By Tom Spalding
You can't write the history of Downtown Indianapolis' rebirth -- or its future -- without a mention of Mansur.
The past 18 months have been a whirlwind of activity for the longtime real estate services company in an area where it has expertise: the city's urban core.
In that period, the company helped increase occupancy in the Guaranty building on Monument Circle from 40 percent to 100 percent. In May it partnered in a $7 million project to turn the once- dilapidated Rink-Savoy at the corner of Illinois and Vermont streets into 62 affordable
apartments and condominiums.
And it is helping WFYI establish a home at 16th and Meridian streets, keeping the public broadcasting stations part of a broadcast media row.
"It's a responsible place for us to be," said Lee Alig, chief executive of Mansur Real Estate Services. "Given the utilities that are in place, given the infrastructure that's in place and that (those properties) are under-utilized, we believe there's much to do in an urban core."
WFYI turned to Mansur to broker the purchase of the old Vectren Energy building at 1630 N. Meridian St., which had been vacant nine years. As WFYI develops its $20 million, 94,000-square- foot digital studios, it plans to use 65 percent of the space and allow Mansur to lease the remaining 35 percent. Mansur also is helping WFYI sell its address two blocks south.
Mansur is by no means the only
business in Central Indiana focused on restoring abandoned, idled or under- used industrial and commercial properties. The company that specializes in makeovers is helping others understand that core philosophy as it turns 25 this month.
"When Mansur began, we were looking at -- and doing -- reuse projects, and to some extent, we've come full circle," said Mansur President Charles R. Cagann. "We're helping others recognize the vision they have with respect to either renovating or reworking of existing buildings."
WFYI had a variety of needs as it sought a new home for its digital studios. Lloyd Wright, president and CEO of WFYI, said he wanted to turn to local companies known for community commitments. Mansur fit those prerequisites, Wright said.
"(They) helped me see the creative ways to explore the property. . . . It's definitely reusing an important building in the Meridian corridor," Wright said.
Mansur -- formed in 1982 by Alig and another local architect, Harold Garrison -- has more than $200 million in projects under development or in the process of being financed. Garrison left the company earlier this decade and now operates HDG-Mansur Capital Group, a real estate fund and asset management service company and property developer.
Cagann says the key to Mansur's success was focusing on developed areas. Those tend to be in population centers not used to their potential.
"Our passion is to work on projects that are unique and are not repetitive (cookie-cutter) formats," Cagann said. "We can honestly say that we are proud of the projects we have completed and can drive by them for years to come and feel good about our contribution."
RELIVING 25 YEARS: MANSUR PROJECTS THAT STAND OUT
" Office: A $51 million redevelopment turned a 1920s- era inner tube factory at 334 S. East St. into the corporate headquarters of Farm Bureau Insurance. It helped rejuvenate a once undesirable area south of Washington Street.
" Retail: A former Sears, Roebuck and Co. department store underwent a $20 million conversion in 1986 into Lockerbie Marketplace, which includes O'Malia's Food Market. It gave Downtown its only grocery and convenience shopping, aided rebirth of the Mass Ave. corridor, and led to the continued success of the Lockerbie Square neighborhood.
" Housing: The Fall Creek Place development now stands at 400 homes since the neighborhood's rebirth from blight in 2001. Unparalleled in scale and with a positive spin-off in adjacent neighborhoods, Fall Creek Place helped to stabilize an area two miles north of Downtown that was in the highest category of risk. Property values have increased over the last four years, helping buyers and existing owners build equity.
ABOUT MANSUR:" Leadership: Lee Alig co-founded Mansur as a real
estate development company in Indianapolis in 1982. Charles R. Cagann, president, joined in 1985.
" Employees: 25.
" Location: 135 N. Pennsylvania St., Suite 1300.
" Achievements: Mansur has been involved in developing 4.5 million square feet of commercial and 3,366 units of residential property; these projects involve 2,500 acres with a total value of just under $850 million.
" Reach: Although focused on new urban infill development or reworking functionally obsolete structures in Central Indiana, Mansur also has renovated office and multi-family structures in Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Fort Wayne.
Call Star reporter Tom Spalding at (317) 444-6202.
