16 Park developer to rebuild after 'heartbreaking' fire

The developer of the $34 million 16 Park housing project said it will begin rebuilding as soon as possible after a building was destroyed by fire Friday night.

The Indianapolis Housing Agency is developing 16 Park, an 11-building project that was set to open in October along 16th Street between Central and College avenues. The blaze engulfed a four-story, 28-unit apartment building due to open this fall. Four occupied buildings in the complex were not damaged.

IHA Executive Director Bud Myers and Bruce Baird, its director of strategic planning and development, watched the building burn.

It was heartbreaking, Baird said. We put our heart and soul into the redevelopment of Caravelle Commons, so it was discouraging.

Caravelle Commons was a 65-unit, low-income housing property built in 1975. The seven-acre property had become a magnet for crime, with dead-end streets and fenced-in apartment homes surrounding crowded parking lots. But the Indianapolis Housing Agency was betting the new project would jump-start interest in the area.

IHA will begin the process of rebuilding as soon as the Indianapolis Fire Department finishes its investigation and gives the agency control of the site, Baird said.

IFD Lt. Larry Tracy said Monday morning that the probe is ongoing; he was unsure how long it might last. IFD estimated damage to the building at $3.5 million.

The destroyed building was insured, Baird said.

Four of 16 Parks 11 buildings are complete and occupied. When finished, the entire project will consist of 155 housing units.

Baird said he has no idea when the project might be completed.

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16 Park developer to rebuild after 'heartbreaking' fire