INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana announced a property exchange of Wedneday that will give the city control of the former Indiana Women's Prison on the city's east side.
The deal gives the city control of the property located at 401 N. Randolph Street and gives the state the properties located at 2600 S. Harding Street and 710 N. Sherman Drive.
The Harding Street location is the current home of Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS). IACS will be moving to a new location on the city's southeast side.
According to the city, the former Indiana Women’s Prison, established in 1873, was the first separate institution for female inmates. For over a century, the facility operated on Indianapolis’s eastside, before the Women’s Prison moved to its current location on Girls School Road in 2009.
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The Randolph Street site later became the Indianapolis Re-Entry Educational Facility (IREF) before closing its doors in 2017. Since then, control of the vacant property has been under the Indiana Department of Administration.
The transaction of properties is expected to be completed in November.
