Ridgeline Development Partners holds the conversion of the King Cole building at 1 N. Meridian St. in Indianapolis. Ridgeline is a subsidiary of The Gettys Group, a Chicago hospitality design and development firm. Indy Propco LLC, an affiliate of both companies, has owned the 11-story building since early 2019 and carries the asset through construction.
The hotel takes the Motto by Hilton flag. IBJ reports that the property is expected to retain it.
The cost path from $21 million
IBJ reported the conversion at $21 million when it was announced before the pandemic. By 2022 the projected cost had reached $54 million. Rob Hunden, a spokesperson for The Gettys Group, told IBJ the group expects the price to land about 10 percent above its last projection, which puts it close to $60 million.
Hunden attributed the rise to construction costs that increased across the board. He said the group is hesitant to publish a firm number given the fluidity of the construction market, and that debt markets have recovered since the pandemic.
The $9.2 million TIF approval
The city approved $9.2 million in tax-increment financing bonds for the project in 2022. The instrument directs a defined share of incremental property tax revenue to the development. The approval predates the current completion target by four years.
The published record names no bond series terms, no maturity and no debt service schedule for this project.
Federal historic tax credits on a 1915 building
Gettys anticipates using federal historic tax credits. The building went up in 1915 as the Kahn Tailoring Co. Building, designed by Vonnegut Bohn & Mueller. That age carries the eligibility.
The preservation approval runs through a separate channel. The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission reviews the work under the certificate of appropriateness, and it granted a two-year extension in February 2025. The commission approved the extension unanimously, with one abstention, after the certificate expired in 2023.
Completion in the fourth quarter of 2026
Gettys’ timeline puts hotel completion in the fourth quarter of 2026, roughly seven years after the first announcement. IBJ reported the restart date as the second quarter of 2025. The record carries no groundbreaking notice for the original schedule, so the delivery timeline runs from the 2025 restart to the 2026 target.
The dates the new rooms can sell
A reservations team taking this inventory works the calendar the building publishes. The convention centre’s own event feed lists six bookings in November 2026. The National Science Teaching Association fall convention runs 4-7 November at a forecast 4,000. The Monumental Health and Fitness Expo runs 6 November in Exhibit Hall A-B at 20,000. The Midwest Healthcare Engineering Conference and Trade Show runs 8-10 November at 600. The IU Health Leadership Development Institute runs 10 November in Exhibit Hall G-H at 2,200. The Percussive Arts Society International Convention runs 11-14 November at 5,200. The ASHA annual convention runs 19-21 November at 13,500.
The supply picture around those dates carries the venue’s own count of 7,100 hotel rooms downtown and 4,700 connected by skywalk. Visit Indy’s connected package reads 12 hotels and 5,200 rooms after the expansion.
Both figures move with the delivery calendar behind them. The Motto adds 116 keys in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the Signia Hilton Indianapolis carries 803 rooms with the convention centre expansion on an anticipated December 2026 opening.
What the capital stack leaves open
The record carries no final all-in cost, no TIF bond series terms or assigned increment, no historic tax credit value or named equity investor, and no construction start notice for the resumed work. The fourth-quarter 2026 completion is a target. The certificate extension gives the project until early 2027 to hold its approvals.