Indiana University will soon take bids for the future demolition of the Poplars Building.
Bids are due May 5, according to a public notice from the university. There will be a pair of pre-bid hearings held April 21 at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. outside of the building's entrance on East Seventh Street.
Beth Feickert, capital planning project specialist at IU, says there’s no timetable for when demolition will begin, and that there are currently no plans for what will take the building’s place – it’ll remain a green space for the foreseeable future. The Poplars Garage on Sixth Street will remain.
“The building really has reached a point where it's not viable to keep trying to renovate it,” Feickert said. “The age, the condition – it was not cost effective.”
The IU Board of Trustees approved the building’s demolition in August 2021. It was constructed in the 1960s and was used as a hotel, dormitory and research and conference center. Most recently, the building housed administrative offices.
