Despite the uniqueness of the project vision and the complexity of the bracing design, framing the apartments was very similar to traditional apartment construction. “The second- and third-floor framing consists of 24-inch-deep wood trusses at 24-inches on-center supporting plywood floor sheathing,” Dee explains. “The trusses are supported by a line of glulam beams and glulam columns, as well as a line of load-bearing wood-stud wall. The wood trusses are also supported by the original exterior wall of the ballpark.”
The new framing sits atop the building’s original foundation and many of its original columns. “In the process of demo-ing the original bleachers and replacing with wood framing, we’ve reduced the amount of dead load on the original columns and footings, so they were adequate for our new loads,” Dee adds.
New windows and metal wall panels enclose the field side of the building and the third floor on the street side. Each of the three floors offers several different-sized apartments because of the distinctive boomerang shape of the stadium. “We have a double-loaded corridor that is 400 feet from end to end and a 74-foot-wide building; it curves so it’s quite a unique building,” Watson notes.
Each of the 138 apartments also offers qualities not seen in other downtown Indianapolis housing. Third-floor residents can boast that the stadium’s original roof deck now is their ceiling and the metal roof trusses provide character. Second-floor dwellers enjoy loft-style living with raw concrete floors and minimal walls. First-floor loft units are very large—1,500 and 1,700 square feet—with few interior walls. Every unit in the building has its own HVAC system, hot-water heater and washer/dryer.
If You Build It …
It was important to Watson to maintain the spirit of Bush Stadium as much as possible, not only as far as the structure but also in the iconic baseball diamond. The infield, which was paved in dirt-colored concrete, pays homage to its former use. Although residents can’t play baseball in the infield, they can take advantage of recreational space provided by the outfield. A new decorative press box was built to mimic the original one. Three of the stadium’s light towers also remain intact. “People identify the area and they recognize those iconic light towers, so we preserved them,” Watson says.
Locals appreciated Watson’s dedication to the historic stadium. When it opened in August 2013, the building already was 100 percent leased. Not everyone believed that would be the case, however. “When we announced the project, the mayor had a press conference and I was being interviewed by a television reporter,” Watson remembers. “After we did the interview, the reporter said, ‘Yeah, great project; never gonna happen.’ I made sure I invited him back after we finished the project. That was what was most rewarding: proving to all the people who said it couldn’t be done and wouldn’t be done that it could and was.”
Retrofit Team
Developer/owner: Core Redevelopment, Indianapolis
Designer: Lynch, Harrison & Brumleve Inc., Indianapolis
Independent structural engineer: JBE Structural Solutions, Indianapolis
General contractor: Brandt Construction, Indianapolis
Retrofit Materials
Windows: Thermal Windows Inc.
Metal wall panels and membrane roof: Firestone Building Products
Paint: PPG Porter Paints
Water heaters: A. O. Smith Corp.
Faucets: Delta Faucet Co.