This story was originally published Oct. 30, 2024, by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters
Plans to turn the former John Marshall school building into a hub for various services for the Far Eastside have died after the city of Indianapolis backed out of purchasing the property from Indianapolis Public Schools.
The city planned to purchase the school from IPS for $725,000 and work with a group known as the John Marshall Collaborative to help turn the roughly 340,000-square-foot campus into a hub of economic, social, and health services. The city’s ownership was meant to be short-term until the project was fully operational and could be owned by the collaborative or another community entity, the Department of Metropolitan Development said in a statement.
But the city and development team no longer wish to move forward with the “Opportunity Hub” project, citing a need for over $18 million in deferred maintenance costs that the department said would impede successful development. The city’s withdrawal leaves an uncertain future for the large facility.