Living in the Wholesale District-
it's front & center!

Denise “Denny” Solso also once was far from bright big-city lights. She and her husband, Tim, lived in “a big old house in the country” in Columbus, Indiana “off and on” for 30 years.

Today, however, both Kallick and the Solsos have moved “front and center” to reside in Indy’s Wholesale District, just steps away from the city’s newest luxury hotels, world-class sporting facilities, gourmet restaurants and posh shops. And the former small-city residents couldn’t be happier with their new cosmopolitan lifestyles.

After living in the Wholesale District for six-and-a-half years, the Solsos “wouldn’t change our minds for anything,” Denny says. The couple started out with a condominium in the 110 East Washington Street development. Then, Denny explains, “grandchildren started to arrive. It got to the point where we were having to get hotel rooms for people when they came to visit.”

So they relocated down the street to the Conrad Indianapolis Residences atop the acclaimed Conrad Indianapolis hotel. There, a spacious 6,000-square-foot unit easily accommodates the expanding family roster.

And that’s not the only Wholesale District perk. Tim can walk to his office at the nearby OneAmerica Tower skyscraper – he’s the chairman and chief executive officer of Cummins – and the couple also strolls to the grocery, post office, Circle Centre mall and other spots necessary for daily chores, errands and shopping. “I’m not an avid driver,” Denny says, “and I find that I can do just about everything I need to do (by) walking.”

That includes leisure destinations as well. An avid sports fan, Tim holds tickets to Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Pacers and Indianapolis Indians games, and the couple easily strolls to games.

And then there is the dining scene. “One of my husband’s arguments for moving up here in the first place was, ‘Oh, there are so many good restaurants. We’ll just eat at a different place every time we go out,’” Denny says with a laugh. “And after he picked his four or five favorites, we stopped looking. So, so much for that argument. But wherever we eat, I don’t have to do the dishes, so that’s okay.”

Favorite Solso spots include The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Harry & Izzy’s and Morton’s the Steakhouse. At lunchtime, Denny also enjoys visiting Creation Café, located at the end of the Downtown Canal and owned by a trio that includes her daughter.

The Wholesale District also gives the couple easy access to Downtown nightlife – something, Denny stresses, that is appreciated as much by 60-something couples like the Solsos as it is by the 20-something set.

Close to Everything
“We do a lot more things at night now, because it is something we can walk to. You don’t have to plan (ahead). The travel time ceases to be a factor. If you want to go to a play, you know you’re going to be gone for two hours, not for four.”

And while the Conrad is located along bustling Washington Street in the very heart of Downtown, the atmosphere inside the condominiums is a serene contrast to the energy and activity of the city streets below. Traffic noise doesn’t reach the condo with its picturesque views of the south, east and west, and an outdoor balcony allows Denny to display window boxes to bring a touch of her former country life to the big city.

Kallick – a former neighbor of the Solsos -- also has a balcony at his 110 East Washington Street residence. But he finds himself far too busy as a Wholesale District resident to make much use of it. A 26-year-old investor relations professional for Centaur Gaming, Kallick selected his 1,450-square-foot home primarily for location and convenience – it’s two blocks away from his office on Monument Circle

“If you work right on the Circle,” he says, “there’s not a better spot to be. You can’t beat it (living in the Wholesale District.)”

When he has time after work for leisure activities, he’s a short stroll away from Circle Centre, Colts and Pacers games and his favorite eateries – including Mo’s A Place for Steaks, Harry & Izzy’s, St. Elmo Steak House and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. “Everything,” he says, “is right there…The young crowd Downtown at night is excellent. It’s a focal point for everybody.”

Kallick also was attracted to his residence for its own sake. “It’s a beautiful building,” he says of the 15-story structure, which was refurbished into condominiums in 2002. “It has a cool feel. A newer feel, but with some of the old classic (touches).”

Kallick did some refurbing of his own after he bought the two-bedroom space, gutting the “boxed in” kitchen and living room areas and creating a more open, flowing floor plan. It’s a great place to relax after work – and it only takes minutes to get there.

‘Some people like long commutes, because they’re like, ‘Oh, I get to clear my head.’ But I’ve got to tell you, driving from Carmel and all that? No thanks…I drive on Wednesday, to go to a Bible study. Other than that, just on the weekends if I’m leaving town. The car doesn’t get much mileage on it.”

One thing that does get mileage, of the pedestrian kind: the series of connected skywalks and indoor passageways connecting many of Downtown’s attractions and key facilities. Both Solso and Kallick say the ability to get from one area to another without having to brave the elements is one of the District’s best-kept secrets.

“People who don’t spend a lot of time Downtown don’t realize how easy it is,” Solso says. “We can actually get (from the Conrad) to right across the street from Victory Field and not go outside. So if it starts to rain during the game, you don’t have to get too wet (getting home).”

Echoes Kallick, “Going to a Colts game when it’s raining, you can get almost all the way (to Lucas Oil Stadium), until you have to go outside for a couple of blocks. You can use Circle Centre and cut through there.”

Of course, sometimes getting outside is the best perk of all.

“There’s nothing like walking and seeing all the Downtown decorations at Christmas,” Kallick says. “When it’s barely snowing, just looking down Washington Street, walking at night and seeing the Artsgarden all lit up -- that’s just cool.”

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Written July 2009, updated October 2011