INDIANAPOLIS—
One year ago, a massive fire on the canal lit up the downtown skyline. The flames caused millions of dollars in damage and set back a major development project, the Cosmopolitan on the Canal, but now the project is back on track.It was a bitterly cold morning, with water spraying from the hoses, then turning to ice coating everything, and floating, filling the air with crystals. Glowing embers were falling on, and all around us.
The building was in the late stages of construction, but the fire walls and sprinkler system were not yet operational. Investigators told us that allowed the fire to spread from one of the complex to the other. The $37 million development was heavily damaged, pushing back its opening last year.
In fact, it was just last month that the first tenants moved in. At that time, about 90-of the 218 units were finished, with work still continuing. As for the cause, 23 year-old Brandon Burns of Indianapolis is charged with starting the fire. The homeless man initially confessed to starting it. Since then, he's changed his story, saying he was high on drugs when he made that confession.
He now claims he's innocent.
As for the rebuilding efforts, the developers, Flaherty and Collins say it has been a tough, uphill battle. They say it's been a labor of love. A labor of love with work that still continues today.
