Long-awaited InterContinental Hotel yet to set opening date in Indy
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The opening date for the long-awaited InterContinental Hotel in downtown Indianapolis remains a moving target, with work on the interior of the property continuing to pick up the pace.
Indianapolis-based Keystone Group has been working on the 170-room hotel, a $101 million adaptive reuse of the historic Illinois Building at 17 W. Market St., since 2018.
Keystone Group spokesperson Alexandra Miller said “a specific date for opening has not been determined yet.” Marketing materials for the hotel indicate a wintertime opening, and the room booking system on the InterContinental website allows patrons to reserve rooms starting on March 1.
Miller, the company’s senior director of communications and public relations, did not immediately respond to follow-up questions on the matter, including whether a specific period during wintertime had been pinned down for the opening and what led to the most recent delays. IBJ reported earlier this year that the developer hoped to open the hotel by fall 2024.
Most of the construction equipment surrounding the Illinois building has been moved from the property, including dumpsters and fencing that blocked a portion of the sidewalk and roadway on Market Street. In early December, staff was completing extensive interior work, including installation of furniture and fixtures throughout the property and its rooms.
The InterContinental is expected to be a luxury offering for downtown, generally targeting business executives, as well as smaller high-end weddings, fundraisers and social events.. The starting room rate listed on the hotel website for the first week of March is $384 per night for weekend dates and $290 for certain weekdays.
The InterContinental brand was founded in 1946 and is generally considered the world’s first international luxury hotel brand—and among the swankiest. There are about 240 Intercontinental Hotels in more than 60 countries, but only 34 in North America. The nearest is in Chicago.
Indianapolis only has a handful of properties that are considered luxury class, the same category as the InterContinental brand. Those include the Ironworks and Bottleworks hotels from Hendricks Commercial Properties, the JW Marriott and the Conrad. When it is completed, the Signia by Hilton hotel at Pan Am Plaza will also be in that class.
The InterContinental hotel is expected to feature two restaurants, including a 200-seat rooftop restaurant and cocktail lounge known as the Astrea that will offer views of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument through a mix of indoor and outdoor seating. The other restaurant, Serliana Cafe, will be on the second floor and offer smaller food portions and a more lounge-like environment. Longtime local chef Craig Baker was hired earlier this year to lead the kitchen as executive chef.
When the hotel opens, it will be more than six years after Keystone first proposed conversion of the former office building. It will also come after years of starts and stops related to the pandemic as well as the company’s efforts to maintain the building’s historic significance.
Work on the hotel was originally set to start in late 2018, after the developer in late 2018 inked its deal with United Kingdom-based InterContinental Hotels Group (known as IHG).
But the start was delayed as the company worked with the city to finalize its incentive package, which included tax-increment funding for both the hotel and an $80 million conversion of the AT&T building at 220 North Meridian St. to apartments. Keystone also sought a designation that would allow for the use of redevelopment investment tax credits for the project.
Together, the projects were originally expected to cost $141 million, with $16.7 million contributed by the city. But the price of renovating the Illinois Building jumped as Keystone has sought to deliver what it expects will be the city’s most high-end hotel—and as prices increased during the construction delays. Most of the renovations to the property have taken place since 2022.
Built in 1925, the building is one of several on or near Monument Circle designed by Rubush & Hunter, one of the city’s top architectural firms in the early 20th century. Other prominent Rubush & Hunter buildings include the Columbia Club and the Circle Tower.