Abraham Lincoln School

Horizon Central Christian Fellowship bought and occupied the historic Abraham Lincoln Indianapolis Public School #18, providing over twenty years of ministry to the Fountain Square and Bates Hendricks neighborhoods. While School #18 had been a good home to Horizon Central, it became increasingly difficult to maintain such a large facility that was over 100 years old. The property was under-utilized, and some large unaffordable expenditures were looming, so Horizon Central decided that the best course of action was to “right-size” and sell School #18.

A successful disposition of School #18 required a team who could determine the highest and best use and accurately value such a unique asset while painting a vision for what the property could be in spite of its current condition. The Paul Dick Team did extensive research and identified other school conversion case studies throughout the state of Indiana to provide a valuation and a recommended strategy for Horizon Central.  The research concluded that, though it would require some upfront risk and investment for architectural work and marketing, a higher-than-expected price could be achieved.

Once engaged, the Paul Dick Team determined that the highest and best use for School #18 was a multi-family conversion suitable for different tax credit programs. A team of vendors was assembled to create a thorough marketing package including as-built CAD drawings, renderings, code assessments, an ALTA survey, and a Phase I environmental report.  This marketing package was disseminated to all the multi-family developers in the Indianapolis MSA, and the property was quickly put under contract with a buyer that had a short due diligence period and a closing prior to any re-zoning efforts. The property successfully sold, and Horizon Central was able to use their ample proceeds to secure a new facility in the same neighborhood for the next phase of life and ministry for the church.

Special thanks to Mitsch Design (https://www.mitschdesign.com/), Pixel-Head Studio (https://www.pixelhead.studio/), and V3 Companies (https://www.v3co.com/) for their help on this successful project.