Latest news with #AdvisoryPlanCommission
Indianapolis Star
28-05-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Westfield hopes to set itself apart from Hamilton County neighbors with another downtown project
Westfield officials are once again considering a transformative development project, as the city looks to draw visitors and residents to its downtown while differentiating itself from its Hamilton County neighbors. 'This is going to be the structure you're going to see as you come off U.S. 31 into downtown Westfield, so we wanted to make sure we got this one right,' said Mayor Scott Willis after the development, called Jersey 32, was introduced to city council on May 27. If approved, the development would be built on the northeast corner of Jersey and Poplar Streets. Brian Simons, of Skender Construction, told city councilors that the project will be anchored by a five-story parking garage, which will bring almost 600 parking spaces to downtown. 'Every time we come downtown to dine, we know that there's a shortage of parking and that's been discussed over and over at council,' Simons said. The project includes 235 apartment units, 15,500 square feet of office space, 43,500 square feet of retail space and a standalone, high-end restaurant. It also includes two roof decks, one with a pool that overlooks the nearby Grand Junction Plaza, public plaza areas and greenspace with water features. From January: Westfield approves $27M apartment and restaurant project to revitalize declining downtown The developers are already on their 14th version of the project after working with neighbors and city staff to get feedback, Simons said. He added that Skender Construction plans to move its Indiana headquarters from Carmel into a portion of the planned office space at the development. The retail space is expected to be filled by 'micro retailers,' similar to businesses along Mass Ave in Indianapolis or in Carmel's downtown, Simons said. The mayor expects the development, if approved, to attract young people as well as retirees with its unique apartment concepts. "When you look out from the pool into Grand Junction, it's a million-dollar view," Willis said. He added the greenspace and water features that separate the development from Poplar Street and State Road 32 set it apart from downtown developments in neighboring Hamilton County cities. One rendering shown to city councilors included a small waterfall and fountain feature integrated into the green space and adjacent to the sidewalks at the development. More: Westfield's downtown population has shrunk. This new development, with parking, could help 'We want more green space,' Willis said. 'We want more attractive development in our community. And I think this really does a great job of capturing that.' Information on financing for the project, including its total cost, was not presented at the May 27 meeting. City councilors are expected to vote on the project's development plans in August after it works through the Advisory Plan Commission. Councilors will also consider a separate bond ordinance for the project that has not yet been presented to them. 'I know we'll dive deeper into the financials as this thing gets its legs,' Willis said. Financing for the Jersey 32 project will be similar to how Westfield is financing another nearby development project that will transform downtown, the mayor said. That means at least some tax dollars that would have otherwise gone to the city will likely be used to cover some costs associated with the project. Earlier this month, councilors approved plans for the $123 million mixed-use development called Park & Poplar. That project is a public-private partnership between the city and developer Old Town. It includes a public plaza, parking garage, apartments, retail and office space. City councilors still have to approve the bond ordinance for the Park & Poplar project, but Westfield is expected to pay for 18% or about $22 million of that project. About $11 million of that will be generated by tax increment financing, and $4 million of the city's portion will be covered by an Indiana Economic Development Corporation grant. Bonds for the Park & Poplar project will be backed by the city. The majority, $19.5 million, of the city's costs will be used to build the parking garage and the rest is for the public plaza. The city does not expect grant funding to cover any portion of the Jersey 32 project. The Park & Poplar project includes 240 apartment units, 56 townhomes, a public plaza and parking garage with 523 spaces, 29,000 square feet of retail, which the developer believes will be occupied by a restaurant and 40,000 square feet of office space. That project is set to be built on the southeast corner of Park and Poplar streets, adjacent to Midland Trace Trail and across from the new Westfield Washington Public Library. The Jersey street project, introduced at the May 27 meeting, would be a short walk from the project already approved at Park and Poplar streets. The developments are both within walking distance the city's Grand Junction Plaza and 'Restaurant Row." In January, the city council approved a transformative development project for the other side of downtown. The $27 million project, called Ambrose on Main will be built on the northeast corner of North East Street and State Road 32. It will include 87 one and two-bedroom apartments, with 12,000 square of feet of commercial space, including a restaurant with outdoor seating. The project also includes a plaza and courtyard areas spanning 6,000 square feet, a 2,000 square foot rooftop patio and amenities such as a work-from-home lounge, an indoor and outdoor cafe, a state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor bike storage and a pet spa. Willis has noted that Westfield is the only city in Hamilton County that has seen its downtown population decrease in the last decade as the development projects have come before city council.
Chicago Tribune
16-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Proposed housing on former golf course called too dense
Owners of the Brassie Golf Club who want to turn the course into a housing subdivision were told by three members of Chesterton's Advisory Plan Commission that their proposal for 600 units on 200 acres is too high in density. PMM Chesterton, which does business as Diamond Peak Homes, was making their official concept review proposal before the seven-member Advisory Plan Commission Thursday night. There were about 25 people in attendance, but only the plan commission members could speak. While it was the first official appearance, PMM Chesterton has been publicizing their intentions for what they called 'The Brassie Plan' for months. PMM Chesterton met with town economic development officials and also made one prior unofficial appearance before the Advisory Plan Commission. They also held two community forum meetings at Chesterton High School. The next steps before the Advisory Plan Commission — if PMM Chesterton proceeds — would be a preliminary hearing, a public hearing and then a vote by the commission. The Town Council would have the final vote. As a result of interaction with town officials and the community, Michael Herbers, the managing partner for PMM Chesterton, said they did adjust the housing units downward to 600 from 632. The development would have a variety of home styles with 83 single-family homes on 75-foot-wide lots and 127 single-family homes on 50-foot-wide lots. There would be 196 paired villas — or duplexes — and 194 townhomes. When asked, Herbers estimated that the low-end pricing for the townhomes in the development would cost between $250,000 to $300,000. Herbers said that it is important to have housing available for the area's workforce, like teachers and police officers. Plan Commission member James Kowalski was the most blunt in his assessment, saying they were trying to put '10 pounds of potatoes in a five-pound bag.' He said a lot of people weren't happy with the plan and some labeled the developer's meetings with the community at Chesterton High School a 'dog and pony show.' He also was critical of what he saw as a lack of concrete information and added 'I don't see anything here that I see as really sincere.' Kowalski noted that in some places, the housing was so dense there was only 10 feet between the houses. He said that would mean that a person would open their window and end up watching a neighbor take a shower, which he described with the profanity for bull waste. 'This just ain't gonna fly with me, I'll tell you right now,' Kowalski said. Plan Commission member Thomas Kopko noted that he was opposed in November 2022, when Lennar Homes proposed building almost 400 houses on the property. 'This would be 50% more which would be 50% worse,' Kopko said. Kopko said he wouldn't be for such density 'in this lifetime or the next.' 'Come back with 300 (houses) and you might get my interest,' Kopko said. David Uran of Game Plan Solutions, who is assisting PMM Chesterton, said that having only 300 single-family homes would drive pricing of the homes 'way up.' He said with the market today, there is a need for housing for first-time home buyers and seniors. Councilwoman Sharon Darnell, D-4th, who is also a plan commission member, said she was concerned how the density of housing for the Brassie Club property would affect drainage because it is 'the wettest section of town.' The water table is only 4 to 8 feet from the surface in some areas. Darnell said there is no way the houses could have basements. Darnell said she lives in the area and knows there were houses built with basements and now the owners have to deal with flooding. 'I am not going to go through that again,' Darnell said. She noted that the developer is at some disadvantage because prior builders 'were not good stewards.' Building 600 homes would also overload the roads in that area, Darnell said. Herbers said that a traffic impact study would be performed for that area. However, Darnell noted that the town must now deal with the funding implications of Senate Bill 1 and the new property tax revenue generated by the housing wouldn't be enough to cover the costs of providing town services. Herbers and Uran said they would consider the input they received from the commission members, along with the town's Engineering Department. Uran emphasized that they want to build a quality development for the community. After the presentation of the Brassie Plan, Councilwoman Jennifer Fisher, R-5th, told the Post-Tribune she was disappointed by the conduct of some of the commission members which she thought was 'unprofessional.' 'It is really inappropriate for an advisory plan commission (member) to be yelling and cussing when talking to people,' Fisher said. She said she also was disappointed that the developer was talked down to and interrupted when they tried to answer. Fisher said that some town council members had asked the developer to have a diversity of housing, yet one advisory plan commission member wanted only single-family housing. At a February council meeting, Fisher raised concerns about the town's reputation with developers and how the advisory plan commission members had treated them. She said with the town's new economic development team, there was a need to improve the town's approach.
