Content area
Full Text
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis plans to begin tearing down a nearby apartment building this month and is starting to explore options for the site that could include an outdoor attraction.
Museum entity TRex Enterprises LLC purchased both The Drake and The Whitestone to the north of the museum in October 2012 from Indianapolis-based Zender Family Limited Partnership for $ million each.
The vacant Whitestone at 3140 N. Meridian St. will be demolished while the occupied and more architecturally significant Drake, south of the Whitestone, will continue operating as apartments, said Brian Statz, the museum's vice president of operations and general counsel.
The museum is considering some sort of outdoor attraction or exhibit for the Whitestone lot, sources told IBJ. But Statz said nothing has been finalized.
"We intend to make a productive use of the property," he said, "but the plans for that are not yet definite."
The Children's Museum has a policy that calls for funding to be in place before construction on a project can even begin, and there's no fundraising effort under way for, Statz noted. But the museum is on strong financial footing, thanks to a $275 million endowment.
Neighbors such as the Indiana division of the Salvation...