INDIANAPOLIS -- The Mass Ave industrial corridor is getting a new name and a new look.
The area just northeast of downtown, which has been mainly industrial, is being renamed "North Mass."
You may have seen a building with the Indianapolis flag painted on it at 1417 Commerce Ave. It had been vacant for 40 years, until now. It's now the site of a new micro-manufacturing project.
Riley Area Development is reopening the building and branding the area as "North Mass," according to Eric Strickland, the director of Riley Area Development.
"People want to be in these older buildings," Strickland said. "They want to be in an area with character. And they want to be connected to a cultural district: the traditional Mass Ave."
The building will serve as space for business owners, or "micro-manufacturers" -- as they're sometimes called -- to grow.
Best Chocolate in Town is already the first official tenant of the building. The company already has a storefront along Mass Ave, but recently moved its kitchen into the space.
MORE PHOTOS | Mass Ave north end now 'North Mass'
"We needed a little bit more elbow room," said Elizabeth Garber, the owner of Best Chocolate in Town. "We had it under one roof on Mass Avenue and hit a point where we just needed a little bit more space to create more product."
Re-purposing old industrial buildings is a popular option for breweries or distilleries, but other business will soon be doing it too, Strickland said.
There are 12 available studios for micro-manufacturers in the building.
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