INDIANAPOLIS (AP)— City officials blame a slump in the housing market for the end to projects to redevelop the downtown site of the former Market Square Arena.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission is expected on Wednesday to formally reject two proposals for high-rise condo developments on the vacant site three blocks from Monument Circle.

A slump in the housing market since the proposals were submitted in April 2007 changed the dynamics, said Nick Weber, the city's deputy mayor for economic development. Those changes made the high-rise proposals seem less likely to be financially successful, he said.

"This will allow the Department of Metropolitan Development to further assess development alternatives," Weber told The Indianapolis Star.

He said the city was talking with a number of developers interested in the property.

Market Square Arena, where the Indiana Pacers once played and Elvis Presley performed his last concert, was demolished in 2001, and the site is now a parking lot. Several attempts to finance a high-rise tower with condominiums and retail stores have failed to get off the ground.