Take me out to the ballgame, leave me there overnight.
Have you ever had one of those summers when you’re at the ballpark so often it feels like you live there? Don’t you just want to bottle that feeling up and live in it forever? Well, now you can. Like, literally.
How does one turn a baseball stadium into an apartment building — while keeping the lights, entrance and even the field? I talked to the architect who pulled it off: https://t.co/ijknpqlBSv
— Michael Clair (@michaelsclair) March 21, 2020
Michael Clair of MLB.com caught up with the architect who took the old Bush Stadium in Indianapolis – home to the Negro League ABCs and Clowns, as well as the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians – and turned it into a vibrant, active apartment complex!
How freakin’ cool is that?
“The boomerang shape made laying out the drawings quite a challenge,” Architect Nick Zimmerman told MLB.com. “So much of the building was out of the typical orthogonal grid most buildings are developed around. Because of this, we ended up with 14 main unit types, and even within those unit plans there was some variation as they fit around the curve of the building.”
“We knew early on we wanted to retain as much of the original building as possible, especially the main entrance portion. The owner/developer, John Watson, was of the same mind, and we were able to save much of the original entry area, the outer facades, roof, and stadium lights.
Here’s a look at the old stadium …
And the new apartment complex …
The original article over at MLB.com has many photos, details, and quotes from the architect, so you should hop over to that post and check it out. Among my favorite little bits: that’s a concrete “diamond” seen there in that picture above, a decision to preserve the baseball aesthetic over something like a pool.
In the meantime, I’m sure you’re wondering what it costs to live there and, hey, guess what?! It’s not that bad! A one-bedroom, one bathroom unit goes for as low as $844/month while the 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom units start as low as $1,254/month. Coming from someone who’s rented in Chicago for a longtime, those are very good deals.