First Residents in the North Building
Cole Motor took its first residents in the last week of August 2026. Ten residents moved into the north building. The south building starts occupancy in November, and 1820 Ventures expects the campus finished by the end of 2026.
The project costs about $84 million and holds about 300,000 square feet across two buildings. IBJ reported both figures on 14 August 2026.
What the Campus Adds to the Housing Base
Catalyst Opportunity Funds and 1820 Ventures announced the groundbreaking on 20 March 2025 with 213 units of affordable and workforce housing and 30,000 square feet of community-oriented commercial space. The two buildings sit at 730 E. Washington St. and 752 E. Market St., one block apart.
Catalyst prices the majority of the 213 units at workforce affordable levels and deed restricts 5 percent of the units at prices affordable to households below 30 percent of the Area Median Income. IBJ recorded one-bedroom rents starting at $1,400 and two-bedroom rents starting at $2,000 in August 2026. Cole Motor told IBJ the apartments have 12-foot ceilings, oversized industrial windows and polished concrete flooring in some residences.
The rent ladder gives a hotel on Washington Street a housing reference for its staffing plan. The market-rate units sit inside the downtown rent band, and the deed-restricted units sit underneath it.
The Commercial Floor
Catalyst expects a local childcare facility to take half of the 30,000 square feet of ground-floor space. IBJ reported 13,000 square feet of retail plus separate early childhood education space on 19 March 2025, and about 30,000 square feet for retail and quasi-commercial uses on 14 August 2026. Jeremy Stephenson, managing partner at 1820 Ventures, told IBJ that three retail leases sit close to announcement and that early leasing activity "has been really strong".
The Hotels Inside the Walking Ring
These straight-line distances come from the campus position in OpenStreetMap, measured 23 September 2026. Atlas Hotel at 433 E. Washington St. sits 470 m away. La Quinta Inn & Suites at 401 E. Washington St. sits 540 m. Hotel Indy at 141 E. Washington St. sits 890 m, Aloft at 136 E. Market St. 930 m, Home2 Suites at 115 N. Pennsylvania St. 1,000 m, and Hilton Garden Inn Indianapolis Downtown 1,050 m. The Indiana Convention Center sits 1,720 m away, or 1.07 miles. Monument Circle sits 1,170 m, or 0.73 miles.
Two Delivery Dates
The north building leases now. The south building adds its units in November. IBJ reported on 14 August 2026 that the north building would be fully complete within a month and the south building finished by the end of the year. A hotel planning a seasonal staffing build gains the supply in two steps, about a quarter apart.
What to Watch
Three items date the next phase. The north building's absorption rate sets the pace for the campus. The three retail leases fill the ground floor that hotel guests walk past. The south building's November occupancy completes the 213 units.
IndyGo's Blue Line runs along Washington Street. The line runs 24 miles from Indianapolis International Airport to the Town of Cumberland, and IndyGo schedules it to open for service in 2028. Catalyst describes the campus as adjacent to a $370 million bus rapid transit route.