INDIANAPOLIS-The City-County Council of Indianapolis and Marion County has approved an $86 million financing package for a mixed-use development here on an Eli Lilly-owned parking lot just south of Lucas Oil Stadium. Buckingham Cos. is the developer for the $155 million project, which will include apartments, a hotel, retail and a YMCA.

Scott Travis, senior development executive for Buckingham, says Eli Lilly will own the property and his company will have a long-term lease. He says the drug maker, which has its 120-acre headquarters a few blocks south, decided it didn’t need this 10-acre parcel after consolidating its business to focus more on scientific research.

The North of South project, located on an L-shaped lot north of South Street between Delaware Street and Virginia Avenue, will include 320 apartments, 40,000 square feet of retail, a Dolce Hotel and a large YMCA. The site will bring services needed for Eli Lilly and other headquarters in the area, including Wellpoint Inc. and the Indiana Farm Bureau, Travis says. “There’s about 15,000 employees in the area, there’s a great demand for workers to live downtown, this will give local employees a chance to live within walking distance.”

The hotel will also be geared toward business, Travis says. Dolce, which as 27 hotels around the world, has a high percentage of meeting space and has catering available for meetings.

Travis tells GlobeSt.com that financing was not available from traditional lenders, so the city stepped in to assist. “The city has the same financial stake, but also gains significant tax revenue. Mayors over the past 20 years have done a great job at infill development in the downtown, they have a progression vision,” he says.