A rendering of the Riverside Education Innovation District at the former Larue Carter Hospital property in Indianapolis. (Image provided by Marian University)
Marian University has begun renovation of the former Veterans Administration hospital property in Indianapolis, part of a planned $137 million investment from the school on the near- northwest side of Indianapolis.
The project in the recently formed Riverside Education Innovation District centers on the renovation of the Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital, 2601 Cold Spring Road, which closed in 2020. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett were expected to attend a construction kickoff event Wednesday.
Marian University-affiliated Cold Springs Innovation Corp. is helming the effort, which largely involves the transformation of the property into a neighborhood hub offering educational programming and workforce resources. The development also calls for the programs focused on literacy, community education, early-childhood education and development.
“The data is clear. Increasing educational attainment provides the talent needed to attract investment, opportunity and advance the dignity of everyone in a community,” Marian University President Daniel Elsener said in written remarks. “Marian University is proud to walk alongside our neighbors to improve the well-being of this historically rich and beautiful Near Northwest [neighborhood].”
IBJ reported on the private, Catholic university’s plans for the campus at 2601 Cold Springs Road in May, after Cold Springs Innovation Corp. filed a rezoning request with the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development.
Specific plans for the renovated property consist of creating educational spaces for Marian University and other partners, as well as a career and technical education space for Vincennes University within the campus’ 69,000-square-foot primary structure. Marian also hopes to partner with St. Mary's Early Childhood Center to increase availability of early-childhood education opportunities, Elsener said.
Already, $38.5 million in public and private support for the project has been committed, including through a $25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. and $1 million from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
Most of the facilities on the campus were originally developed between 1930 and 1951 using the Colonial Revival and Classical Revival styles, according to its registration form for the National Register of Historic Places. The property assumed the name of the Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital when the downtown hospital of the same name closed in the mid-1990s and the patients were moved to the complex on Cold Spring Road.
Some additional buildings are expected to be repurposed, while others on the 22.3-acre site will be demolished.
“Once completed, this will not only revitalize a long-vacant property, but it will also bring a new sense of possibility to the near-northwest side of Indianapolis,” Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a written statement. “In providing educational opportunities for a variety of age groups, including giving crucial support to drive student literacy, this investment uplifts both the lives of students and the surrounding neighborhood.”
Marian University, through its development corporation, acquired the site in 2024 from the Indiana Finance Authority. The hospital closed in 2020 when the state’s Family and Social Services Administration opted for a new approach to mental health treatment.
IBJ reported in 2019 that Marian was interested in taking over the hospital site with hopes of redeveloping the area as an extension of its campus.
The university has sought to grow its campus and presence in Indianapolis over the past 15 years, including northward expansion toward Interstate 65 and the addition of new programs and buildings. The campus is about 120 acres overall, and the school has about 3,800 students.
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