$28M Indianapolis project ravaged by fire

INDIANAPOLIS, March 12 (UPI) -- A $28 million apartment building construction project in Indianapolis was nearly destroyed by a major fire early Thursday, authorities say.

Indianapolis Fire Department Capt. Rita Reith said two-thirds of the Cosmopolitan on the Canal construction project in downtown Indianapolis was destroyed in the blaze, The Indianapolis Star said.

IFD officials said an Indiana Historical Foundation site was also damaged in the fire, as were a parking garage and a cafe.

Veteran firefighters told the Star that Thursday's blaze may have been the largest fire in Indianapolis since 1989's Bemis Bag fire.

No injuries or fatalities were reported in relation to the destructive blaze, whose cause hasn't been revealed.

Meanwhile, Flaherty and Collins Properties president Jerry Collins, whose company was building the 218-unit Cosmopolitan complex, informed the Star the apartment site would be rebuilt.

"This is our signature property in Indianapolis," Collins said of the 340,000-square-foot Downtown Canal property. "It's heartbreaking to sit and watch it burn."