Aaron Deslatte is one of hundreds of people who live in homes built on the former Central State Hospital campus on the west side. He moved in two years ago and likes to walk along Kirkbride Way every day.
His path takes him past many of the buildings that once provided support to the hospital, which was founded in 1848 to treat patients who had mental illnesses. In 1994, though, the hospital closed in part due to decades of patient abuse that resulted in at least 2,000 patients dying.
Some are buried on the campus grounds or in a hospital cemetery across Tibbs Avenue just south of the Mount Jackson Cemetery.
At night, Deslatte admits that sometimes his mind plays tricks on him.
“It’s kind of creepy,” said Deslatte, who works as an associate professor at IU Bloomington, “because sometimes you just walk by and you hear screaming from inside, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God.’”
Despite the hospital’s sordid history, the grounds have already been partially developed and more work is on the way for three buildings.
That includes one that draws paranormal investigations: The old powerhouse building at 3161 Kirkbride Way.
Built in 1886, the powerhouse provided electricity for most of the hospital campus. It is the oldest remaining building and is mostly empty, except for discarded screen doors and other debris. The building is covered in graffiti and some portions are on the verge of collapse. One fell down this year.
Due to the building’s age and dilapidated state, the powerhouse has become a place where people hope to catch a glimpse of a ghost. Many people who have entered the building have documented their adventures on social media.
“The police routinely have to come and chase kids out of there, because they try to film little horror movies, Tik Tok videos and stuff like that all the time,” Deslatte said. “Part of the building collapsed, so it’s dangerous. They have to do something with it.”
About the properties available for redevelopment
The powerhouse is just one of three buildings under consideration for redevelopment.
The other two are the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Mounted Patrol Unit home at 77 N. Tibbs Ave. and an old storehouse at 3302 Kirkbride Way.
Eddie Shei, a senior project manager with the Department of Metropolitan Development, said the city wants developers to submit plans to reuse or rehabilitate the buildings. It also plans to offer financial incentives, such as tax credits and grants.
“While there are some challenges here,” Shei told Mirror Indy, “there are also a lot of possibilities and we are encouraging local and national partnerships to get the right folks in these buildings.”
Interested developers will have until noon Dec. 13 to submit their proposals. They must meet the city’s minimum purchase price of $778,250 for the powerhouse, $985,000 for the storehouse and $1.46 million for the police office and stables.
The powerhouse building sits on a 2.3-acre parcel of land. According to an engineering assessment performed in September, the building has multiple safety hazards and needs about $1 million in repairs.
“The history behind it is worth preserving,” Shei said. “We are really looking for an adaptive reuse that would complement the history of the buildings.”
The storehouse sits on a 1.6-acre property and was built in 1955 as a Red Cross facility. It was later converted into a cold storage warehouse. In 2017, Central State Brewing Co. announced plans to redevelop the storehouse into a brewery and tasting room, but that fell apart when the brewer went out of business in 2021. Ownership of the storehouse returned to the city in January 2024.
The 5-acre property that is being used as an office, stables and grazing area by the police will be open for development once the unit moves to its new $1.7-million location at the northern end of the Central State campus in December.
The stables were built near sections of the Central State Hospital Cemetery. The remains of more than a dozen people buried there were found at that location in 2020 and were reinterred in another section of the cemetery in 2021.
Central State has been under redevelopment for years
The hospital campus has been under redevelopment for years. Indianapolis purchased the 160-acre campus from the state for about $450,000 in 2004, a decade after it closed, and has since sold off portions of the campus to developers.
Pedcor Management, M/I Homes and Compendium Group razed existing residence halls and other buildings to construct hundreds of houses and apartments. Charter school Christel House Academy West also was built on the campus.
The former carpentry building is now People for Urban Progress. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy 
The former laundry building is the home of the Ignition Arts design studio. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy 
The Mansion Society coffee shop is in the lobby of the former Central State Hospital. Credit: Enrique Saenz / Mirror Indy 
1899 Events at Central State Village. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy
Other developers have rehabilitated buildings for reuse — mainly in art and design.
- The former carpentry hall is the home of nonprofit People for Urban Progress, which makes fashionable products out of recycled industrial materials, including the roof of the demolished RCA Dome.
- The former laundry building is the home of the Ignition Arts design studio.
- The former Central State Mansion, the hospital’s administration building, now houses apartments and the Mansion Society coffee shop.
- The former cafeteria building is home to Project One Studio and sculptor Kimberly McNeelan.
McNeelan moved into the building in 2017 and is building a tree sculpture in her studio that will be installed in the Hamilton East Public Library in Fishers.
“I love being here,” she said. “They have a little arboretum. As a woodworker, it’s been really cool to know that all the most prevalent tree species are represented right out there.”
McNeelan wants the city to find an owner for the properties and believes there’s no limit to what could be there.
Neighbors want businesses they can use
Neighbors say they want the developments to fulfill missing needs on the west side.
Gerald Smith lives at the Central State Mansion, which is now an apartment complex. He doesn’t have a car and often walks or takes the bus. He said there are very few places to eat within easy walking distance and would like some developer to propose building a restaurant on the Central State campus.
“I’d love that,” he said.
Hasan Elias, a 77-year old retired eye doctor, lives with his daughter in a home at the campus and frequently walks through the area past the empty buildings.
“A restaurant is a good idea,” he said. “Especially one with takeaway options.”
Barbie Lezama, barista at Mansion Society, said she would like a hotel for dogs — a place people can leave their dogs and have them trained or otherwise cared for while they run their errands or visit her coffee shop.
“I'm actually looking into getting investors and having people share the idea, so dog lovers all over the city can come together for it,” she said.
Deslatte, the IU professor, hopes businesses open that people who live nearby can use.
Deslatte should know — that’s his job. As co-director of the Metropolitan Governance and Management Transitions Laboratory at IU’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, he studies how local governments can advance community development.
“I think that kind of asset would create more community building, which kind of needs to happen over here,” he said. “You've got an older neighborhood that's facing gentrification issues, and then they plop this planned unit development in the middle. We need this all to get more integrated and have more opportunities for people to interact.”
What’s next
The Department of Metropolitan Development will accept proposals until Dec. 13. Finalists for the properties will be chosen by Feb. 14.
Once finalists are selected, the department will review and decide whether to approve the projects, a process that will include public input. There also will be another chance for public comments if any rezoning is needed.
Shei said residents can speak to the Westside Community Development Corp. to submit feedback.
“We're looking for what's going to be the best fit for the community, and, also, what's going to be realistic financially,” Shei said.
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz.
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