INDIANAPOLIS — A city committee has agreed to allow a project to move forward that involves building 69 luxury apartment units on top of the existing Broad Ripple Parking garage.
The plat committee voted 3-0 on May 14 to allow developers to extend the garage’s foundation into the alley.
Marko On the Canal will add 69 luxury apartment units, ranging from one to three bedrooms, to the existing mixed-use parking garage at the busy corner of North College Avenue and Westfield Boulevard.
The project is raising eyebrows among some residents because the City of Indianapolis spent $6.35 million of the public’s money to help the developer build the Broad Ripple parking garage, which opened in 2013.
Clarke Kahlo of Meridian Kessler Neighbors Helping Neighbors spoke in opposition to the project, calling it another public gift to a private developer.
“The structure has failed to provide significant parking and retail growth benefits—but at great public cost,” said Kahlo. “It’s difficult to foresee a stable occupancy rate-- the location would likely be attractive only to very young renters who would soon tire of, and exit, the apartments because of the congestion and safety issues at the site.”
The developer declined to provide a timeline for Marko On the Canal, but said when the design is complete, they will have a firmer timeline.
“With the plat committee’s unanimous 3-0 approval, our expert engineers and architects will complete design and prepare for construction,” said Alexandra A. Miller, Senior Director of Communications and Public Relations at Keystone Group, in an email to WRTV. “We will share updates with the community when finalized.”
The city, under Mayor Greg Ballard, spent $6.35 million — money generated from the sale of the city’s parking meters to a private company — in an effort to alleviate parking problems in Broad Ripple.
Clarke Kahlo and Terry Sanderson, who both live in Meridian Kessler, say the developer Keystone should return some of the city’s investment into the garage.
“I think it was a failed project to begin with,” said Sanderson. “I think it would be nice if the city would pull back some of that money.”
The developer, Keystone (under the name 6280 LLC) filed a petition with the city in October 2024 asking to extend the garage’s existing underground foundation into a public alley.
“Claw back now,” said Clarke Kahlo, a Meridian Kessler resident. “There's leverage now the city has to have a financial reckoning with the developer and claw back some of those funds, or all of those funds before they give them the authority to intrude on the alley."
“I have yet to see the garage full of cars,” said Sanderson. “It’s a bad investment.”
The mixed-use garage has experienced tenant turnover.
Marco’s Pizza, Firehouse Subs, Massage Envy and Hopcat are among the tenants who came and left.
The space, once occupied by Hopcat, which left in January 2024, sits empty. Current tenants include Le Spa, Salon Lofts, Mariam Coffee, Athletico Physical Therapy and Pure Barre Fitness.
In 2013, WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney counted cars day and night and found the structure was 6% full, on average.
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At peak times, around 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the garage was 20% full, on average.
WRTV Investigates stopped by the parking garage on a weekday afternoon in March 2025 and found the garage about 12% full and an Enterprise Rent-A-Car location operating on the garage’s top level.
Because millions of public dollars went into the Broad Ripple parking garage, WRTV Investigates wanted to know how Marko on the Canal will impact public parking in the garage.
The developer Keystone declined to provide someone for an on-camera interview, but via email, a Keystone spokesperson told us they will be adding 16 new parking spaces, bringing the total to 365 spaces.
The public will share parking spots with the apartment residents, a Keystone spokesperson said in an email.
“The garage will remain open to the public and will be used by both apartment residents and the public in keeping with its original design for use in a mixed-use development,” a Keystone spokesperson said in an email. “As it has been since the project opened more than a decade ago, all spots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and capacity will vary with time of day and day of the week.”
WRTV Investigates submitted a records request for the garage’s original contract under Mayor Ballard, and we are still waiting for that record.
WRTV Investigates also asked Keystone about a potential claw back of the city’s funds, and the developer said they consider the garage a successful project.
“We met the neighborhood parking needs with a much-needed public amenity supported by the City and the neighborhood,” a Keystone spokesperson said in an email to WRTV. “Broad Ripple neighborhood leadership requested the garage be designed to relieve neighborhood parking pressure during evenings, serve on-site mixed-use development, and provide capacity for future growth in Broad Ripple. We are confident the garage has sufficient capacity to continue serving all three of these original purposes as it has for more than a decade.”
WRTV Investigates also contacted City County Councilor John Barth, who represents Broad Ripple, and he provided the following statement:
"The needs of Broad Ripple Village continue to evolve, and housing remains a key priority. The new Marco on the Canal project, strategically located in front of the Red Line, adds to the neighborhood’s mixed-use development and increases housing density—allowing more people to call Broad Ripple home.
Expanding housing options is essential to sustaining our local businesses and ensuring long-term investment in our neighborhoods. More residents mean greater support for the vibrant businesses that make Broad Ripple unique.
I am grateful to Keystone for its commitment to meeting the needs of the neighborhood and for continuing to invest in our city's future."
Denison Parking took over parking operations at the garage in 2022. It was previously managed by Newpoint Parking.
According to their website, here are their current rates:
- Daily Rates:
- 0-1 hour: $2
- 1-3 hours: $6
- 3-12 hours: $7
- 12+ hours: $9
- Event Rates: As posted, $5 – $10
- Monthly Parking Rate: $112
