SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) – The town of Speedway is taking another step in its ongoing effort to revitalize itself.
An old motel is about to bite the dust.
It sits at 6330 Debonair Lane, just north of Crawfordsville Road near I-465.
This old Motel 6 had been an aging problem property. Not what the town of Speedway wanted at its front door says Scott Harris, Executive Director of the Speedway Redevelopment Commission.
“I think this is the gateway to the town of Speedway and it’s a very significant gateway to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” he says.
A gateway to a town that since 2009 has been remaking itself.
Main Street was the first part of the makeover project and it’s already been rebuilt. New landscaping, new restaurants, and new anchor tenants have turned it around.
It hopes for that same success at the old Motel 6 site.
“This is a high traffic intersection. Good view from 465, 74 comes in here. It’s close to downtown and close to the airport,” he says.
It’s the kind of property Harris hopes will be attractive to developers.
“We’re acquiring the property. And later this year we’re going to put out a request for proposals for development. Hope to get some in, consider our various options, and select a developer, absolutely,” he says.
Probably retail says Harris, but the town is open to ideas. Any idea he says that will help with the ultimate goal of making Speedway more than a day in May.
“We’re going to work to revitalize it and I think we’ve made a good start on Main Street and we hope to do something special out here,” says Harris.
There is another motel property right across Crawfordsville Road from the one being bulldozed, that the redevelopment commission would like to buy. But the land it sits on is owned by the city of Indianapolis. So Harris says, that will take more time and work to get a deal done.
Speak Your Mind