A local church has bought the Martin University campus with plans to build affordable housing and offer community services at the site after the college abruptly closed.
Eastern Star Church has closed on its purchase of Martin’s three buildings on its nearly eight-acre campus in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, where the state’s lone predominantly Black institution of higher education operated for nearly 40 years.
The school’s impending closure, announced in December amid financial issues and declining enrollment, left a void in the historically Black community that’s long struggled with disinvestment. The news came as neighbors fought against a data center proposal that was approved just northeast of the Martin campus, which a group of residents recently filed a lawsuit to stall.
The church, founded in Martindale-Brightwood in 1920, says it will build affordable housing and offer education and financial services to neighbors in an expansion of its R.O.C.K initiative — short for “Renewing Our Community for the Kingdom.” The ROCK Impact Center will anchor the development, Eastern Star Executive Pastor Anthony Murdock said in a statement.
The church has officially closed on the sale, according to Murdock, although county property records don’t yet reflect the transaction. The property at 2186 North Sherman Drive and a handful of nearby parcels were valued at $3.5 million in a real estate listing. The main campus’ assessed value was about $13.1 million in 2025, property records show.
The church has already built new housing and a youth community center that hosts educational programs and recreational sports near its main campus in nearby Arlington Woods, investing more than $25 million at the site, Murdock said in a statement.
The church plans to conduct a “community needs assessment” within the next three months, bringing in Martindale-Brightwood residents and stakeholders to discuss the site’s future, Murdock told IndyStar.
Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@indystar.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy church buys Martin University campus after closure, plans housing
Reporting by Jordan Smith, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
