Since late 2021, the site of the former 420 Street Building has sat a rolling debris field with a bed of weeds encircled by fences.
On Monday, the City of Evansville released updates on the site’s development, confirming that CRG Residential will be taking over the project from Domo Development Company.
The former tallest building in Evansville was razed November 2021, with plans for two mixed-use buildings and a city park. But this winter redevelopment was put on hold as Domo and city leadership began re-thinking the scale of the project, due to costs of construction materials. Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said this started even as the building was being knocked down.
“We think it was really prudent to step back and say, ‘okay, you know, we need a little timeout, let's reevaluate the project, let's reevaluate what we need there and reevaluate the economy,’” Winnecke said of the construction delays. “You're not going to build a 50 or $60 million development on that site overnight, and we wanted to get it done right.”
Both the city and Domo agreed that another developer might be better to move the project forward, thus CRG bought Domo’s share of the project. Winnecke said Domo had already done the “heavy lifting” of purchasing property which was owned by several parties.
CRG is a Carmel Illinois-based group which previously helped develop the 144-unit mixed use Post House Apartments Building.
“Basically CRG will spend the next period of time looking at how best to navigate the economy,” Winnecke said. “How best to come up with a really dynamic, vibrant development plan that will really spark downtown. This is our number one downtown priority. It's right in the heart of the city. And it's imperative that we get this right.”
Right now CRG is in the “due diligence” phase which should take a few months. This means the company is handling site surveys, environmental assessments and figuring out how to overcome current development challenges, such as the high cost of construction materials.
Winnecke said after this process, CRG will start submitting plans to the city.
“And we'll sit down with them at that point and see what it looks like, see how the numbers stack up and figure out how to proceed, then we'll know how to set a new timeline, and then we'll know how, how best to proceed in terms of next steps,” he said.
Winnecke said he understands the public’s impatience with the project.
“So I think people generally while they'd like to see construction began, they also understand that for a 50 to $60 million project to proceed, you know, it's gotta be right,” he said. “And that's what we hope to do.”
He said the original plans from Domo are likely abandoned, but this site will probably be mixed use with a city park. Center Point Energy purchased the naming rights for the park.
The city still owns most the site, which is surrounded by Main and Sycamore streets to the east and west, and Fifth and Fourth streets to the north and south.
There is no set timetable for construction or completion.