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Indianapolis-based housing developer Onyx+East has filed plans with the city of Westfield to build up to 125 new houses on the city’s north side near the intersection of 199th Street and the Monon Trail.
Jake Dietrich, vice president of acquisition and development for Onyx+East, told members of the Westfield City Council on Monday night that the development would be built on 39 acres across the Monon from The Club at Chatham Hills.
Onyx+East is seeking to rezone the property to the 199th & Monon Planned Unit Development.
“There’s not many lots on the Monon left in Westfield, especially in this type of residential context of this size,” Dietrich said.
Houses would be priced from more than $500,000 to above $1 million. Under the current plan, larger lots are planned on the west side of the development to provide a buffer for neighboring houses.
Along the Monon, there would be what Dietrich described as “cluster courtyard” homes.
“This is a new design for not only Westfield, but we think much of central Indiana, where we’re taking the traditional alley and cul-de-sac and kind of melding it together into a more unique sense of place,” Dietrich said. “Homes that are off of this, what we’re calling cluster courtyard, will effectively have two front yards.”
The development would have about 9-1/2 acres of open space, including a gathering space, walking paths and a pocket park. The development would have a Monon Trail connection near 199th Street and a bike fix-it station for trail users.
Nearby residents at Chatham Hills have started an online petition opposing the Onyx+East development. They argue the project would be incompatible with neighborhood character, overburden infrastructure on 199th Street and harm the Monon Trail and surrounding green space. They say there is not a community need or demand for the type of housing planned by Onyx+East, and that the project would have a negative impact on property values and long-term land-use planning.
Chatham Hills is a golf course community built by Zionsville-based Henke Development Group LLC.
Westfield Director of Public Works Jon Nail told council members that there is a plan in place to make improvements to 199th Street. The city would partner with Hamilton County, which has jurisdiction over part of 199th Street.
Councilor Jon Dartt asked if residents living along the Monon at the Onyx+East community would be able to create their own paths to the trail. Dietrich said residents would not legally be allowed to make their own path, and Mayor Scott Willis noted that Henke Development Group CEO Steve Henke owns the strip of land on the west side of the Monon nearest the Onyx+East property.
City Councilor Victor McCarty said he appreciates that Onyx+East is proposing a project that is not a “cookie cutter” development.
“I really appreciate this being a unique, diverse project we don’t already have here in Westfield,” he said.
Onyx+East, led by CEO Kelli Lawrence, was spun off in 2016 from Indianapolis-based Milhaus Development LLC. Last year, the company, which focuses on in-fill housing developments, broke ground on its largest for-sale community, Flora in Carmel. The company started construction this spring on its first development in Fishers, the Nickel Row town house community.
A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Wyndham Westfield hotel at 18592 Carousel Lane. The Westfield Advisory Plan Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing at its meeting on July 7. The Plan Commission is expected to hold a workshop on Aug. 18 and provide a recommendation on Sept. 2. The project could return to the City Council for a final vote on Sept. 8.
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It is great to see a homebuilder bring a unique infill project to Westfield along the Monon Trail. I know we will continue to see developments like these and think the residents appreciate this level of product.
Onyx and East builds crap.
Simply not true Murray.
Well, not in Ohio or Florida. Yet, they riddle Indiana with it.
Wasn’t Chatham Hills only recently developed? I certainly feel like there was construction crisscrossing that part of the Monon for much of the past 5 years.
Really curious a relatively new community is protesting development. Their development is fine, but no further development is allowed after that!
It couldn’t be more plain: the million-dollar homeowners don’t want homes that sell for less than that nearby. Despite the fact that distinct neighborhoods at separate price points don’t affect the nearby homes at different price points.
Seems like it. The “surrounding green space” in that area is already filled with cookie cutter McMansions. What’s 100 more?