Apartment complex, Topgolf-style clubhouse, planned at Gray Eagle Golf Course

Indianapolis Star

19 hours ago

A long-dormant plan for an apartment complex and clubhouse with two-level driving range at Gray Eagle Golf Club appears ready to tee off.
The Fishers City Council was scheduled to consider an economic development agreement with builder J.C. Hart that would provide up to $7.75 million from the city for construction costs at 126th Street and Brooks School Road, a plan first announced in 2021. A hearing is set for June 16 at Fishers City Hall and Art Center.
J.C. Hart wants to build a $50 million, 151-unit rental complex aimed at people 55 and older in a combination of apartments, townhouses, and cottage homes. The project will have a pool, pickleball and bocce ball courts, a clubhouse with an exercise room and lounge.
J.C. Hart Senior Vice President of Development Todd May said the project is geared toward older residents but not restricted to them.
'The layout of the homes are meant to appeal to them,' May said, citing first-floor master bedrooms in the townhomes as an example. When the development was planned five years ago, that appeal also included pickleball courts, he joked.
"Now everyone plays pickleball,' he said. 'This has been a long, long process.'
The development will be a 3-story apartment building with 101 units and 48 cottage-style homes or townhouses.
The golf clubhouse will be rebuilt with a 28,000-square-foot restaurant attached to the driving range with multi-story netting to catch balls, similar to a Topgolf layout, May said. A practice green, bathrooms, and improved irrigation and drainage systems will be added to the course.
The city will issue bonds to help mostly with infrastructure improvements. They will be paid over 25 years by property taxes collected from the apartment and clubhouse through a special Tax Increment Financing District.
May said the delay was because it took longer than expected to secure a loan for the project. Possible tenants, he said, have been lining up anyway.
'We have a long list of people waiting to reserve a unit,' he said. 'There is a real demand in Fishes for something like this.'
May said the wait was worth it because it saved the golf course.
Gray Eagle owner RN Thompson wanted to close the course in 2018 because it was losing money and too expensive to keep repairing. Instead, Thompson planned to replace the course with housing.
Residents in subdivisions on the course fought to save it and various projects were proposed but rejected before J.C. Hart and Thompson agreed on this one, with the city's assistance.
'We worked hand-in-hand with the residents on this development and I'm excited to see this project continue to move forward,' Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said in a written statement. 'This will bring even more vibrancy to this area while preserving its long-term sustainability.'