Indianapolis men bought an abandoned baseball stadium for just $1 — and turned it into luxury apartments

Historic Bush Stadium once hosted the Indianapolis Indians and was used as a dirt track and even a car storage facility — before being converted into the luxurious Stadium Lofts complex, which now rents units for $900 to $1,700 a month.

Michael Cox, John Watson and their two sons turned the former baseball stadium into 138 residential apartments for $13.8 million after purchasing the property for just $1. Core Redevelopment, an Indianapolis-based developer, led the conversion.

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“Our biggest concern when we started this project was, ‘Who’s going to show up and rent it?’ There weren’t many houses in the neighborhood. There wasn’t a lot of economic activity,” Watson said. Make It From CNBC.

“We were pioneers when we undertook this project, so we were concerned about its success and underwrote it conservatively.”

Renovations began in August 2011 and took less than two years to complete. When Stadium Lofts officially opened in July 2013, all apartments had already been rented.

A surprising plan to revitalize a historic building

In 2011, Watson was chairman of the board of Indiana Landmarks, a historic preservation nonprofit, when he was asked to brainstorm ideas for saving the abandoned Bush Stadium, which had stood since 1931, from demolition.

Watson says he and other members of the organization considered revitalizing the space again for football and baseball — but that plan fell through due to a lack of funding. Their other idea was convert the stadium in residential apartments.

“Cities often give properties to nonprofits,” Watson said. “That’s what happened here.”

Indianapolis deeded the property to Indiana Landmarks for $10 and the organization then sold it to Cox, Watson and their two children for $1.

“Initially, people thought we were crazy for wanting to turn an abandoned baseball stadium into apartments,” Cox, director of Core Redevelopment, told Make It.

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The stadium cost almost US$14 million to renovate

The developer group originally budgeted $14 million for conversion costs and ended up spending about $13.8 million. Cox, Watson and each of their children shelled out $1 million, took out a $6.5 million mortgage and received $5.3 million in grants from the city of Indianapolis.

Many states and cities across the country provide grants and tax credits to developers working on projects designed to preserve and reuse historic buildings. For example, the state of Indiana offers a matching grant program for the rehabilitation of historic properties that will generate income (such as apartment complexes) or that are owned and used by a nonprofit organization or corporation.

Stadium Lofts has 95 one-bedroom apartments, 26 two-bedroom apartments and 17 lofts. Each apartment has an in-unit washer and dryer, and rent ranges from $900 to $1,700 per month — the average rent in Indianapolis is $1,195 per month, according to RentCafé.

Core Redevelopment also built 144 additional apartments outside the stadium in four adjacent buildings, which was part of the agreement with the city to take over the project.

The addition, called Stadium Flats, was completed in 2014, cost about $13 million to build, and apartment rents range from $1,067 to $1,470 per month.

Although many investors across America are undertaking such projects to address neglected property and high demand for housing — it is also important to consider the original historical features of these buildings.

Stadium Lofts is unique for its wire balconies, exposed concrete floors and, of course, the original baseball field, which has been kept intact. Watson and Cox still maintained the scoreboard, old box office and press box, and residents get a glimpse of the past with photos of the old stadium hanging in the complex’s gym.

“We designed it so that when you walk in, you feel like you’re walking into a historic stadium rather than an apartment building,” Watson said.

Developers say the project has garnered a lot of interest from Indianapolis residents.

“Almost everyone has been here to watch a baseball game at some point in their lives, so the connections were deep and people couldn’t wait to participate in the project,” Watson said.

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