In January 2017, Mayor Joe Hogsett and the City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development released a framework plan for the former General Motors Stamping Plant site. The product of extensive stakeholder and community engagement, the framework plan is founded on the goal of sustainable redevelopment of the former GM Stamping Plant site, which yields value to the surrounding neighborhoods, the City of Indianapolis, and the region.

The framework plan was prepared in cooperation with RACER Trust to give prospective developers and investors guidance in the preparation of redevelopment plans and offers. Once offers are received, RACER will require each prospective buyer to furnish detailed information to demonstrate that its offer satisfies the six criteria described in the Settlement Agreement that created RACER Trust, including “the view of the local community.”

The framework plan reflects the view of the local community. In recent years, Indianapolis civic leaders have undertaken several significant planning and strategic initiatives, many of which identify the former GM Stamping Plant site and the downtown riverfront as important opportunities for the future of Indianapolis. The framework planning process included an analysis of those planning and strategic initiatives, interviews with public, private, and non-profit sector leaders and stakeholders, and public meetings with neighborhood residents and business owners.

The framework plan includes a diverse mix of land uses for people to live, work, shop, and play; placemaking concepts; and major infrastructure improvements on, around, and through the site. The intent of the framework plan is to provide guidance to RACER Trust and potential developers and investors of the community’s vision for the former GM Stamping Plant in terms of land use and infrastructure. Though not prescriptive, the framework plan encourages creativity and conveys to potential developers and investors the desire of the Indianapolis community to “think big.”

To achieve these goals, the City of Indianapolis recently created a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district that encompasses the entirety of the site and will allow for public-private partnerships leveraging the success of the city’s growing downtown sector. This legislative process was widely supported by both neighborhood groups and the City-County Council, confirming widespread belief that the economic development and community development opportunities possible on this site are long-term investments that will benefit the city as a whole.

Click here to visit gmspindy.com, a website that includes the community’s report on the economic development, connectivity and reuse potential of the former GM Stamping Plant property.

For more information about the City's perspective, please contact Thomas Cook, Chief of Staff to Mayor Joe Hogsett, at thomas.cook@indy.gov or (317) 327-3601.