Carmel Plan Commission to consider hundreds of new residences next week

A slew of proposed residential and mixed-use projects will be reviewed by Carmel’s Plan Commission next week, including an preliminary plan to redevelop several commercial and office properties along Old Meridian Street.

Carmel’s Plan Commission is set to consider several residential proposals Tuesday involving more than 270 new homes, as well as a rezoning of nearly 23 acres in Carmel’s central core for redevelopment.

“This is a full agenda, but not unusual in breadth of projects, especially as developers and contractors look to have, or hope to have construction begin by late summer or autumn,” Mike Hollibaugh, Carmel’s director of community services, said in an email.

Rezoning Carmel’s core

The city of Carmel is proposing the properties at 12345, 12415, 12425 Old Meridian St. and 1185 W. Carmel Drive be rezoned for future redevelopment.

There’s no specific project or timeline, but the rezoning would allow the John Kirk Furniture Galleries and three nearby single-story medical offices to the north to be redeveloped for future residential and commercial uses. John Kirk Furniture has operated in Carmel since 1952.

Hollibaugh said the rezone will allow the property owners and the Carmel Redevelopment Commission to discuss a potential redevelopment project on the site, one that’s part of a public-private partnership supported by TIF funding for infrastructure costs.

“With the recent rezone of Hamilton Crossing to (mixed-uses), the city believes it makes sense to include this site when looking at the overall redevelopment and infrastructure needs of this part of the community,” Hollibaugh said.

Jackson’s Grant’s next phase

Toledo, Ohio-based Republic Development is planning the next phase of its 280-acre, 395-home, master-planned community, Jackson’s Grant. Called The Village, it is planned for 21 undeveloped acres north of 116th Street and west of Springmill Road.

Conceptual plans show the neighborhood will have space for 19 single-family homes; 55 two- and three-story town houses across 15 clusters; and 20,000 square feet of commercial and office space across multiple buildings.

Residences in the development will have either three or four bedrooms.

Lawrence Moon, chief operating officer of Republic Development, said the overall Jackson’s Grant community is more than 80% complete at this point. He expects to break ground on the Village in early 2021 to deliver late next year.

Single-family homes in the Village will fit in with those in the nearby Stableside neighborhood and cost an average $700,000. Town houses are expected to average $500,000 or more.

Lennar projects

Lennar Homes of Indiana, a division of Miami-based Lennar Corp., is also planning to add town houses to a prior development in Carmel. The homebuilder wants to bring 142 for-sale townhomes to 12 undeveloped acres south of East 146th Street, across Community Drive from Legacy Town Flats.

As planned, Legacy Townhomes would be divided into 22 groupings of five to seven homes. Lennar expects units will sell from $260,000 to $320,000.

Troy Estates, another Lennar project bringing 39 single-family homes to 23 acres along West 141st Street, also is scheduled to go before the plan commission. The project needs, among other things, permission to add a lot to preserve a historic two-story house on the property that was built circa 1840.

If Lennar secures approval, the developer anticipates those homes selling from $450,000 to $600,000.

Estridge development

A smaller townhouse project is in the works for a 1.25-acre plot on the southeast corner of West 146th Street and Rohrer Road, along the Monon Trail. Carmel-based Estridge Development Management has planned 15 townhomes across four buildings. Anticipated prices for the range from $400,000 to $500,000.