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The Hogsett administration’s plan to redevelop the Indianapolis Downtown Heliport is on hold after Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita asked federal officials to reconsider their approval of the facility’s anticipated sale to the city.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Jan. 9 directed the Indianapolis Airport Authority, which owns the heliport, to “immediately pause post-closure decommissioning activities” ahead of a formal sale. The directive is a reversal of the agency’s decision in late 2024, which permitted the authority to close the facility to air traffic and sell it for redevelopment.
The move follows separate letters from Rokita and wealthy businessman Chuck Surack, objecting to the heliport’s closure, each of which were sent in late December 2025. The city wants to buy the heliport and demolish it to make way for new development, including the possibility of a Major League Soccer stadium.
In his letter, Rokita said he believes that the $15 million offer made by Surack, who owns Fort Wayne -based music technology and instrument Sweetwater, prior to the approval of the heliport’s sale to the city did not receive due consideration—in part because of the composition of the airport authority’s board.
“The mayor of Indianapolis controls the IAA through a majority of appointments,” Rokita said in the Dec. 23 letter. “Therefore, there is the real possibility or at least the public optics of self-dealing for the purpose of purchasing the heliport site for below-market value to effectuate another non-aviation personal goal of the current mayor.”
The city’s $10.88 million agreement with the airport authority’s 11-member board — which includes six appointees from Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett — was unanimously approved in October.
Rokita also said he does not believe the authority has met the obligations of certain grants it’s received for the heliport, noting the entity has been given $6.7 million since acquiring the property in 1983. Rokita said that since the Joe Biden presidential administration approved the decommissioning, it should be reevaluated — particularly as electric take-off and landing craft come further into the fore.
The heliport has been closed since Dec. 15, but a sale is not permitted until several Federal Aviation Administration regulations are satisfied.
That includes providing the FAA with a timeline for a study of air mobility activities near its other properties within three years of the heliport’s closure, as well as the removal of all airworthy aircraft, removal of aviation markings, transfer of aviation-related equipment and cancellation of certain procedures for approaching aircraft.
While public documents generally show the site being about 4.9 acres, the Federal Aviation Administration considers about 5.37 acres to be under its purview related to the heliport, including the heliport structure, the landing pad and land abutting roadways and train tracks.
In a public notice, the FAA said it opened a new comment period related to the heliport through Feb. 12., spurred by both Rokita and Surack’s letters.
The FAA did not return an emailed request for comment late Monday. An automated response indicated media inquiries would not receive immediate attention due to the partial government shutdown. A representative from the Indiana Attorney General’s office also did not provide any additional immediate comment.
In a written statement, the Indianapolis Airport Authority confirmed that it has ceased efforts to take the heliport offline until a final decision is made.
“The IAA is aware of the letter from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita to FAA requesting that the FAA reconsider its decision to close the heliport,” the Indianapolis Airport Authority said in a written statement. “This is highly unusual for the FAA to reverse a decision that has already been approved, which has been under review for five years.”
Aliya Wishner, director of communications for the Hogsett administration, dismissed Rokita’s concerns about the mayor’s influence in the sale.
“The Mayor and City of Indianapolis have statutorily required duties to make appointments to countless governing bodies, including the Indianapolis Airport Authority Board,” she said. “IAA board members are obliged to act in the interests of the IAA, regardless of their appointing authority.”
She also said the city was in a position to purchase the property for the amount it offered because the amount was set by two independent appraisals reviewed by the FAA.
The deal for the heliport also came more than four years after the city signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the airport authority to either find a third-party developer for the site or to sell the property to the city or a related entity, like the Capital Improvement Board of Marion County.
Surack said he is hopeful the new comment period will result in the FAA reconsidering its position on the facility’s closure. Surack over the past several years has become one of the facility’s most involved users, both for personal travel and through his company Sweet Helicopters.
He said he doesn’t have a preference on whether he or another entity owns it — as long as it doesn’t close.
“I just want the heliport to stay open,” he said. I think it’s sad when aviation assets get turned into non-aviation assets, and particularly how this one went down, which I believe was done not as [ethically] as it could have been. I’d love to see the heliport stay open and continue to grow and serve like it should.”
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