Groundbreaking for 40-story hotel and Indiana Convention Center expansion

Indianapolis, Indiana – Downtown Indianapolis is receiving more orange barrels.

The Indiana Convention Center Expansion and a 40-story Signia by Hilton Hotel are both under construction.

Dozens of people attended the groundbreaking celebration on Tuesday in the area around the Indiana Convention Center.

“Restaurants, a spa, and more room to grow. All this is connected to the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium. I’m very excited,” the Executive Director of the Capital Improvement Board, Andy Mallon, said.

According to officials, the extension will contain a sizable ballroom and additional event space to accommodate two simultaneous citywide conventions.

The new area will be connected to the current structure via a skywalk.

With its 800 rooms and 40 stories, the hotel will change the city’s skyline by becoming its highest building.

At the intersection of Capitol Avenue and Georgia Street, next to the Pan Am Tower, it will be constructed.

According to local leaders, the modifications will bring more significant events to the city.

“We need to keep growing our ability to welcome larger and larger events. We can’t afford to wait until some of those big names choose somewhere else to meet because we couldn’t accommodate them,” the president of the Indianapolis City-County Council, Vop Osili, said.

According to Mallon, it will boost the economy without costing taxpayers anything.

“There’s a whole litany of investment that the city has put in to make that convention space possible and to help pay for that,” Mallon said. “We have an amazing downtown that we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars just on this project alone, but over the course of the next five years, nine billion dollars in investment to improve downtown.”

“What we can do and have become skilled at doing is building public-private partnerships that drive responsible development from which our entire community benefits,” Osili said.

Sean Lothridge, a co-owner of the Slippery Noodle Inn, says he’s anticipating the expansion.

“Anytime the city does any expansion to the convention center, hotel, or landscape is great for our business. We love it. They’ve done a nice job with big conventions like Gen Con and NFL Combine, firefighters, all these great conventions that bring a lot of business to the Slippery Noodle,” Lothridge said.

Construction is expected to be completed by the summer of 2026.