Chuck Goodrich
CEO & Chairman
Gaylor Electric

Tom Miltner
Principal
O’Donnell &Naccarato

The Indianapolis area construction market is hot with a diverse project pipeline in tech, health care, sports and other sectors.

“There are a lot of major projects being completed in the Indianapolis market currently, with heightened interest by technology companies,” says Chuck Goodrich, CEO and chairman of Gaylor Electric, Noblesville, Ind.

Some recent tech-related projects include 16 Tech Innovation District—a 50-acre area in downtown Indianapolis focused on fostering innovation and economic opportunity—and the Purdue Research Park of Indianapolis, which provides incubation programs and resources for tech companies.

Goodrich attributes the growth in the tech sector to legislative actions over the last few years that are paying off now.

“This growth is more than likely due to Indiana’s passing of technology bills in our statehouse a few years ago and the fact that Indiana is a pro-business state,” he says. “Investments in new large projects are being pursued by both local large companies such as Eli Lilly and Co. as well as national companies headquartered outside of Indiana.”

One 2019 law provides tax incentives for data centers that include allowing for exemptions from state sales tax on electricity, equipment and construction costs for up to 50 years.

The law has led to investments from tech leaders like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta throughout the state. In November 2024, the city of Lebanon, located 28 miles northwest of Indianapolis, approved an incentive package to attract Meta for a data center campus in the LEAP Lebanon Innovation District. The first phase of this project represents an $800-million investment, with the potential for up to six phases totaling 1,400 acres.

Activity in the tech sector has also been noticed by Tom Miltner, principal at O’Donnell & Naccarato, a structural engineering firm based in Indianapolis, who says technology parks are an exciting development.

“These integrated campus-style developments blend research facilities, office space and labs to create innovation hubs where tech companies and scientific organizations can collaborate and grow together,” he says. “After years of conceptual discussions, multiple technology park developments are now advancing into latter planning stages, with infrastructure work in progress. This represents a strategic push to enhance Indianapolis’ position in the technology sector.”

Strong growth is also being seen in the health care sector with several new hospital projects under construction or in development.

Indiana University Health is building a new hospital on a 44-acre campus in Indianapolis. The facility will consolidate the existing Methodist and University hospitals into a single medical center. The $2.3-billion project will have four 16-story towers, cover about 2 million sq ft of space and encompass 864 beds.

Community Health Network and Lifepoint Behavioral Health, a business unit of Lifepoint Health, announced in February that they plan to build two new 120-bed hospitals in the greater Indianapolis area.

Lilly has announced a $4.5-billion investment to create the Lilly Medicine Foundry, a center for advanced manufacturing and drug development in Lebanon. The firm is also building the $13-billion Lilly LEAP innovation and research hub in Lebanon for sectors including pharmaceuticals, microelectronics and electric vehicles.

Another growth area is the sports sector. In January, Pacers Sports & Entertainment announced plans to construct a training complex for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever team. This $78-million, three-story, 108,000-sq-ft facility will feature two basketball courts, strength and conditioning areas, recovery spaces and mental health support services. In addition, the Indiana University board of trustees approved in June 2024 the construction of a $110-million multipurpose athletics center in downtown Indianapolis.

In the aviation sector, O’Donnell & Naccarato is the engineer for Republic Airways’ new headquarters with office space, a parking garage, hotel and a training facility.

Miltner and Goodrich say there are challenges to overcome including rising costs. To control costs and increase safety, Gaylor has invested in its own manufacturing facilities where items such as overhead pipe racks and skids and other items are produced.

Miltner says interest rates continue to impact project timelines and development decisions.

“Some owners are taking a more measured approach to project initiation, carefully weighing financing considerations against their development objectives,” he says.