Carmel Gateway Campus Transformation

Carmel Gateway Campus Transformation: Building the Technology Foundation for the Future

When Rubenstein Partners embarked on a $40 million redevelopment of the Carmel Gateway campus in Carmel, Indiana, they weren't just converting asphalt into green space. They were reimagining what a modern workplace campus could be — a connected, amenity-rich environment where more than 3,100 employees could gather, collaborate, and thrive.

GDS Technology was brought in early to make sure the technology would be worthy of that vision. In the spring of 2025, GDS Technology opened its Indiana branch at the Carmel Gateway campus itself — establishing a permanent local presence specifically to launch and support the project. That commitment set the tone for everything that followed.

The Project

Carmel Gateway — formerly known as Parkwood Crossing, Central Indiana's largest suburban office complex — sits at the gateway of Carmel at 96th Street and College Avenue. The campus transformation converted previously underutilized outdoor spaces into modern destinations designed for collaboration, events, wellness, tenant engagement, and community gatherings.

Two signature spaces anchored the redevelopment:

• The West Lawn: A terraced amphitheater with limestone block seating, a pergola, and modern audio/visual equipment for corporate presentations, a speaker series, and musical performances. Officially opened April 22, 2026 — Earth Day — with live music from a Carmel Symphony Orchestra quintet and remarks from Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam.
• The East Lawn: An expansive flex-use green space near the 800 and 900 Carmel Gateway buildings, featuring picnic areas, food truck parking, swing seats, relaxation zones, and EV charging stations — brought online through a phased soft opening as campus enhancements were completed.

GDS Technology's Role: From the Ground Up

GDS Technology's involvement began with the project team during the design and planning phase in early 2025 — working alongside ownership, property management, architects, engineers, and specialty contractors to establish a technology roadmap built for both immediate needs and long-term growth.

Our approach was holistic and infrastructure-first. Rather than treating technology as a finish layer, we designed it as the foundation — starting underground and working up.

Underground Infrastructure & Conduit Design

GDS designed the underground conduit pathway from the ground up — literally. That means reviewing existing utility carriers, coordinating with electrical infrastructure to ensure the power footprint supported technology needs, and laying in the conduit architecture that enables not just the current deployment but Phase 2 and Phase 3 expansions planned for the corridor. Building a technology foundation means building it once, correctly, so future services can be added without tearing up the ground again.

Network Backhaul & Connectivity

GDS managed active coordination across all trades involved in the project — reviewing other contractors' work, identifying interdependencies, and designing and installing the network backhaul infrastructure that ties the entire campus technology ecosystem together. Central to that architecture: a dedicated 10Gb managed network built exclusively for the campus amenity spaces — providing the bandwidth and reliability headroom that high-quality A/V systems, outdoor connectivity, and future smart-campus services demand.

The audio-visual systems for the West Lawn amphitheater and event spaces were designed and delivered by Forte, a specialist A/V firm engaged and operating under GDS Technology's direction as the prime technology integrator. Forte's deployment runs entirely over the dedicated 10Gb amenity network GDS designed and built — a purpose-built environment that ensures A/V performance is never competing with other campus traffic.

Full Scope of Services

GDS Technology's involvement spanned the complete technology lifecycle:

• Technology master planning and infrastructure strategy
• Underground conduit design and coordination with electrical
• Structured cabling and low-voltage design consultation
• Network and connectivity planning and backhaul installation
• Audio-visual system design and delivery — executed by Forte A/V under GDS Technology direction, running over a dedicated 10Gb managed network built exclusively for campus amenity spaces
• Vendor evaluation and coordination across trades
• Smart-campus technology roadmap development
• Future-state growth and scalability planning for Phase 2 and Phase 3 expansion

White Glove Delivery: Pre-Testing, On-Site, and Ready

Delivering technology for a high-visibility event at this scale does not happen the morning of. GDS Technology operated with a structured, deliberate pre-opening timeline — built around Jonathan Fitzgerald's standing directive: all trades completed with enough time to fully test, with nothing left to the eleventh hour.

The Week Before: Site Readiness

Beginning the week prior to the April 22nd grand opening, the GDS Indiana team executed full site readiness operations. This meant confirming that every trade — electrical, low-voltage, A/V, network — had completed its work with enough runway to run thorough end-to-end testing. Systems were tested individually and in combination. Issues were identified and resolved without time pressure. This is the discipline that separates a confident go-live from a chaotic one.

Sunday: Norcross Team Arrives On-Site

On Sunday, Jonathan Fitzgerald and one additional member of the Norcross, Georgia team flew to Carmel to join the Indiana crew. Arriving three days before the Wednesday grand opening was intentional. It gave Jonathan the time to walk the full site, conduct a hands-on review of all completed work, and set the agenda for the final push — without any of the urgency that comes from arriving the day before.

Monday & Tuesday: Cross-Checks and Final Tuning

With the full combined team on the ground Monday, the focus shifted to cross-checks and refinement. Systems that performed well individually were validated together under realistic conditions. A/V levels, network performance, and connectivity across the dedicated 10Gb amenity infrastructure were all confirmed. Any adjustments were made with time to spare. Tuesday served as the final pass — a clean confirmation that Wednesday would go exactly as planned.

Wednesday, April 22nd: Grand Opening

By the time 3,100+ employees, Mayor Sue Finkam, and community members arrived for the Earth Day grand opening, GDS Technology had nothing left to verify. The team was present and operational — not running last-minute checks, but available to support the experience. Every system performed. The technology was invisible, which was exactly the goal.

On Earth Day 2026, nobody thought about the technology. They enjoyed the music, the space, and the moment. That's exactly how it should be.

A Foundation Built for What Comes Next

The objective throughout was never just to deliver today's project. GDS worked with project stakeholders to develop a scalable infrastructure strategy capable of supporting future connectivity services, enhanced outdoor collaboration technologies, security integrations, additional A/V capabilities, and expanded smart-building initiatives — without requiring costly redesign down the road.

As commercial real estate continues evolving toward connected environments, successful projects require technology, cybersecurity, networking, audio-visual systems, and operational infrastructure to be planned as a unified ecosystem. Carmel Gateway is a model for how that can be done.

GDS Technology Establishes Midwest Operations at Carmel Gateway

This project represents something larger than a single engagement for GDS Technology. This project represents something larger than a single engagement for GDS Technology. With its Atlanta headquarters anchoring operations across the Southeast, GDS Technology's Indiana branch at Carmel Gateway serves as the firm's permanent Midwest base extending the same level of hands-on service and technical leadership to Central Indiana and the broader region.

The same team that designed the infrastructure, pre-tested the systems, and stood on-site for the grand opening is now operating out of the campus it helped build a deliberate choice that puts GDS Technology's Midwest team at the center of the region it serves.

Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia and now operating across the Midwest from Carmel Gateway, GDS Technology is proud to be part of a project that brought community, collaboration, and thoughtful design together and to be positioned to bring that same approach to clients across Central Indiana and beyond.

Project Location: Carmel Gateway Campus Carmel, Indiana

Project Phases: West Lawn Grand Opening | East Lawn Expansion & Soft Opening

Services Provided: Technology Consulting | Infrastructure Planning | Underground Conduit Design | Vendor Coordination | Network Design & Backhaul Installation | Low-Voltage Design | Smart Building Roadmap | Future Growth Planning | On-Site Grand Opening Support

For more information, contact GDS Technology at gdstech.tech, 404-719-5222, or jonathan.fitzgerald@gdstech.tech.