property. The competition will address three core components: Transformation of 25,000 square feet of the Crane Bay, creation of a public plaza that will surround the Crane Bay, and a pedestrian bridge connection across the White River.
In addition to the design aspect of the competition, the teams are also being asked to consider how each component will connect to the rest of the Waterside development.
The three finalist teams include:
- Hood Design Studio (Oakland, CA) with Thomas Phifer and Partners and Arup
- SCAPE (New York, NY) with SO-IL, Guy Nordenson and Associates, James Lima Planning + Development, Art Strategies, NelsonNygaard, and Manuel Miranda Practice
- Snøhetta (New York, NY) with Moody Nolan, Arup, HR&A, Art Strategies, and Chris Wangro
The competition is being supported by a grant from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc.’s "Strengthening Indianapolis Through Arts and Cultural Innovation" initiative, announced in December.
"This is a special moment in Indianapolis and in our company’s history," said Aasif Bade, founder and president of Ambrose Property Group. "We are very excited and honored to have these talented design studios lead teams that will provide diverse and visionary directions to our ambitious redevelopment at Waterside."
The members of the finalist design teams will visit Indianapolis in June and give public presentations to describe their approach and design philosophy. The competition will culminate in October with public presentations of each team’s design concepts, from which a jury of community stakeholders and national experts will select a winner.
When Ambrose Property Group acquired the property, Senior Vice President of Development Andrew Greenwood said the project would be a "regeneration of Indianapolis." The former GM Stamping Plant is located along the White River and across from Lucas Oil Stadium.
In December, Greenwood and Ambrose Director of Marketing and Corporate Responsibility Malina Simone Jeffers appeared on a special Quality of Life Projects Town Hall edition of Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick to talk about the project. You can view the full interview below: