Speedway hotel near IMS continues to be held up in legal limbo

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — For more than five years, Indianapolis Motor Speedway guests have driven past the unfinished skeleton of a hotel on a prominent piece of land.

The steel structure that was intended to be the Wilshaw Hotel hasn’t had crews working on it since 2019. It sits just off the roundabout connecting 16th Street, Crawfordsville Road and Main Street in Speedway. The structure stands right across from the gates of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In the time since construction halted, the Wilshaw project has seen financial difficulties, unpaid bills and now foreclosure proceedings.

That’s where the hotel project stands right now: in legal limbo. Court documents show a ninth motion for an extension of time has been approved. The court documents said the two parties have reached an agreement and are finalizing the settlement documents. But, court docs for an earlier extension at the end of 2024 also said the latest extension gives the two sides until April 1.

One business owner on Main Street in Speedway said customers ask her about the hotel project every day. After so long, she said it’s just started to blend in.

James Johnson has been coming to Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for decades.

”I drive by it quite a bit,” Johnson said, referring to the hotel structure.

Johnson called the state of the project unfortunate.

“As a lot of people say and think, I’m sure, it’s unattractive for the corner to be like that,” Johnson said. “But, I hate the waste of it too because it’s such a nice piece of property. It could be something good and useful. It could be a nice extra gateway into Main Street.”

The Speedway Town Manager declined to comment on the ongoing litigation.

With less than 100 days till the 109th Indianapolis 500, it seems likely this skeleton of the hotel will remain idle for the sixth Indy 500 in a row.