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Carmel-based developer Old Town Cos. is planning to invest $80 million in Westfield’s downtown with an expanded Union Square at Grand Junction project and a new townhouse community nearby.
The city of Westfield announced Thursday that Old Town wants to expand its previously announced mixed-use Union Square development beyond the city block south of State Road 32, between South Union and Mill streets.
Old Town originally proposed building approximately 180 apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space, but is now planning to more than double the size of the project by expanding to a parcel southeast of the original footprint, following the Midland Trace Trail between Union and Cherry streets.
Additionally, Old Town is planning to build a $15 million neighborhood with 40 to 50 town houses just south of that expansion, called Midland South.
“Downtown Westfield is ready for investment and we are excited to be a part of it,” Old Town partner Justin Moffett said in a written statement. “Our update to Union Square includes the addition of a parking garage and an expansion of the development to include five acres on the east side of Union Street.”
The larger Union Square has been planned as a $65 million project with an estimated 250-300 apartments, an approximately 300-space parking garage, around 50,000 square feet of office and up to 30,000 square feet of retail space.
Rebecca McGuckin, Old Town’s community collaborator, said the expanded project’s character will be in line with what was previously proposed. Conceptual plans show several three-story apartment buildings, four-story mixed-use buildings with ground-floor retail, a four-story office building and a three-story commercial building.
McGuckin said Old Town has yet to determine the exact style, but the parking garage will be wrapped by apartments or shielded from view in some other way. The city plans to enter into a public-private partnership with Old Town to build that garage, pending approvals by the Economic Development Commission, Redevelopment Commission and City Council.
As the city considers using increased tax revenues from that development area to fund its portion of the garage, McGuckin said Union Square’s expansion to the southeast could provide surface parking sooner rather than later. She added, the expansion was motivated—in part—by the public’s concerns about parking.
Also, she said there continues to be a desire for a variety of downtown living options.
“You’re not going to build that without a market study to make sure there’s demand. There is nationally, and in Hamilton County, a growing desire for walkability,” she said. “The way the space is used—whether it’s retail, office or residential—there’s going to be an appropriate balance there.”
Construction on the expanded project might start as soon as this summer, pending city approvals. If everything goes smoothly, McGuckin said she expects the project could be completed in two years.
Beyond those commercial uses and market rate apartments, Old Town is focusing its latest proposed community on for-sale units.
“Midland South was planned in response to feedback from community residents desiring for-sale housing within walking distance to Grand Junction Plaza. The natural beauty of the Midland Trail adjacent to our proposed townhome community is an added benefit,” Moffett said in the statement.
McGuckin said Midland South’s timeline is less clear, and that she could not provide an estimated timeline for completion.
The project is the first major private development to be announced as a result of the city’s estimated $35 million Grand Junction Plaza project. The six-acre park’s design was altered recently to avoid cost overruns to feature a concrete stage instead of an amphitheater and replace a permanent skating rink with a seasonal installation and other changes.
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Is there a new proposed drawing? Sounds nice.