Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
An Indianapolis-based homebuilder has submitted plans to build a community of 190 for-sale townhomes on the east side of Noblesville.
M/I Homes of Indiana is looking to build the development, called Townes on 238, on 26.7 acres north of Greenfield Road/State Road 238, east of Promise Road and south of East 156th Street. The development would be about 2-1/2 miles from Ruoff Music Center.
The developer is asking the Noblesville City Council to rezone the property from R1 Residential District to the Townes on 238 Planned Unit Development.
Jon Dobosiewicz, an attorney with the Carmel-based law firm Nelson & Frankenberger, told the city council on Tuesday night that the two- and three-story townhomes would range from 1,500 square feet to 2,050 square feet with a price range of $290,000 to $350,000.
The townhome units would each have white siding and brick with bronze window trim and a two-car garage. Dobosiewicz compared the town house style to the Bonterra development under construction south of State Road 32 and west of Gray Road in Westfield.
The development would also include a centrally located park, a separate dog park and walking trails.
Plans show the development with 32 separate buildings, each with four to six units apiece. Each unit would have its own two-car garage.
The development would officially fall under the single-family real estate classification, according to the Census Bureau definition, even though each building would contain multiple units.
City council member Mark Boise expressed concerns about the number of multifamily or attached units that have recently been approved in Noblesville. He cited statistics saying 3,848 multifamily or duplex units have received approval and are awaiting construction in the city.
Four apartment buildings—Federal Hill Apartments, Lofts on Tenth, East Bank and Nexus—are under construction around downtown Noblesville.
“I think we are going to need more multifamily in the future, but I just personally am nervous about our ability as a city to keep up with regards to infrastructure, public safety and everything else,” Boise said.
City Council President Darren Peterson said Noblesville’s housing study cited the city’s need to fill “the missing middle” between apartments and single-family detached houses.
“That has been a niche we’ve needed, and I think this fits that general concept of the missing middle,” Peterson said.
The Noblesville Plan Commission will hear about Townes on 238 at its meeting on March 18. Plans for the development could return to the Noblesville City Council in April for approval.
M/I Homes was the fourth-busiest homebuilder in central Indiana in 2022, according to IBJ research, with 532 permit filings.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
All of a sudden, way too much of these plain, multi story developments. Identical, but larger development at 146th and River Road. Another going up next door to it. Immediate problems with traffic congestion and putting a burden on utilities and roads. Too much density. Zoning board needs to demand better designs before allowing any new multi unit approvals. These wouldn’t get a first hearing if they were near downtown. Plan on doubling the size of the police and fire departments in the next 5-10 years if this continues.
I think all stories like this should note: what was on the land before…a forest? a farm field? We see what’s being gained, but what’s being lost?
One single-family homestead and farmland.