A preschool, a church, a pickleball palace—tracking the transformations of Indy’s vacant Marsh supermarkets

Founded in central Indiana, Marsh Supermarkets Inc. at its peak operated well over 100 stores, with a critical mass in the nine-county Indianapolis metro area. In 2017—11 years after a private equity firm took ownership—just 63 stores remained. Marsh declared bankruptcy in May 2017. From those 63 stores, Marsh closed the majority and sold 26 to Kroger and Needlers.

That left a lot of cavernous retail real estate on the market in the Indianapolis area, often occupying sites in shopping centers reserved for huge anchor tenants. But today you’d be hard-pressed to find more than a few vacant Marshes in the nine-county area. The vast majority are accounted for with new tenants or entirely new developments. And the range of solutions found for these sites is breathtaking. One Marsh became a preschool. Another became a church. A pickleball palace. A trampoline park. A headquarters for an IndyCar team. At least a couple spaces were split in two, making room for more specialized grocery stores.

After hearing news last week about the site of a former Beech Grove Marsh being redeveloped for a plumbing trade school, IBJ Podcast host Mason King called longtime local retail real estate broker Bill French. After 41 years, French has seen it all, and he has kept detailed records on how former Marsh spaces have been recast, revamped or replaced. Consider this week’s edition of the podcast a tour, as French explains the unique challenges of remaking a signature supermarket space.

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