Developers present plan for 242 apartments in North End project in Carmel

A pair of developers have submitted plans to the city of Carmel to build two multifamily projects as part of the second phase of the North End development at U.S. 31 and Smoky Row.

Carmel-based Old Town Cos. LLC and Indianapolis-based Avenue Development are looking to build a combined 242 apartments on 10.4 acres on the east side of the $100 million North End development.

Old Town opened the mixed-use North End community in November 2023. The development’s first phase included the construction of apartments, town houses, single-family houses, retail and office space and Fields Market Garden, a nonprofit community garden. A farm-to-table restaurant called Freeland’s at North End also opened this year inside a house built on the property in 1845.

Forty of North End’s 168 apartments are permanently designated for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. North End is home to an Ash & Elm Cider Co. taproom, Machos Haircuts & Shaves, Indie Coffee Roasters, Le Petit Gâteau bakery and Current Publishing. Freeland’s plans to purchase at least 50% of the produce grown at Fields Market Garden.

The North End development site is on a triangle-shaped property between U.S. 31 to the north, the Monon Greenway to the east and Smoky Row to the south.

Old Town and Avenue Development are seeking several development variances for the project. Members of the Carmel Plan Commission heard an introduction of plans at the commission’s meeting on March 18. Carmel-based Studio M Architecture & Planning is the architect for the project, while Beech Grove-based CrossRoad Engineers is the project engineer.

Old Town and Avenue Development plan to partner to build a 170-unit apartment complex called Viva Bene, which would be aimed at residents 55 and over. Up to 60% of the apartments at Viva Bene would have one bedroom. Buildings within the complex would be four and five stories tall.

Avenue Development Senior Vice President of Development Matt Kwapis said Viva Bene would offer a “care concierge” service to help residents manage chronic health conditions while they live in an independent-living community. He also said Viva Bene would provide “attainable living,” which he said means both the ability to afford to live in a senior community and to provide nearby amenities that residents desire.

“If you’ve had a loved one, or if you’ve experienced having to go into senior living, it can be expensive,” Kwapis said. “We want to bring this type of senior living within reach for our residents.”

Avenue Development opened its first Viva Bene community in February in St. Peters, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

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Old Town also plans to build 72 traditional apartments in seven town-house-style buildings at North End.

Studio M Founding Principal Dan Moriarity told Plan Commission members that the apartments would consist of 600-square-foot, one-bedroom, ground-level apartments and 1,200-square-foot, two-story, two-bedroom units on the second and third floors of the three-story buildings.

Moriarity said the goal will be to have complementary architectural styles between Viva Bene and the apartment buildings.

“The one thing we wanted to do in the design was we like to think of [them] as sister buildings in a way,” Moriarity said. “They are next to each other, so just the colors, the bricks, the patterning, some of the gables, some of the look, we wanted to at least make you feel like you’re in a related neighborhood, rather than two separate architectural styles.”

The development proposal is scheduled to next receive more discussion from a Plan Commission committee on April 1. The request would then return to the full Plan Commission for a vote at a future meeting.