carmel transformation
City Center project gets a growth spurt
Plan would expand retail, housing units


Part of a proposal for the new 50-acre Carmel City Center. -- Matt Detrich / The Star

New plan for Carmel's City Center

• More shopping space: from 112,000 square feet to 170,000-plus, about a quarter of the size of Circle Centre mall
• More housing units: from 200 to more than 500
• More office space: from 30,000 square feet to 60,000-plus

http://www.indystar.com/images/pics2/image-222666-1288.jpg

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com
February 16, 2005


CARMEL, Ind. -- This aspiring city's quest to build its skyline grew bigger, taller and more expensive Tuesday.

Months before construction starts, a key developer in Carmel's sweeping City Center project said he would increase his original $60 million investment to more than $100 million, adding two stories to its signature building and sharply expanding housing, offices, shops and underground parking.

After encouragement from city officials, architects and the public, Pedcor Investments chief Bruce Cordingley presented new plans for his 12-acre development at a joint meeting of Carmel's City Council and Redevelopment Commission. The commission unanimously approved the preliminary design of the project.

Compared with initial plans Pedcor announced in July, retail space in the development has increased from 112,000 square feet to more than 170,000, or close to a quarter of the size of Circle Centre mall.

Cordingley said his preliminary plans have created a buzz among possible retail tenants, which he hopes will include specialty stores from California and New York -- stores that would be new to Indiana. He declined to offer specifics.

While retail space increased significantly, so did the number of housing units -- from 200 to more than 500. Office space also has increased, from 30,000 square feet to more than 60,000.

Cordingley said he added housing in part because of public demand -- in fact, he said, three of the penthouses are spoken for.

"This really is a better plan than we ever thought we'd get for this area," Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said. "It's going to be a true downtown for Carmel."

As part of the new plan, Brainard said the city will spend $10.7 million on infrastructure and parking, which the city-owned performing arts center would share. That's up from $7 million. City officials estimate Pedcor's project will generate $1.3 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

Since his election a decade ago, Brainard has pushed to transform Carmel from fast-growing suburb to a city in its own right.

Cordingley's mixed-use project -- including penthouses, luxury condominiums, apartments, shopping, restaurants, offices, underground parking and a hotel -- aims for a high-end contrast to Indianapolis and other communities.

"I'm sure most communities would like this," Cordingley said.

"But in Carmel, there is more affluence to pay for the restaurants, pay for the retail and visit the facilities that are not going to be inexpensive. The disposable income in Carmel helps allow something like this to happen."

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, Carmel's 1999 median household income was $81,583; Indianapolis' was $40,051.

In July, Cordingley revealed his original plans, a core of five-story buildings with retail on the first floor and apartments above.

That plan also included a hotel built on 400 underground parking spaces with a pair of nearby office buildings.

The revamped plans released Tuesday show dramatic changes, including a seven-story tower with condos and penthouses. Also among the changes are a two-story hotel building with a lobby and ballroom connecting to Carmel's planned $80 million performing arts center.

The plan also incorporates a multistory restaurant overlooking a planned outdoor amphitheater and the Monon Trail, which runs through the project.

With condos and penthouses connected to the hotel, Cordingley said, "if someone is living there and wants to order dinner from the hotel, it could be easily wheeled to their residence."

As the project's density has increased, so has the amount of parking. The original plan called for 400 underground parking spots and 500 above ground; Cordingley's new proposal calls for nearly 2,000 spaces -- all underground.

Cordingley said the development's design is based on some of his favorite neighborhoods, such as Paris' Left Bank.

Chris McComas, who has invested in a bank and second office site in City Center, was encouraged by the new plans.

"I applaud you, and I think it's absolutely amazing," McComas told Cordingley. "As a landowner in City Center, you just made my property value go up significantly."

Council and commission member Rick Sharp also lauded Cordingley's work.

"He has taken an initial concept, pursued it and exceeded the commission's expectations," Sharp said. "The level of design quality is far beyond what we could have imagined. How can you not be thrilled about a project like that?"

The project still is subject to a final development agreement with the redevelopment commission, although Pedcor already has purchased much of the land from the city for $1.7 million. Cordingley said he hopes to break ground on the project this spring and complete it in four to six years.

"It's something people are greatly anticipating, and we're trying to complete something that the mayor has helped lead the community to accept," he said.

"This is what this city wants."

That sounds kinda ambitious, I cant wait to see how it affects the region, not to mention what it looks like. Did they ever even mention how tall the signature building was going to be?

I will have to do a search on IndyStar because when this first was in the paper they showed elevations.

That sounds kinda ambitious, I cant wait to see how it affects the region, not to mention what it looks like. Did they ever even mention how tall the signature building was going to be?

I think the tallest building will be 7 stories. I agree, its very ambitious, but i think carmel can pull it off.

another ambitious carmel project...

161 acres set for park
$55 million site envisioned as key to Carmel's future

It's a park that could draw visitors -- and envy -- from across the region.

Straddling the Monon Trail, Carmel's new Central Park will include features such as a fishing pond, swimming pools, gyms and a play area on 161 acres.

At a cost of $55 million, the sprawling municipal park project will be one of the state's most expensive by the time it opens in 2006.

But that cost will be worth it, officials hope, as Carmel strives to further position itself among elite suburban communities such as Minneapolis- St. Paul suburb Eden Prairie, capable of attracting corporate headquarters and the executives who work for them. This year's final approval of Central Park capped an eight-year plan to acquire 500 new acres of parkland.

"This park is critical for continued economic development, as well as our desire to maintain the high quality of life our residents have grown to expect," said Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard in January 2004. He was first elected in 1996, back when Carmel had 20 acres of parkland.

Most Central Indiana towns can only dream of such projects.

"It is something to be a little jealous of," said Evan Springer, parks director in Greenwood, a suburb south of Indianapolis. "Sure, we'd love to bond $55 million, but then we'd have to be able to pay it back."

Some elected Carmel officials had the same concerns, even as many fast-growing suburbs push to secure more park space. The bond issue passed the Carmel City Council by only one vote earlier in January. In March, it survived the threat of a petition drive to stop the bond.

Philip Conklin, a former Indiana budget director and a Carmel resident since 1972, wishes more of the bill could be paid through local income taxes, rather than property taxes."

This could easily add a couple hundred dollars to our tax bills here," said Conklin, who complains about the sheer size of the project. "I think they are trying to do too much at once."

The park's primary clientele will be residents of Carmel and Clay Township, the same people who will be asked to pay off the $55 million the city expects to raise from bonds.

But its mix of natural and man-made attractions -- from fishing in a real pond to swimming in both indoor and outdoor pools -- likely will draw a significant number of noncity residents, whose higher admission fees to such features will help with operating costs. How much those fees will be has yet to be determined.

That's partly because of its location along the Monon Trail greenway and proximity to the city center and Carmel arts center.

"The trail is very popular," said Greenwood's Springer, a parks director for 27 years. "It will pull people out of Indianapolis, Westfield and all around."

In places like Hamilton and Johnson counties, where parks officials compete for open space with developers, Carmel may have scored a coup by acquiring the land needed for the park. Just south of the city center, the mix of farmland and natural wetlands sat empty for decades.

"This was really the last large site left in Carmel," said Brainard. "And the location was key. We really needed a spoke in the middle of the wheel (of our park system)."

Steve Valinet, who sold the land to Carmel four years ago for about $45 million, said his grandfather started buying it in the 1940s. His father added more parcels, the last of them in the 1970s. By the 1990s, Valinet had about 170 acres and plenty of interested developers knocking on his door.

"But many of them wanted to break the land up," Valinet said. "And we wanted the right use for the land, something that would be pleasing to the city of Carmel. And we couldn't think of a better use than this."

Surrounded by sprawling neighborhoods and not far from the corporate office buildings that line U.S. 31, the swath of land compares in size with large parks such as Southeastway Park in Indianapolis.

Visitors will see a number of outdoor garden areas, open spaces for festivals, art fairs and the local farmers market. A 12-acre central lagoon will provide fishing and nonmotorized boating opportunities. There will be 760 parking spaces.

More than 9 acres of created wetlands will provide a habitat for wildlife. Nearly 6 miles of trails will connect the Monon Trail to each of the features.

Millions of gallons of water will play a key role in entertaining families. The park will feature a 3.5-acre family aquatic center with a shallow activity pool, lap-swimming, slides, a man-made "lazy river" for inner-tubing and a kiddie pool and spray grounds.

The main piece of construction will be the Monon Centre, a 106,000-square-foot community center with gymnasiums, indoor pools, health-and-fitness areas and indoor play areas -- all built into a landscaped hillside and designed to bridge the Monon Trail.

Jack Edwards, who has lived in the area since 1934, is excited about the park, despite the prospect of paying higher property taxes to pay off the bonds.

"It's an investment," he said. "It will bring more people into the community, which will eventually lower the tax rate."

To critics who warn of a tax increase, Brainard responded that Carmel has the lowest city-tax rate for a city its size in Indiana.

Brainard predicts that tax rates for other services such as schools and libraries will drop, offsetting any increase in taxes related to the bond issue.

"Our hope is that (this project) will not cause any increase in property taxes."

Brainard said he realizes the project appears to be a lot of work done at one time. But the rapid growth in Carmel -- its population increased by nearly 50 percent during the 1990s -- makes that unavoidable.

"We're not a 150-year-old city with an existing park to plan around," he said. "We are growing so fast that we have to do it all at once."

What visitors to Central Park may find

Key features of Carmel's Central Park will include these:

• The Monon Centre, a 106,000-square-foot community center with gymnasiums, indoor pools, health-and-fitness areas and indoor play areas.

• An "eco" gateway garden and planted median at the College Avenue entrance.

• A neighborhood labyrinth garden and water feature for pedestrians entering the park at the southwest corner.

• Event and wedding gardens near the Monon Centre for general use and revenue generating special events.

• A woodland garden and shelter set among mature woodland north of the Central Lagoon.

• Carmel Creek and wetland overlooks that double as outdoor education spaces with interpretive signs.

• Sculptural island gardens located within the Central Lagoon, viewed from the bridge above or from the water in a canoe from the boathouse.

• Demonstration wetlands that serve water- quality functions and could provide potential revenue generation if they are developed as a wetland bank.

• A model-boat basin and children's garden located near the Monon Centre.

• Public art strategically located at the end of key vistas, in open landscapes, in woodland settings and at park gateways.

• A park sign or "wayfinding" system that will help orient park visitors inside the park as well as along its periphery, guiding them to the correct park entrance for their desired activity and to attractions and parking once inside the park. This system should be coordinated with Carmel's comprehensive signage system along its major thoroughfares such as 116th Street and Rangeline Road.

WOW awesome! I think satellite power cities are definatly part of what makes a big city feel, is there any population estimates for Carmel 10 years out? It seems to be growing so damn fast. Indy period seems to be growing fast. And yeah I think they can pull it off as well.

WOW awesome! I think satellite power cities are definatly part of what makes a big city feel, is there any population estimates for Carmel 10 years out? It seems to be growing so damn fast. Indy period seems to be growing fast. And yeah I think they can pull it off as well.

Carmel has over 60,000 people right now and will have over 100,000 in 2014 due to growth but also aggressive annexation.

As much as I hate suburban sprawl, you have got to give the Carmel City Council and Mayor credit for having a real "vision" for this City. They are truely creating a "destination" bedroom community. And I agree with SChristopher, suburbas like this really contribute to the urban fabric of large metro area. Carmel has very progressive (and agressive) groth strategy and it certainly will be in the upper tier of suburbs by the time all of these projects are completed. It's funny to think that Carmel had just a couple thousand people 20 years ago!

How well-known is Carmel outside of Indiana?

How well-known is Carmel outside of Indiana?

not well known at all, i thought it was a small town in the farmlands until you said that this will contribute to the greater metro area.

I have heard people that have been to Indy from Louisville and Cincinnati speak of Carmel...mostly in a dirogatory manner or referring to rich soccermoms.

Great plans! Im looking forward to seeing some renderings.

I think Carmel will continue to gain more and more of a good reputation, both within and and outside of the state. It is already recognized as a model for success amongst edge cities. It has a certain prestige that the other sprawling Indy suburbs (Fishers, Greenwood, etc.) don't have. And I also believe its government has made a very conscious decision to transition away from sleepy bedroom community toward a more thriving commercial center with attractive shopping and restaurants (more like Overland Park, KS). I prefer to live the more urban lifestyle in downtown Indy; but I think as far as suburbs go, Carmel has a lot going for it. Good to hear of "smarter" growth like this to balance out the endless sprawl of culdesacs and subdivisions with names like "Woodstone" and "Brookhaven." :-)

I have heard people that have been to Indy from Louisville and Cincinnati speak of Carmel...mostly in a dirogatory manner or referring to rich soccermoms.

Pretty much...full of soccer moms and golf club swinging hubbies. Carmel is so boring. So is Fishers and Noblesville. But I guess these are great areas to live in if you want to get away from the inner city yet still have a foot in Indianapolis....

Arts district ripe to grow
Carmel hopes to add 4-star hotel, luxury retail mix by 2008

CARMEL -- Shane Hartke opened his modern home décor and gifts shop on Main Street in the city's Old Towne downtown district not only because he loved the area, but also because he loved what the area would soon become.

Hartke's Addendum is located west of Rangeline Road. The shop sits in the heart of the city's arts and design district, set to open in 2008 with a mix of upscale boutiques and restaurants, high-end antique and furniture stores, designers and fine-art galleries.

"It's why we opened here," he said.

"People here are really looking for this type of thing so they won't have to go to downtown Indianapolis or out to Broad Ripple anymore," Hartke said. "They definitely have the clientele here and they definitely have the money here."

That's what city leaders are banking on as they turn this suburban city of more than 43,000, known for high- income households, million-dollar homes and top-notch schools, into an arts destination.

At the heart of the effort are the Carmel Arts and Design District, which is set for the century-old Old Towne buildings centered at Rangeline Road and Main Street, and the nearby City Center. City Center will include shops and restaurants, a performing-arts center, an outdoor amphitheater, an ice-skating rink and a hotel.

Both projects are expected to benefit the city twofold: By bringing in added tourism and by bringing in more revenue.

"Just think what it'll do for Carmel," said Doreen Squire Ficara, a longtime supporter of the local arts scene and executive director of the Carmel Arts Council, an organization formed in 1993 to promote the arts. "People will come to Carmel and want to stay in Carmel instead of going downtown" to Indianapolis.

The goal, city leaders say, is to get away from the strip malls and create more sense of community.

Evan Lurie said Carmel is prime for the arts. An art gallery owner with locations in West Hollywood, Calif., and Boca Raton, Fla., and others planned to open soon in London and Carmel, Lurie oversees the arts district and City Center projects.

According to his staff:

• Retail spending in Carmel is two times the national average.

• Nearly 95 percent of Carmel's population is working professionals.

• About 40 percent of Carmel residents earn incomes of more than $100,000 a year.

"They have the money here," Lurie said. "We need to give them a reason to spend it here."

City Center
Carmel's answer to an established downtown, City Center will feature 200,000 square feet of upscale retail and a four-star hotel called The Georgian, complete with its own 10,000-square-foot ballroom and a restaurant and a bar, Lurie said. The all-suite hotel will be decked out with antique furniture and flat-screen TVs in each room. A world-class spa will be adjacent to the hotel. There'll be 500 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with New York-style penthouse condominiums with floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood floors and rooftop gardens.

Restaurants and cafes will surround an outdoor ice rink and offer year-round outdoor seating. Hot-air blowers will protect diners during chilly weather. Other ideas being considered include a jazz bar and comedy club, Lurie said.

Crews will break ground on the long-awaited performing-arts center this summer. It will house the Carmel Symphony Orchestra and off-Broadway shows. An outdoor amphitheater will host family shows, jazz festivals and more.

"The idea is to have night life for the more mature crowd," Lurie said.

Lurie said the City Center would host an international calendar of events ranging from Chinese New Year and Cinco de Mayo celebrations to St. Patrick's Day festivities. The annual Carmel International Arts Festival will move here.

"We need to bring more culture here," he said.

The area will have an underground parking garage with more than 3,000 spots and valet parking, Lurie said. The stores and the parking lots will be color coded to help shoppers find their way. Auto traffic along the area's cobblestone and brick streets will be limited to emergency vehicles.

"You'll get the feeling you're in a European street," Lurie said. "You'll feel like you're shopping in Paris or Rome."

Arts district
The Carmel Arts and Design District will include similar upscale boutiques and restaurants with loft-style apartments. Lurie said the goal is "to create a walking community where people can get out and enjoy the galleries and art."

He expects as many as 20 to 30 art galleries. So far, five have signed on, including his: A 15,000-square-foot, three-floor building that will feature fine art and interior-design services. The Evan Lurie Fine Art Gallery will be where the World's Smallest Children's Art Gallery is located. It's moving to the west side of the Carmel Old Town Antique Mall.

The district will also house the Indiana Design & Merchandise Mart, interior-design and landscape services, educational seminars and showrooms.

Lurie said the area will feature traditional architecture, but each storefront will be unique.

"An art and design district, by definition, is individualized," he said. "The businesses will reflect that."

He said none of the current businesses located in the proposed district will be forced out, but city officials are trying to "raise the bar" in the area to make storefronts and interiors look more upscale. Several businesses received grants from the Carmel Redevelopment Commission for face-lifts. Lurie said city leaders plan to meet with storeowners to help them fit into the district's plan.

Lurie previously rejuvenated older parts of a city like Carmel's Old Towne. In West Hollywood, he transformed run-down warehouses into the West Hollywood Avenues of Art & Design, home to hundreds of design studios and art galleries.

The area saw a boost in revenue. Lurie said the idea is simple, really.

"Where you have art galleries you have money," he said. "People who go there have expendable income. Then, others (businesses) see this and they want to be a part of it and you have all these boutiques and cafes wanting to open."



http://www.topics.com/images/pics2/image-045905-1341.jpg
The Muldoon's restaurant at First Avenue Southwest and West Main Street in the Carmel Arts and Design District offers outdoor seating. Future restaurants and cafes in the area will offer more outdoor dining.

People here are really looking for this type of thing so they won't have to go to downtown Indianapolis or out to Broad Ripple anymore

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! The only thing that keeps downtown aflow is that it has alot of unique venues to the metro...In my opinion.

The goal, city leaders say, is to get away from the strip malls and create more sense of community.

*Applause*

Retail spending in Carmel is two times the national average.

WOW!

Nearly 95 percent of Carmel's population is working professionals.
AND
About 40 percent of Carmel residents earn incomes of more than $100,000 a year.

Thats not a surprise....its a wealthy suburb.

All in all that really does sound cool, nice apartments...upscale retail (how upscale what on earth would Fashion Mall mean after that :-/) Indianapolis seems very saturated for a metro its size and they just keep on keepin on....it just seems like with what they already have they could support about 4 million people lol, or maybe I am missing something.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! The only thing that keeps downtown aflow is that it has alot of unique venues to the metro...In my opinion.

Yeah, I didnt like the comment about people not going to downtown or broad ripple. But then the more I thought about it, it sure beats the hell out of more strip malls.

All in all that really does sound cool, nice apartments...upscale retail (how upscale what on earth would Fashion Mall mean after that :-/)

Yeah, im not sure what kinda upscale retail they are thinking about bringing in. Maybe something like Tiffanys or Burberry, etc.

The way people always talked about Carmel I expected hideous Atlanta-esque suburbs (no offense to ATL :)) But when I saw it, I was very surprised. It is very soft on your eyes...the walmart is brick not a big blue lol... and now Clay Terrace, I think is pretty handsome and it has a pretty neat downtown. I dont think Carmel is that bad at all and yeah the cease of strip malls will be nice...it just seems like upscale retail should be directed to the city center or at Keystone, but it would be nice out there too as well.

The way people always talked about Carmel I expected hideous Atlanta-esque suburbs (no offense to ATL :)) But when I saw it, I was very surprised. It is very soft on your eyes...the walmart is brick not a big blue lol... and now Clay Terrace, I think is pretty handsome and it has a pretty neat downtown. I dont think Carmel is that bad at all and yeah the cease of strip malls will be nice...it just seems like upscale retail should be directed to the city center or at Keystone, but it would be nice out there too as well.

That Walmart is in Westfield, not Carmel. I dont think Carmel would ever allow a Walmart. The city fought Lowes when they wanted to build and only allowed them to build an all red brick Lowes on the northern border of Carmel.

The mayor really has done a lot to limit sprawl and prevent Carmel from turning into Fishers or those Atlanta suburbs you are talking about. He has increased the acres of parkland from 20 to over 500 and is spearheading the $55 million central park project. The city is spending hundreds of millions of dollars, but the property tax rates are still the lowest in Central Indiana and one of the lowest in the state. For a suburb, we are lucky to have a mayor with vision. He's probably the only Republican I will ever vote for in my life, lol.

I read in a paper that Carmel was trying to outlaw Vynil siding LOL. Oh whoops about the walmart....I thought it was Carmel, I am new tho :)

I read in a paper that Carmel was trying to outlaw Vynil siding LOL. Oh whoops about the walmart....I thought it was Carmel, I am new tho :)

Yeah, that Walmart is just over the border on the Westfield side. I even think Walmart refers to the store as the "carmel" walmart. Yeah, the mayor wanted to ban vinyl siding, but it caused such an uproar in the Indianapolis media about carmel being elitist that he dropped the proposed ban. I thought the ban was a great idea. People were whining that it would keep lower income people out of carmel. I didnt know it was a rule that all houses under a certain dollar amount had to use vinyl siding, lol. The neighborhood I grew up in probably didnt have a house more than $130,000 and not a single house had vinyl siding.

HAHAH, Yeah now that I remember it, it was in INTAKE and they [skeptics] said it was racist and a ploy to keep it white out there and keep the poor out. Vynil is just not that attractive to me, I would have loved to see it pass as alot of new developments in Indy are vynil :( or have large vynil components. It isnt sturdy either... oh well ...

Oh and yeah they do brand it as your Carmel Wal Mart...haha, still cool that it is so nicely fit in, it is one of the only walmarts i have seen that blends and isnt huge with outlandish colors...I dont think its a super center there though ... hopefully they dont do what they are doing with the walmarts all around...closing the regular stores and building a massive blue superstore up the street.

When I was looking for articles about the vinyl siding ban on google, I found this wonderful website...

http://www.thecarmelinsider.com/index.php

Whoa HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH...that is too much!

Whoa HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH...that is too much!

Actually the more I read that site, it seems more like the onion. pretty funny stuff on there.

I would expect the high-end retail of Tiffany's, Dolce & Gabanna, Versace, etc to locate stores in Carmel. The demos completely support it and the fact that the City is in a metro estimated between 1.6 and 1.9 million make it ripe for one of those retailers to enter the market. Evidently the Sacks at Keystone does quite well, so I think it is only a matter of time.

Carmel debates cost, merits of concert hall
Mayor says arts center will be one of state's top venues; critics contend city can't afford the $80 million price tag.

By Bill Ruthhart
March 6, 2005

CARMEL, Ind. -- One of Indiana's most affluent cities soon will begin debating whether to build an $80 million concert hall -- but amid growing concern that Carmel finally has found something it can't afford.

The Carmel Performing Arts Center would bill itself as Indiana's only true concert hall, playing occasional host to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and inviting prestigious performances that now steer clear of the state.

Communities around the country are opening similar venues, moving the arts closer to home for suburban patrons in cities such as Baltimore and Atlanta. Carmel is counting on music to anchor its effort to build a new downtown that would give the growing city a skyline and an identity distinct from Indianapolis'.

"This hall will be so much better than anything else in the Indianapolis area," said Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, aiming for a slice of the estimated $300 million spent annually on the arts in the metro area. "This will be the top performance concert venue in the state and among the best in the Midwest."

A third-term Republican in a city that never has elected a Democrat, Brainard might face his toughest political test in getting the 1,600-seat concert hall built.

"The mayor has spent thousands and thousands of dollars getting this project to this point, and he's just assuming, like everything else, that we're all going to buy into this," said City Council President Kevin Kirby, among critics who suggest Carmel should deal with problems such as annexation and traffic congestion before signing the biggest check in city history.

"To me, $80 million seems like an absurd number. Right now, there's not a whole lot of support on the council for this."

Doubters also argue that Indianapolis already is home to venues such as the Hilbert Circle Theatre, Clowes Hall, the Murat Theatre and the Ruth Lilly Performance Hall. But Brainard counters that none of them was built as a concert hall, with the acoustics that draw touring acts such as European symphonies.

"There are not any facilities in the Indianapolis area that one certainly would call a world-class concert hall," said Willem Brans, a New York consultant whom Carmel hired to oversee the project.

"In fact, there is no purpose-built concert hall in the state of Indiana. That niche is what's missing."

Operate at a loss
Planned near the corner of Range Line Road and City Center Drive -- the heart of Carmel's emerging downtown -- the Carmel Performing Arts Center would include a 500-seat theater as well as the concert hall. The doors would open in 2008.

Like most venues of its kind, it would operate at a loss -- an estimated $300,000 every year, none of it covered in the $80 million cost of construction.

As a result, Brainard faces the challenge of raising an additional $20 million as an endowment fund, covering operating expenses as well as other features such as a grand piano.

He hopes to raise the money through donations and fees for the concert hall's corporate-sponsored boxes.

The arts center's name is up for grabs, too -- for $25 million.

Whatever name is chiseled into the building's brick facade, Carmel's own symphony, a 25-year-old, volunteer-based ensemble of 65 musicians, desperately wants a new place to perform.

"We practice and perform in Westfield, Carmel, Fishers, Pike Township and anywhere else we can find open time," said Alan Davis, director of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra.

"We're pretty much a gypsy road show until the performing arts center opens."

One of Brainard's biggest selling points is a commitment from the Indianapolis Symphony, though only for a limited number of dates during the first season. While orchestra officials declined to offer a specific number, Brainard said the commitment is for four to six concerts.

Last month, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra became the first major metropolitan orchestra to open a second home.

Located outside Washington, D.C., in North Bethesda, Md., The Music Center at Strathmore will host around 40 of its concerts per year.

In comparison, Carmel's concert hall still would be playing second fiddle to the Hilbert Circle Theatre -- but it would have the advantage of offering a shorter drive for an audience centered in Hamilton County and Indianapolis' Northside.

Nationwide, more high-priced arts venues are being built in areas known more for subdivisions and strip centers. The desire to capture the discretionary income of growing, affluent suburbs led to arts centers being built in suburban Los Angeles, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

"The core audience for orchestra and the arts is declining in most markets across the country, and at the same time, the suburbs are growing and have greater education levels and greater affluence," said Michael Mael, vice president of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

"It's become truly a matter of going to where the customers are. The idea of building a concert hall in the suburbs was probably unthinkable 10 or 15 years ago, but today it makes perfect sense, and we're going to start seeing more of it."

Council support lacking
Brainard's plan would be funded from a tax increment finance district in the City Center and the nearby Carmel Arts & Design District. A TIF district siphons new business tax in a redevelopment area and reinvests that money in public infrastructure.

"The key is that none of this will be funded by residential property taxes," Brainard said. "It's all coming from businesses in the area that will benefit from this performing arts center."

Carmel's Redevelopment Commission is expected to vote in favor of floating an $80 million bond for the project this month.

But final approval will rest with the City Council, and if a vote were held today, council President Kirby said, the performing arts center plan would fail -- even though the city already has spent $500,000 on engineering and planning fees.

Most council members remain on the fence, citing concerns about the endowment. Clerk-Treasurer Diana Cordray said she supports the arts center concept, but would "absolutely like to get the private sector involved first."

Carmel approved a $55 million township bond last year to build its planned Central Park -- complete with water slides, fishing ponds and gymnasiums -- and there is concern in the community about the city's finances, said business owner Charles Key.

Not including the parks bond, the city has more than $102 million in bond debt, but recent reviews from financial groups such as Standard & Poors indicate Carmel's financial health is good.

That doesn't keep people like Key, who owns a liquor store near City Center, from worrying.

"They just borrowed more than $50 million-plus for their water park, and now this," Key said. "There's a lot of concern by the common citizens of Carmel about how the city is spending their money, but I don't think you hear much about it because people are afraid to speak out."

John Koven isn't.

The former council member says the mayor is juggling too many projects -- including annexations and road improvements -- and shouldn't be relying on a $20 million endowment.

"You don't borrow $80 million and hope to hell you can keep the thing open," Koven said. "Who's going to die and leave the city of Carmel $20 million? He's not going to get an endowment like that for a public facility."

Brainard points to a 1 percent provision in the city budget dedicated to the arts that could help cover the operating costs in the absence of an endowment. Brans, the New York concert hall consultant, says cities typically secure public financing before embarking on fund raising.

"It's not until that point we can go to people and say this is going to happen, here's how much we need and why," he said. "It has more reality then."

Not trying to compete
But should Indiana's newest arts attraction be located in Carmel, and will it hurt Indianapolis?

"We don't feel threatened by this at all," said Kimberly Harms, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association. "We already feel Indianapolis is well-recognized as one of the premier arts communities in the country, and this will only add to that foundation."

Wendy Riggs is managing director of the Cobb Energy Centre for the Performing Arts in Cobb County, Ga., northwest of Atlanta. That $140 million facility under construction would provide an alternative to older venues in downtown Atlanta.

But Riggs believes there are enough customers in most metro areas for suburban and downtown arts centers to co-exist.

"In any major market, you have a lot of people that live in the suburbs and, no matter what, just never want to go downtown," Riggs said. "There is a major audience base most major cities aren't even hitting with locations downtown."

Carmel leaders insist they're not trying to compete with Indianapolis. Instead, Brainard says, this arts center falls into Carmel's strategy of using a high quality of life to attract top employers.

"We have to be competitive when it comes to cultural facilities and the arts," Brainard said. "This is how Carmel and Indianapolis compete for jobs and corporate headquarters -- by providing the quality of life necessary to become an economic powerhouse.

"This will make the entire Indianapolis region better, not just Carmel."

http://www.indystar.com/articles/4/227311-6844-092.html

As cool as it seems I still think its something bad brewing for Indy.

As cool as it seems I still think its something bad brewing for Indy.

the concert hall or the city center as a whole?

All the talk about keeping people from North Indy and Carmel in Carmel. Really the whole project, but I think as cool as it will be, it is alot of talk, and shouldnt have a huge affect on the city.

All the talk about keeping people from North Indy and Carmel in Carmel. Really the whole project, but I think as cool as it will be, it is alot of talk, and shouldnt have a huge affect on the city.

Yeah, hopefully it doesnt have an impact on downtown, but i think it will be a complement more than anything. But like you said, I think the concert hall is just talk right now, unless the simons are in the giving mood.

Commission OKs Carmel arts center
City Council will have the final say on $80 million project; vote expected in May.

CARMEL -- Now, only the City Council can stop an $80 million vision to make this city's new downtown a destination for fine arts.

After several testimonials and a few questions from the public, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission unanimously approved plans for the Carmel Performing Arts Center, which would include a 1,600-seat concert hall and 500-seat theater.

The 3-0 vote marked the first of two hurdles for the most expensive city project in Carmel's history. A final City Council vote isn't expected until May.

"This is the culmination of what has been a decade's worth of fulfilling visions and dreams for what this community can have," said Ron Carter, the commission's president. "We make this kind of investment because we want to make Carmel the best place to live, work and raise a family anywhere in the state of Indiana and anywhere in the Midwest."

Arts organizations across Central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, have expressed interest in performing in what Mayor Jim Brainard has dubbed the region's only true concert hall.

The arts center, scheduled to open in 2008, would cost an estimated $300,000 to $375,000 per year to operate.

In a crowded meeting room in City Hall, most people who spoke expressed support for the plan, though a few raised concerns about the lofty price tag.

Brainard noted, however, that the project would not be financed from residential property taxes. Instead, the project will be funded with tax increment financing. That means a finance district is created around a new development, and increased tax revenue in that area -- in this case, business tax revenue -- is used to pay off the bonds on the new development.

The arts center would be built west of Range Line Road in City Center, a new downtown emerging on the site of an abandoned strip center.

"This seems very expensive for something that's only going to have 1,600 seats, but if you assure me that this will not cost residents anything on their property taxes, then I have no objection," said Jim Garretson, a longtime resident and former City Council member.

"I have to commend the mayor for his vision. A performing arts center would be a wonderful addition to the city."

Merrie Heniser, who lives in a City Center townhome, said she's eager for the arts center to open.

"I'm absolutely in favor of this," she said. "This will be tremendous for the value of our home."

Representatives from the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, the Carmel Community Players theater group and the organizer of a planned children's theater troupe praised the plan.

"We do over 60 shows a year, and the one thing our patrons keep saying is that they can't wait until we have a real place to put on shows," said Larry Creviston, president of the Carmel Community Players.

"If you're looking for something this city really wants, this is it."

Some members of Carmel's City Council, which will take up the issue in April, aren't so sure.

President Kevin Kirby has called the $80 million price tag "absurd" and has said Brainard will have a difficult time persuading the council to pass the plan.

Carter and fellow commission member Rick Sharp also serve on the council. Sharp said he's confident his peers will ultimately support the project.

"This will be the crown jewel of the City Center project, a product not offered in all of Central Indiana," Sharp said.

"Once my fellow council members look at this not as an expense, but as an investment, I think they'll end up having the ingenuity to vote in favor of this."

http://www.indystar.com/articles/6/229532-7986-009.html

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http://wishtv.static.worldnow.com/images/3084756_BG2.jpg

Developer proposes shops for Meridian
Plan Commission will review project that calls for 2, 3-story, brick structures in Providence.

Developers are planning two more buildings in Providence, a prominent apartment and business area in Carmel's closely regulated Old Meridian Street district.

Buckingham Companies is asking Carmel planning authorities to approve the design for Shoppes at Providence, the third of five phases expected in the project at 12700 Old Meridian.

A Plan Commission committee is scheduled to review the project March 31.

Earlier phases of the 28-acre Providence included construction of 330 apartment units beginning in 2001. Another 96 units by Ryland Homes is currently in construction.

Last year, the first office and retail building was built in Providence as the new home for Meridian Music, a longtime Northside piano store. The Carmel Clay Chamber of Commerce named the Meridian Music building the winner of the 2004 Look Award, honoring the design of the 18,300 square foot structure.

Plans call for the two new Shoppes at Providence buildings to join Meridian Music along the south side of Old Meridian, fairly close to the street.

Land is still available near the street for future phases of homes or businesses in Providence.

David E. Leazenby, vice president of land development for Indianapolis-based Buckingham, said the two new building are proposed as three-story brick structures.

Each would have about 10,300 square feet of commercial space for restaurants and other businesses on the ground floors.

Upper floors in each building would have 24 loft apartments, or a total of 48 units in the two buildings.

The district is covered by Carmel's Old Meridian Overlay, a special zoning area that includes building construction requirements intended to give an urban and pedestrian- friendly feeling.

Indianapolis attorney James E. Shinaver, representing Buckingham, recently told the Carmel Plan Commission that the buildings will be oriented to face toward Old Meridian and will be close to the street.

Parking lots will be located behind the buildings so cars aren't seen from Old Meridian.

Pedestrians would be on the sidewalk between the buildings and street, passing in front of rows of shop windows and doors. There could be some outdoor seating.

The loft apartments would be accessible from the rear of the buildings by stairways and an elevator.

Buckingham reported to city planners that the lofts would feature upscale amenities, such as hardwood floors, granite countertops, high ceilings and step-out balconies.

Plans call for the lofts to be one-bedroom units, which are in high demand in the area. All one-bedroom units are rented in the adjacent Providence apartment complex, which includes one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

The loft apartment residents also will have access to amenities, such as a golf simulator.

And they'll be living upstairs above restaurants and diners, much like the old downtown lifestyle of urbanites.

Leazenby said the two mixed business and apartment buildings are intended to fit the city's Old Meridian zoning district's goal of an urban design.

"The city is to be commended for changing design to give a variety of places to live and work. This involves bigger, taller buildings and more mixed-use buildings with apartments and condos and public spaces and pedestrian interactions," he said.

"These are designs that respond to the way people live without getting into their cars to do everything," he said. "By building apartments over restaurants and other shops and offices, they no longer have to get into their cars."

"It is a change in the way people live. It is an opportunity for people to have a choice in their lifestyle," he said.

http://www2.indystar.com/articles/1/230908-1601-128.html

Illinois trip to offer suburban insights
City officials and others will learn from the victories and mistakes of Chicago-area towns.


Carmel city officials and staff will make their way to the Chicago area later this month as part of an effort to learn more about urban projects and design.

Officials describe the trip as part of the Carmel Urban Design Initiative, an effort to show planners and city officials examples of good urban design as Carmel builds a new downtown and redevelops the areas around it.

About 25 people are expected to make the trip, which includes visits to the suburban communities of Elgin, Geneva, Naperville, Oak Park and Wheaton. Carmel City Council members and members of city commissions and boards are invited, along with some of the city's staff.

"It's a way to show other examples of good things Carmel could do or what Carmel could be," said Adrienne Keeling, city planning administrator.

The trip, scheduled for April 15-16, is expected to cost the city roughly $4,000 to $5,000, which will cover expenses for city employees and elected officials.

Carmel Clay Chamber of Commerce President Mo Merhoff is participating.

Merhoff said it is a chance to better understand the urban design elements that Carmel officials want to bring to the city.

City Council members Ron Carter and Fred Glaser also are planning to take the trip.

"I think it's appropriate to go look at what other sister communities are doing," Carter said.

Glaser said he hopes to talk with officials in the other communities during the trip.

"I'm sure they could give us some insight on what they did wrong and what they did right."

http://www2.indystar.com/articles/4/234686-9864-128.html

Arts center gets endorsement
Panel recommends sale of $80 million in bonds

The Carmel performing arts center is one step closer to final approval after a state advisory panel recommended the sale of $80 million in bonds to finance construction.

The local property tax control board on Thursday voted 3-0 to recommend approving the sale of $80 million in bonds.

Local Government Finance Commissioner Melissa Henson has until Aug. 16 to approve the sale of bonds, but approval might come sooner, said spokeswoman Kathryn Densborn.

"She just has to go though the information and made a decision," Densborn said.

Mayor Jim Brainard presented the financing plan to the advisory board on Thursday.

He said after final approval, the city will auction the bonds and can then lock in an interest rate.

"We answered their questions," Brainard said. "It was a good hearing."

Last month, the Carmel City Council voted 4-3 vote to approve the performing arts center, one of the most expensive projects in the city's history.

If the project is approved by Henson, the city will sell $80 million in bonds and use money from a tax increment financing district to pay back bondholders.

Construction should start next year on the center, which will include a 1,600-seat concert hall and 500-seat multipurpose theater.

The state-of-the-art concert hall is the centerpiece of Carmel's efforts to redevelop its new downtown, called City Center.

Townhomes and apartments have sprung up west of Range Line Road near the Monon Trail, and there are plans for a hotel and retail space.

Wayne Wilson, a former City Council member and the most outspoken critic of the plan, attended Thursday's hearing.

He said he didn't expect to change the outcome but felt compelled to tell the board his views.

"I'm not against the performing arts center, but I asked to delay the project," Wilson said. "The costs have not been explained to all the citizens."

Brainard says taxpayers won't feel the pinch of the bond issue. The idea is that the performing arts center will attract other big developments within the tax increment financing district.

The tax revenue generated by those new developments in the district will be used pay back the debt on the center.

Pending final approval, construction is expected to take about four years.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050618/ZONES01/506180351/1099/ZONES0106

Equicor project to enhance urban appeal
2 buildings planned at 116th and Guilford to house medical offices, retail and townhomes.

Construction will begin within days on a project that will change the face of one of Carmel's gateway intersections.

Equicor Cos. is developing a mixture of retail, professional offices and townhomes in a 13-acre area around 116th Street and Guilford Avenue. The development will be named 116th Street Centre.

It is a key location for neighborhood businesses catering to residents of the area and for medical and other professional offices spilling out from the nearby Meridian Street corridor.

The developer said the design was worked out with Carmel officials, who are preparing to widen nearly a mile of 116th Street east from Meridian Street and install a new traffic signal at the Guilford intersection.

Currently, 116th Street in that stretch is a narrow, two-lane section of road that includes a crosswalk with the Monon Greenway.

The large Equicor project, which includes 70,000 square feet of retail and office space and up to several hundred upscale townhomes, also was designed with Carmel's "new urbanism" trend in mind.

"This fits with the city's plans for the urbanized look, which has the buildings two stories (high) with retail on the street level and offices upstairs. And the buildings are pulled up close to the street" with parking hidden behind the buildings, said Greg Small, chief executive of Equicor.

"We are very excited to begin developing this commercial property in a progressive community. This will become an exclusive address, with upscale office and retail that is an answer to the increasing demand for (ground-floor) space," he said.

The site plans show development in at least two phases.

Construction on the first phase beginning this month includes a two-story building of at least 24,000 square feet to be on the point of the northwest corner of 116th and Guilford. A second building of 7,600 square feet is to face along Guilford.

Those two buildings -- with detailed architectural features and brick-and-limestone exteriors -- are to be open by early next year.

A second phase of construction includes about 66 three-story townhomes by Centex. A total of about 500 new townhomes are in development by builders along Guilford just north of 116th and within walking distance of Equicor's Centre commercial area.

The second phase of the 13-acre project will spread more of the office and commercial development.

Tenants for the new buildings have not been announced.

But they are expected to include drive-through coffee shops, banks, insurance and professional offices, exercise spa, a restaurant in a free-standing building and other neighborhood businesses.

Mark Zukerman, vice chairman of Equicor, said the development takes advantage of being close to many current and planned homes to lure restaurants and similar operations.

It also is located outside Carmel's planning corridor affecting property along and close to Meridian Street, where all new buildings must be at least three stories tall.

"This site is a rare opportunity in Carmel . . . for medical-related businesses or offices to be on the ground floor," he said.

Considering Carmel's limitations on the size and locations of most new business signs, a street-level location on a busy corner can mean extra visibility for a company, Zukerman added.

"And this is the first new development along 116th between Carmel and Range Line Road," he said. "And we're in the process of master planning most of the rest of the north side of 116th between Guilford and College. That second phase could be a couple of years down the road."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050617/ZONES0106/506170422/1099/ZONES0106

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20050617&Kategori=ZONES0106&Lopenr=506170422&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=475&MaxH=350&Site=BG&Q=96&Border=0&Title=0
Corner anchor: 116th Street Centre will include 24,000 square feet of space for businesses expected to include medical and professional offices. A second building of 7,600 square feet also is planned.

Art district getting Latin influence
Mexico-born painter planning studio

A look at new businesses and those in transitionArt surrounds and fills the days of Magdalena Hoyos-Segovia.

And now, she's come a very long way from Veracruz, Mexico, to become a pioneer in Carmel.

She plans to open one of the first art galleries in Carmel's new Arts and Design District, particularly to bring a little Latin flair to the art scene.

Often known professionally by the single name Magdalena, she is a wife, a mother of three and an accomplished painter who teaches and also creates works for sale and exhibit.

She's a figurative artist, meaning that many of her works are of people, she said, and most of the time the subjects are interacting.

"I find it easier to paint people, perhaps from growing up in my father's shop and learning to read the expressions on their faces. I try to capture a moment in time," she said recently in the kitchen of her Carmel home.

A corner of the kitchen, near large windows and French doors that allow sunlight to stream in just a few steps from the stove, is where she paints.

Nearly every wall of the home holds a beautiful example of the art collected by Magdalena and her husband, Ferdando Segovia.

One of the most engaging is "Two Happy Children at the Sacred Lagoon," by one of her teachers, Brazilian artist Elon Brasil.

After getting her son and two daughters off to school in the mornings, her days are reserved for painting the framed works that sell for hundreds or several thousand dollars each in galleries in the United States and other countries. More of her works sell in art fairs including close-to-home events, such as Broad Ripple's fair last month.

She also receives commissions for her work, which art experts have found to be vivid and emotional, with Mexican, Spanish and American influences.

Her work is found in several Indianapolis galleries, and she is one of the Indiana artists exhibited in a new gallery opening this month in Columbus.

When Carmel city officials began touting a redevelopment strategy to remake portions of the old downtown into an arts district, Magdalena was intrigued.

She is one of five artists and designers to sign a letter of intent to buy one of the $500,000, three-story commercial town homes in a proposed building at Main Street and Range Line Road.

The building is part of the plan by the Carmel Redevelopment Commission and real estate partner Pedcor Companies to lure fine artists, home designers, studios and galleries to Main Street to complement the city's proposed performing arts hall.

Magdalena has lived in Hamilton County about two years. She said her father, Leopoldo Hoyos, a fourth generation wine merchant in Mexico, will be her partner, investing in the building project.

She expects to have a gallery on the ground floor and a teaching studio on the second floor and offer the third floor for lease.

Born in Mexico, the 44-year-old Magdalena said she grew up helping in the family wine shop and learning the retail business. She studied finance and accounting in college before discovering her talent for art and receiving a graduate degree in Mexico.

She's lived in several countries as her husband has moved with his work as a business manager for Dow AgroSciences, now assigned in Zionsville.

Her business education, life experiences, raising of a family, and passion for art as an artist will be keys for success, she said, in opening her first gallery.

"I would hope that about half of the art in the gallery would be from Indiana artists and about half would be from Latin artists," she said.

"But we'll see how the market reacts. You have to learn what people want. You have to know the market and what the clients want, but you also have to put in a little of yourself."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050608/ZONES01/506080316&SearchID=73211540023258

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20050608&Kategori=ZONES01&Lopenr=506080316&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=475&MaxH=350&Site=BG&Q=96&Border=0&Title=0
At home: Magdalena Hoyos-Segovia is joined by her dog, Frida, in a sunny corner of her kitchen where she now paints. She's planning a gallery and teaching studio in the Carmel Arts and Design District.

Where exactly is Carmel?

If Carmel got a train link to Chicago, that would rock. It seems like it's too far away, though

Where exactly is Carmel?

If Carmel got a train link to Chicago, that would rock. It seems like it's too far away, though

Carmel is directly north of Indianapolis. Not really worth visiting at all unless you were interested in new urbanism. But for a suburb, its a nice place to live.

Carmel is directly north of Indianapolis. Not really worth visiting at all unless you were interested in new urbanism. But for a suburb, its a nice place to live.

Actually, look at my name. I am VERY interested in new urbanism. Especially since, outside of Chicago, new urbanism seems to be lacking in the midwest. Do you have any pics of some new developments going on?

Actually, look at my name. I am VERY interested in new urbanism. Especially since, outside of Chicago, new urbanism seems to be lacking in the midwest. Do you have any pics of some new developments going on?

I live right next to the Village of West Clay, which is probably one of the more successful new urbanist neighborhoods in the country. Ill try to take some pictures in the next week. Here is their website with some photos:

http://www.brenwick.com/westclay.asp

City mapping its future
Plan calls for amenities, urban look

By Lesley Rogers Barrett
lesley.rogers.barrett@indystar.com

An environmentally friendly Carmel of the future might provide soybean diesel transit, wireless Internet service, more bicycle lanes and walkable neighborhoods.

The fast-growing Hamilton County suburb is planning for its future as an urban city.

A draft plan unveiled this week suggests how to shape Carmel's city core to make it more comfortable, interesting, mobile and healthy. Carmel residents are asked to review the plan and give city officials feedback for a final document to be released in September.

Eventually, the plan could be used to shape major land-use decisions.

The document is part of the city's Urban Design Initiative, which was rolled out in January. City officials hired urban planner Adam Thies, president of EDEN Land & Design Inc., to lead the efforts in creating a better Carmel.

"Growth and development is going to happen here," Thies said. "We have to look at how to be proactive, to guide that growth. . . . We have to think and plan beyond today."

Thies looked at Carmel's "central core," which is defined by U.S. 31, Keystone Avenue and I-465. The area is 4 miles by 2.5 miles, bisected by the Monon Trail, and includes City Center, the city's new downtown, and the Arts and Design District, the redeveloping Old Town area.

The idea is to make the core part of Carmel more urban, with higher density housing, better-used open spaces and more walkable residential and commercial neighborhoods.

Thies said Carmel needs more public art and bike lanes. And, he said, each residential development should be within a five-minute walk to useable open spaces.

Also, Thies said the city should name areas of Carmel's core center, and post signs to each umbrella neighborhood, such as "Central Park," "Woodland Park," "Old Meridian," and "North Carmel."

The long-range goal is of a progressive city, one that becomes Indiana's first community with clean soybean-fueled transit, giving residents and tourists more options to get around the city.

Thies is quick to note that many of the proposed ideas are "green" and seem more like a description of liberal Berkeley, Calif., than conservative Carmel, an affluent city that's never elected a Democrat.

"There is a stigma that green means hippie," Thies said. "But thinking environmentally is really a conservative idea. It's all about fiscal responsibility."

While City Council member Mark Rattermann said he likes most of the proposal, he doesn't want Carmel to become a wireless city, because he said that would put the city in competition with private Internet service providers.

"I, for one, will oppose it strongly," Rattermann said.

But he called the other ideas "doable" and praised the effort to focus on Carmel's central district.

Michael Hollibaugh, director of Carmel's department of community services, encourages residents to learn more about the plan and make suggestions.

"We want this document to serve as a launching-off point," Hollibaugh said.

Carmel developer Steve Pittman said he used to think amenities such as bike trails, benches, bricks and fountains were "fluff." Now, Pittman said, he understands design and appearance play a large role in shaping the community, and bringing people to live in Carmel.

"These ideas are extremely cutting edge," Pittman said. "I've evolved into believing that design matters. I want to learn what they want us to do."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005507300367

Great for Carmel...now if they could only elect some democrats...

Store is one of a select few
Baker Furniture in Clay Terrace is 9th to open worldwide

By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

New York, Georgetown, London . . . and now Carmel.

The Baker Furniture company, known for its designs of upscale, traditional and fine styles, has opened the newest retail shop in Carmel's Clay Terrace.

Baker's entry to the marketplace in Hamilton County and the Indianapolis Northside also widens the spectrum of choices and price ranges for home furnishing shoppers.

Industry experts use phrases such as "timeless look" and "sophisticated and enduring, yet casual" to describe the Baker look.

Some of the styles are newly elegant and seem to step from the glossy pages of fine living and interior design magazines. Other Baker lines are such faithful reproductions of the 1800s classics that even international auction houses have been fooled into selling nearly new items as antiques.

With more than 1,000 new homes -- from entry level to multimillion-dollar prices -- built each year in Hamilton County, furniture makers have taken a renewed notice of the growing market.

New furniture stores have seemed to open monthly in the north suburban area this summer, including the locally owned and mid-price Godby Home Furnishings store at 146th and Ind. 37, and the discount Ashley furniture store near 146th on the eastside of U.S. 31.

Baker, in Clay Terrace, is just across to the west side of U.S. 31, where the outdoor mall by Simon Property Group and Lauth Property Group is luring restaurants and retailers to open their first locations in Indiana.

Baker was focused on selling to interior designers and others in the trade until beginning to open shops to the public a few years ago in a selection of fashion capitals and upscale cities that would be receptive to traditional styles.

Company officials said Indianapolis had been closely watched for some time as a possible Midwestern location for a Baker store.

"The Indianapolis metro area was a perfect place to launch our ninth retail store for a variety of reasons," said Rachel D. Kohler, group president of the interiors division of Kohler Co.

Wisconsin-based Kohler Co., also known for kitchen and bath fixtures and other home appliances and services, is the parent of Baker Furniture.

Other Baker Furniture stores opened since 1998 are in Pittsburgh; the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.; Greenwich, Conn.; London; Birmingham, Mich.; Cincinnati; the Tribeca area of New York City; and Coral Gables near Miami.

Clay Terrace, situated in an area of six-figure annual household incomes, was selected because "certainly, the demographics are very favorable. The decision was also heavily influenced by the residents' reputation for uncompromising taste and style and a genuine appreciation of history and craftsmanship," Kohler said in a company statement.

Baker is an old company that comes honestly by its reproductions and historic designs.

Founded in 1890 by Siebe Baker, a Dutch immigrant and craftsman, the company carved a reputation for hand craftsmanship with modern methods to manufacture furniture.

In 1972, Baker merged with Knapp & Tubbs, the wholesale showroom network, and formed Baker Knapp & Tubbs Inc. Then in 1986, Kohler Co. acquired Baker Knapp & Tubbs.

As a member of the Kohler family of businesses, Baker continues to operate as a largely independent company, producing fine furniture in factories at High Point, N.C., and Indonesia.

Lee Russ, manager of store development at Baker, said the Clay Terrace store has about 5,000 square feet of space, which is smaller than other Baker stores. But it is testing a fresh focus for the company.

With more than 20 collections, the Baker brands run a wide range of periods, styles and influences from rattan to wicker to oriental hardwoods and rich mahogany.

Though Baker is sometimes referred to as the "store of the $5,000 sofa," he said the quality is in the details of the construction of the frame and springs in the selection of fine fabrics and impeccable tailoring. Up to 50 percent of the cost of an item is tied to the covering.

The Clay Terrace store emphasizes Baker's Milling Road Collection, which also hits some mid-range price points for finer furniture, with a mix of French, Italian, English and other pieces.

"We had been looking for a place in the Midwest to offer a store with Milling Road. Indianapolis has been on our radar," he said.

The store features lighting and carving designs by Thomas Pheasant and Jacques Garcia and art glass from Jamali.

Then there's a Constellation Mirror, which is a starlike design that became popular after it was shown on an episode of the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" television series.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050803/ZONES01/508030302/1015

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20050803&Kategori=ZONES01&Lopenr=508030302&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=475&MaxH=350&Site=BG&Q=96&Border=0&Title=0
High style: Linda Wilmes, Carmel, gets some help from Lee Russ at Baker Furniture in Clay Terrace. "I like the design, the clean lines. I like the quality," she said. On the wall: the company's popular Constellation Mirror.

I am very surprised at the things that open in Indianapolis and Carmel, its one of those "who would have thought" things. From the looks of it you would think that it just looks like another midsized town, but it lands big things. (Thats not a knock at all I am just curious). Maybe I dont know soemthing about it, maybe Indianapolis has cast a spell on all the developers??

I am very surprised at the things that open in Indianapolis and Carmel, its one of those "who would have thought" things. From the looks of it you would think that it just looks like another midsized town, but it lands big things. (Thats not a knock at all I am just curious). Maybe I dont know soemthing about it, maybe Indianapolis has cast a spell on all the developers??

Yeah, Indy is begining to get a lot of stores sooner than in the past. The third Williams-Sonoma Home store in the country (following locations in Beverly Hills and Cincy) will be opening this fall at Keystone at the Crossing on the northside of Indy. One of the first H&M's in the midwest will also be opening this fall at Circle Centre Mall in downtown. It has a lot to do with Hamilton County (where Carmel is), being the 6th most affluent county in the nation. Having Simon Property Group in Indy probably helps as well. Hopefully Simon's pull will bring a second Nordstrom or a Neimann-Marcus to Indy for the space vacated by LS Ayers in Castleton Mall.

City Center garage gets OK
$30 million underground facility will have 2,000 spaces

By Lesley Rogers Barrett
lesley.rogers.barrett@indystar.com

Carmel -- Finding a parking spot at Carmel's developing City Center shouldn't be too difficult after the City Council this week approved funding for a 2,000-space underground garage.

The $30 million garage is key to keeping City Center accessible and pedestrian-friendly, city officials said.

Pedcor Investments, the City Center developer, will assume the $30 million loan, which the City Council approved Monday.

"These bonds are without any risk whatsoever to the taxpayers of Carmel," said Councilman Rick Sharp.

For residents of City Center, Carmel's new downtown off Range Line Road, the garage will be a welcome addition to the area, expected to become a popular destination.

Jeffrey Lord, who lives in the City Center townhomes, said parking isn't a problem now. Once the area has 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 60,000 square feet of office space and 450 housing units, parking will be an issue.

"There's really going to be a need for parking," Lord said. "The underground parking means we won't have cars littering the streets. It will be easier for people to walk around."

More parking already is needed for events such as Carmelfest, the city's Fourth of July celebration, Lord said.

"It got pretty clogged up in front of our homes," Lord said. "The parking garage will help that."

The city might take over ownership of the parking garage eventually, and it's undecided if a fee will be charged for parking.

"Ultimately, our intent is to convey it to the city upon completion of all the phases," said Pedcor chief Bruce Cordingley.

If the city doesn't want to take ownership, Pedcor will manage the garage, Cordingley said at Monday's meeting.

Pedcor will use money generated from its own tax increment financing district at City Center to repay the $30 million in bonds. Pedcor plans to spend roughly $160 million to build office, retail, restaurant and housing space.

On Wednesday, Cordingley said the two-level underground garage will be more expensive to build than a typical parking structure because of ventilation and excavation costs. Also, additional support will be needed because a hotel will be built on top of the parking garage.

The council approved the garage 6-1, with Mark Rattermann voting against it.

"I don't like this kind of financing, but I do support the project."

Work will start this summer on City Center's northeast corner, and the project should be completed in five to six years.


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Architect chosen to design art center
Designer says he wants people to have emotional attachment to building.

Carmel -- City Hall might get bumped off the cover of Carmel's telephone book eventually.

The city is poised to hire architect David M. Schwartz to design its $80 million performing arts center, and his main goal is to make sure the community loves the building.

"We build for the people," Schwartz said. "We think the greatest achievement is the front page of the telephone book. It means your community has claimed the building."

The Washington-based Schwartz displays framed telephone book covers more prominently in his office than his architectural awards.

Schwartz told city officials last week that he's excited about working with the community to design what many consider to be the crown jewel of the developing City Center, a downtown area off Range Line Road.

A contract with Schwartz should be finalized this fall, with ultimate approval needed by the Carmel Redevelopment Commission, said Les Olds, the city's redevelopment director.

Architectural design should take about a year. The 1,600-seat concert hall and 500-seat theater should be finished in about four years.

The commission is considering only Schwartz. The city compiled a short list of architects with experience designing concert halls with a traditional look, but Mayor Jim Brainard said he met with Schwartz this summer and decided he's best for the job.

"We're on a fast track," Brainard said. "We want to get this built."

Schwartz will design the exterior and main public spaces, working with local architects who will design the rest of the building.

In addition to a long list of mixed-use development, historical preservation projects and state-of-the art commercial buildings, Schwartz has designed four performing arts centers, including a 1,900-seat concert hall in Nashville, Tenn., which will open next year.

Designing comfortable children's hospitals is the most rewarding work, but Schwartz said designing performing arts space is the most fun. He vowed to work with the community to decide if the building should be the same as the other red brick, Georgian-type buildings or stand out as a unique landmark.

"We want people to have an emotional attachment to our building," Schwartz said.

Ron Carter, City Council member and president of the Redevelopment Commission, said he's impressed with Schwartz.

Brainard said Schwartz is passionate about his work.

"He's one of the most exciting architects we've seen working in the country today," Brainard said. "He has an international reputation and experience."

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Carmel Goes Hybrid

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard signed an executive order aimed at improving the environment and pocket book of the city.

“We have a higher rate of asthma and other lung-related diseases because of the low quality of our air,” said Mayor Brainard. For that and other reasons, starting Wednesday, all City of Carmel vehicles must be environmentally friendly.

“All of our vehicles in the City of Carmel are on a five-year replacement program. We replace 20 percent of them each year, and from this date on, all vehicles will have to be a hybrid or fuel efficient vehicle,” said the mayor.

On the outside, a Ford Escape hybrid in use by the city looks like a normal Ford Escape, but the difference is in the back, where a battery allows for the vehicle to get 36 miles per gallon in the city, which is where most of the Carmel city vehicles currently drive.

Exempt from this executive order are police and fire vehicles, because no hybrid vehicles currently meet their more stringent performance requirements.

Other city workers, such as Adam Schriner, already notice the hybrid advantages. He says the older vehicles got about 205 miles to an 18-gallon tank of gas. The new cars get 286 miles to a 12-gallon tank.

Brainard says the switch will benefit the city financially, but also believes it is a small, but symbolic step for the state. “It's also important since the Indianapolis area has been designated a non-attainment area by the Environmental Protection Agency, that we take positive steps so we don't lose our federal highway transportation funds and economic development funds,” he said.

Mayor Brainard also hopes this executive order will inspire more Carmel residents to switch to hybrid vehicles.

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3762828&nav=0Ra6diZG

Carmel's mayor is a man in motion

In the hierarchy of politicians, mayors might not top the list. They don't confirm Supreme Court judges or determine the fate of Death Row prisoners.

But mayors can be the most interesting politicians around. Through zoning and planning and the day-to-day responsibility of running their cities, they perhaps have the most direct impact on people's lives. And they are often eager to show off their little part of the world.

Take Jim Brainard, mayor of the ever-growing suburb of Carmel. I asked about his city and instead of an answer got a fast-paced, three-hour driving tour of Carmel in his Mercury Mountaineer. By tour's end, a few things became clear about the world according to Jim Brainard.

First and most obvious is that Brainard -- a likable, intense man packed with vision for his city -- is obsessed with "roundabouts," those much-criticized traffic-control circles popping up in Carmel.

"Roundabout" jumped out of Brainard's mouth just about every time we approached a busy intersection. As in: "There's one of our new roundabouts," or: "This should be a roundabout."

The 51-year-old Republican drove by roundabouts now under construction. He argued they reduce the severity of accidents. And he recalled how residents greeted the first ones. "I thought I was going to be lynched in the middle of one," he said.

So goes the life of a mayor.

But enough about roundabouts. A day in Carmel uncovered a few other things you should know about Mr. Brainard.

• Europe is on his mind.

He says the features of old European neighborhoods -- walkability, quality architecture -- helped shape his view of what Carmel should look like.

"They're experts at building townhome communities," he said, criticizing cheap uniformity. "You don't want them lined up like Army barracks."

• When pressed, and only after praising Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, Brainard answered this question: What would you do if you were the mayor of Indianapolis?

First, he'd clean up the sign clutter. "It would help if they did a little better job because these companies think they can get away with it, and then Carmel is the bad guy," he said.

Then he'd expand the proposed Market Square Arena condo project. He envisions a "bigger development -- a grand entry on the Eastside."

Finally, Brainard would tackle the city's woeful public transportation system and design an organized development plan for outer Marion County.

• He defends his push for stringent building standards.

Remember his divisive fight against vinyl siding? Brainard prefers not to discuss it. But he couldn't help stopping his SUV in front of a house and pointing to the sad state of its exterior.

"Look at the vinyl siding on that place," he said. "It's only eight or nine years old."

• He won't apologize for Carmel's affluence. The $55 million park? An $80 million concert hall? "You have to be willing to spend money to improve," he said.

Minutes later, Brainard drove under a new archway announcing Carmel's Arts and Design District. The archway cost $200,000. Brainard shrugged.

"That will be a campaign issue," he said.

Matthew Tully's column runs on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. You can reach him at (317) 444-6033 or via e-mail at matthew.tully@indystar.com.

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You know, I am certainly not a republicanand since I don't live in Carmel, I don't know a whole lot about Mayor Brainard's day to day political agenda, but I do have to praise him for his vision of Carmel. He has a real understanding of landuse and the consequences of letting development shape a City verses a City shaping development. Hopefully he is permitted to continue with his vision in the next election (did I just type that?)

You know, I am certainly not a republicanand since I don't live in Carmel, I don't know a whole lot about Mayor Brainard's day to day political agenda, but I do have to praise him for his vision of Carmel. He has a real understanding of landuse and the consequences of letting development shape a City verses a City shaping development. Hopefully he is permitted to continue with his vision in the next election (did I just type that?)

Yeah, I've never voted for a republican in my life, but I would have no problem voting for Brainard. He is surprisingly progressive for a mayor of an affluent, extremely republican suburb. He, unlike other republicans in the state, doesnt take cheap shots at Indianapolis and its mayor, when asked about the city. He instead suggests ways to improve mass transit and urban development.

World to see park debut
Coxhall Gardens to host ceremonies for Solheim Cup

CARMEL -- The stage is set for Coxhall Gardens' international debut.

The amphitheater in Hamilton County's newest park will serve as host for the Sept. 8 opening ceremonies of the 2005 Solheim Cup women's golf tournament, which is expected to bring in more than 100,000 spectators for the week.

The event will be the first at the new $3-million facility, the centerpiece of the $28-million park. It will also host the closing ceremonies Sept. 11.

"It's an amazing opportunity for the Parks Department," said Michele Dixon, director of marketing and special events for the Hamilton County Parks & Recreation Department. "We're getting a lot of exposure already because of it."

Karen Radcliff, deputy director of the Hamilton County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the Solheim Cup will have a major economic impact on Carmel and the Indianapolis area as a whole. Hotels are offering blocks of rooms to spectators, she said. Nearby restaurants and shops will benefit from the out-of-town guests.

Kelly Hyne, 2005 Solheim Cup tournament director, said fans will come from 46 states and 11 countries.

She said the 2002 host cities, neighboring Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., realized a $30-million impact from the Solheim Cup.

Jesse Cox and his late wife, Beulah, donated the 125-acre Coxhall Gardens, located at 116th Street and Towne Road in Carmel, to the county.

The park's amphitheater, made of white limestone, features tiers that form rows of seats. A waterfall cascades down the center of the seating area and a gazebo surrounded by more water serves as the centerpiece of the theater. A lifesize bronze statue of the Coxes standing under an archway greets guests at the entrance.

The amphitheater can seat 1,500, Dixon said.

Bleachers have been brought in for the opening ceremonies, expected to draw 5,000, she said.

Coxhall Gardens' future will include a series of specialty gardens, including a children's garden with peek-a-boo hills and a rabbit-hole slide. Other features will include a conservatory, a museum, reflecting pools, fountains, a greenhouse, a bell tower and wetlands. Campbell Crossing, named after the late parks board member Robert Campbell, will serve as the walkway to the amphitheater. The walkway will feature bench seating and a sculpture.

Dixon said the amphitheater next summer could host weddings and receptions.

The whole park won't be finished for another 10 years, she said.

The 2005 Solheim Cup, which will be at Carmel's Crooked Stick Golf Club, will bring with it some of the best female golfers in the United States and Europe. Competitions will begin Sept. 9 and conclude Sept. 11.

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The new amphitheater, the centerpiece of Hamilton County's newest park, is made of white limestone and includes several water features.

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Indy is always hosting a sport event! I love it. This city is such a sports town.

It's nice to hear about Carmel's growth. I lived and worked in the Westfield & Carmel area in the early 90's, probably when Carmel's population was around 30,000. I remember how nice the low-line skyscrapers were along US 31. I was amazed a little suburb had scrapers outside of Indianapolis. It would be nice to see tall 150-300 ft. scrapers along US 31. Even the newer office buildings I saw off I-465, near College Ave. gives the south end of the Carmel area a nice look from the highway.

New look for core
Urban Gramercy would replace Mohawk Hills

The tired and aging Mohawk Hills apartments and golf course, a 1960s-era complex in the core of Carmel, could give way over the next few years to one of the biggest makeovers in the city's history.

Real estate developer Buckingham Properties has filed plans for city approval that would mean demolishing the 564-unit apartment complex and nine-hole course in the next few years.

The 2006 season could be the last for Mohawk Hills Golf Club, with its nine fairways and greens that weave among the apartment buildings.

The 116-acre site at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue in the city's core would be transformed into a new urbanist-style development of upscale townhomes, apartments, hotels, offices, senior living units, cafes, parks, plazas and a central business district. A clock tower would be an icon of the development.

Buckingham calls it Gramercy, an expression derived from French, reflecting thanks, gratitude and surprise.

The traditional urban neighborhood design, with its ornate business buildings around a plaza and brownstone apartment buildings, is modeled on 100-year-old architecture in city centers around the world. The name borrows from the upscale and historic Gramercy in Manhattan that dates from the 1830s.

"It's almost like they are planning to build a small city within the city," said Carmel redevelopment director Les Olds, referring to the Buckingham project.

Real estate experts said it could easily cost hundreds of millions of dollars to turn the Gramercy concepts into reality during the next seven to 10 years. It would dramatically change the 126th Street, off of Keystone, gateway into downtown Carmel.

The architectural and land use philosophy of Gramercy would mesh with city officials' plans for reshaping the City Center and Old Town with a Performing Arts Center and an Arts & Design District.

"This should fit well with what the city is already doing nearby. I think people will like the feel of this place," said David Leazenby, vice president of land development for Buckingham.

Gramercy, he said, will be pedestrian-friendly. And it will have a higher density of housing than the four units per acre that city planners enforced 40 years ago when Mohawk Hills was built.

Buckingham's plans will be introduced at a city Plan Commission meeting Feb. 21 and begin a review process that typically takes months. The designs are mostly conceptual and don't have great detail, including the number of housing units.

However, city officials said there could be 1,200 to 2,000 units for sale and rent, or several times more than currently in Mohawk Hills.

It is a project conceived to fight suburban sprawl that absorbs farm land and wildlife habitat.

"This is growing smarter," Leazenby said.

Carmel Plan Director Mike Hollibaugh agreed that today's design trends are much different than the 1960s Tudor style of Mohawk Hills.

"This is changing the face. It is a huge project. It is a key location in the core of Carmel, and it fits exactly with our civic design process. Look at a map of future neighborhoods, and you'll see a project just like this.

"We're trying not to use density of housing to measure some projects these days but rather to make sure the development is first class and very high quality. We want to make sure the details will be consistent with the City Center," Hollibaugh said.

"Of course, we don't take the loss of the green space lightly," he said. "You won't see the wide open vistas of the golf course, but there will be green spaces and parks within two or three minutes' walk."

Traffic engineers have been looking at the possible effect of more people living, working and visiting the area.

While Mohawk Hills has just one driveway, which is off 126th, Gramercy will have two on 126th plus an extension of AAA Way or another road off East Carmel Drive on the south side. At least four new drives are planned on the west side connecting to the Auman subdivision.

Buckingham is a real estate development and apartment ownership company with at least a dozen projects in Indiana and neighboring states, including several in Carmel.

It bought Mohawk Hills in 2004 for a reported $30 million from Chicago-based Executive Capital Corp, which had owned it since 1980. Buckingham has updated the clubhouse and made other improvements.

Leazenby said residents' leases remain in effect and any moves would occur over several years . The complex averages about 86 percent occupancy. Up to 50 percent of residents move annually.

Mohawk Hills was built by the late Robert Bodner, an Indianapolis developer, who flew a plane over then-remote areas around Indianapolis looking for farm fields with potential.

One of his sons, Steve Bodner, said Mohawk Hills was built on such a farm, divided by construction of Keystone Avenue.

The golf course was added in 1973, according to Steve Shanks, who has worked at the course nearly 32 years, including the past 26 years as the pro.

He sent a letter to members saying the course is to remain open through this year, but the future is uncertain. About 22,000 rounds of golf were played there last year, down about 35 percent from 10 years ago.

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Complex of 116 acres: Planned for land currently occupied by the 40-year-old Mohawk Hills apartment complex, Gramercy would feature an urban design with a clock tower, as in this sketch. In the business areas, there would be small businesses on the ground floors, with apartments on the upper levels.

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Mohawk Hills Could Undergo $500M Development
It's being called the largest development project in the history of the City of Carmel. Developers are looking to turn something old into something brand new for the city.

The Mohawk Hills golf course and apartments may be in for a huge change.

"A great idea - it's a ten-year master plan," said Mike Hollibaugh, City of Carmel.

If developers get their way, the 116 acres will get upwards of a $500 million renovation. Replacing it would be upscale townhomes, condos, offices, hotels and even a central business district.

"It's everything we've been trying to get. It's gonna be a real showcase for the city," said Hollibaugh.

Indianapolis-based developer Buckingham Properties is calling the project Gramercy. The company already owns the Mohawk Hills site, which is located between 126th Street, Carmel Drive and Keystone. They say the 1960's complex needs updating to fit in with Carmel's master plan.

"I'm not gonna be here very much longer, but for the residents who do live here that doesn't sound very good at all," said one apartment resident.

"I think it's great," said a woman, who added she would certainly buy in the area.

"I don't know. It's an attractive concept but I don't know if it's gonna be approved," said another.

Even with city approval, Buckingham says they're three years away from breaking ground. Residents have been told about the plan that goes before the Carmel planning board on Feb. 21st.
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Carmel will begin building City Center in spring

Construction on the first phase of Carmel's 50-acre City Center will start this spring, after a last-minute reconfiguration of parking.

The Pedcor Investments project planned for the empty field at City Center Drive and Range Line Road was briefly on hold after the developer discovered that the land is too wet for a two-floor underground parking structure.

Pedcor chief Bruce Cordingley said that in a worst-case scenario, they would have to pump 30,000 gallons of water each minute to keep the parking garage dry, making it too expensive to operate. The structure was to provide much of the parking for City Center, a walkable downtown with roughly 200,000 square feet of retail space, 60,000 square feet of offices and a mix of 250 apartments and condos.

Instead, the underground parking will be only one level. Pedcor also added 1,000 spaces -- for a total of 3,000 on the site -- at a second parking structure, which will span the Monon Trail on the south end of the project. The Carmel Redevelopment Commission approved the changes this week.

Ron Carter, president of the Redevelopment Commission, said the project change is part of the "natural evolution and refinement of the project."

The updated project will include more retail shops along the Monon, and the parking structure will serve as a visual gateway to the City Center district, said Steve Sturtz, president of the Pedcor Design Group.

Although the parking will be elevated over the Monon, Sturtz said trail users won't feel like they're in the midst of a parking lot.

"We want to improve the trail, not take away from it," he said.

Pedcor plans to spend about $160 million on the project, which should be completed in five years. The site also will include a hotel and an outdoor amphitheater. The highlight is expected to be an $80 million performing arts center with a 1,600-seat concert hall and 500-seat multipurpose theater.

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Buckingham makes big plans for Carmel
Developer awaits OK on 116-acre urbanist development

The makeover of midtown Carmel, driven by the ambitious City Center master plan, could get a boost from a nearby development that could rival the project in scope.

Local real-estate developer Buckingham Properties will present its proposal to the Carmel Plan Commission Feb. 21 to transform the 1960s-era Mohawk Hills apartment complex and its golf course into a modern urbanist neighborhood.

The development, called Gramercy, could take a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars to complete.

The 116-acre tract at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue would play a critical role in advancing Carmel’s vision to create a new downtown along Range Line Road, by providing an eastern corridor into Old Town.

“What Buckingham is pulling off here is brilliant, because that entrance has the potential to be the new grand entrance to Carmel from the east,” said Ross Reller, vice president of Meridian Real Estate. “I am as enthusiastic about the Buckingham project as I am about City Center.”

Its Gramercy name is derived from the French expression reflecting gratitude or surprise and borrows from the upscale Manhattan neighborhood dating to the 1830s.

The traditional urban neighborhood design features town homes, apartments, hotels, offices, civic spaces, parks and retail space for restaurants, cafes or coffee shops.

British architect David Oliver designed the center plaza highlighted by a clock tower.

Buckingham purchased the property containing 564 apartment units and a ninehole golf course in 2004 from a Chicago group for roughly $30 million.

David Leazenby, the company’s vice president of land development, declined to divulge how much Buckingham will invest in the project. But real estate developers said the cost likely will be hundreds of millions of dollars.

Pending approval from the Carmel City Council, work could start in 2007 and would be finished in eight to 12 years. Development on the golf course would begin first, followed by demolition of the apartment buildings in phases, to maintain residential housing, Leazenby said.

Higher density

Plans are unclear how many units the new development would feature. But the high-density urban feel likely means more than what was allowed under the four-unitper-acre rule enforced in the late 1960s when the apartment complex was built.

As city space for home construction shrinks, Carmel officials are exploring alternative housing options similar to what Buckingham envisions.

“We’re extremely excited about what they’re proposing,” Carmel Plan Director Mike Hollibaugh said. “We’re really refocusing our planning efforts to look at our urban core between Keystone and U.S. 31, and trying to make sure we’re prepared for redevelopment.”

The public/private development that is City Center runs along the west side of Range Line between 123rd and 127th streets and encompasses a number of uses. Similar to Gramercy, they range from apartments, condominiums, shops, dining, office and hotel.

The City Council last year approved financing for an $80 million performing arts center to be built on the property.

Buckingham’s previous housing developments in Carmel include the Providence at Old Meridian, Traditions on the Monon at 136th, and Monon & Main.

In addition, Buckingham owns and manages the Governor Square apartment community, and the former Arbor Apartments, which was incorporated into the plan for Providence at Old Meridian.

“What we saw with Mohawk Hills was an opportunity to improve a property that was suffering from some out-of-state ownership,” Leazenby said. “It’s an opportunity to tie into what Carmel is doing and complement City Center and Old Town.”

Buckingham since has invested $500,000 in Mohawk Hills to remodel the clubhouse, tear down the carports, and upgrade landscaping. Current occupancy is about 90 percent, Leazenby said, and many tenants are renewing their leases in anticipation of the makeover.

Changing course

Although the number of rounds played on the public golf course at Mohawk Hills has steadily dropped the past five years, Leazenby said that factored little into the decision to redevelop the property. The course will remain open for the entire 2006 season.

More public courses are succumbing to development as central Indiana becomes saturated with golfing options. In Hendricks County alone, Clermont Golf Course, Brownsburg Golf Course and Hendricks County Golf Course all have closed.

In Fishers, a group of investors called Britton Park Development LLC bought Britton Golf Course last April for $16 million. Bordering State Road 37 and East 131st Street, the 104-acre course is the largest piece of prime property left along a stretch of highway where much of the land has been consumed by commercial construction.

Plans call for the property to someday accommodate 600,000 square feet of shops and other street-level businesses, plus offices or town homes. Office buildings and an assisted-living center are planned as well.

When completed, the project would be the largest commercial, office and retail development in Fishers and would be bigger than Clay Terrace, the 65-acre upscale, old-style shopping mall at U.S. 31 and 146th Street in Carmel.

The loss of certain courses is not necessarily detrimental to the sport, said Mike David, executive director of the Indiana Golf Office.

“From a supply-and-demand side, we’re lopsided right now,” he said. “At Mohawk Hills, when you look at the property value, you have to seriously consider the best use of that property.”

Going public?

Founded in 1984, Buckingham has developed more than $225 million of real estate and owns and manages more than 9,000 apartment units in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio.

The company recently agreed to purchase locally based Century Realty Trust for $60 million. Century’s investors have pushed publicly for nearly two years for a sale, claiming it was too small to exist as a public company.

In turn, Reller at Meridian said a sale could give Buckingham the leverage it needs to go public as a real estate investment trust.

Citing locally based Duke Realty Corp., Simon Property Group and Kite Realty Group Trust as examples, Reller said Wall Street has been kind to Indianapolis public real estate developers.

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How well-known is Carmel outside of Indiana?[/QUOTE]

With all the annexation in Indy, isn't Carmel the only suburb of Indy. I've never heard of one Indy suburb other than Carmel.

]With all the annexation in Indy, isn't Carmel the only suburb of Indy. I've never heard of one Indy suburb other than Carmel.
No, Indy hasn't (and will never) annex since the 1970's. Carmel is Indy's most affluent (probably the largest) suburb, so it gets the most attention. There's also northern suburbs of Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville and Zionsville. The western suburbs are mostly in Hendricks County and include Avon, Plainfield, and Brownsburg. Southern suburbs are Greenwood and Southport. The eastern suburbs (probably the least populated) include New Palestine and Cumberland.

Yes, this is a major myth-conception about metro Indy. Yes, in the 1960's, Indy annexed the "inner-ring" burbs, but now, the City is completely surrounded and "landlocked." So, even if we could annex, we wouldn't be able to.

As mentioned, Carme is top-dog. But, Fishers and Greenwood would probably have something to say about that. One thing that I notice is that Indy's burb's don't get the "map recognition" that they should. When an urban area is depicted for our area, it usually only shows Marion County and a bit of Hamilton, but this is very misleading. Here are some populations for Indy's burbs (approx):

Carmel 60,000
Fishers 58,000
Greenwood 40,000
Lawrence 40,000
Noblesville 30,000
Speedway 20,000
Beech Grove 15,000
Plainfield 30,000
Brownsburg 15,000
Avon 8,000
Cumberland 7,000
New Palestine 5,000

These are all places that are continuous to indy.

No, Indy hasn't (and will never) annex since the 1970's. Carmel is Indy's most affluent (probably the largest) suburb, so it gets the most attention. There's also northern suburbs of Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville and Zionsville. The western suburbs are mostly in Hendricks County and include Avon, Plainfield, and Brownsburg. Southern suburbs are Greenwood and Southport. The eastern suburbs (probably the least populated) include New Palestine and Cumberland.

Naptown,
I agree that Indy will probably never annex any more land, but you make it sound like it cannot. Is that true? I've heard that annexing land outside of the county (ie, Indy annexing land in Hamilton, Boone, etc) is currently illegal, but could that not be changed in the future? Indy could also, at some point, annex one of the four towns (Beech Grove, Speedway, Lawrence, Southport) in Marion County, right? just wondering...

In order for UniGov to get passed by dem's, State Law prohibits the City of Indianapolis expanding beyond Marion County. Now, that doesn't mean state law can't chage, but right now, "no." As for Beech Grove, Speedway, Lawrence and Southport, when Unigov was created, these communities all had the option of inclusion or not. The obviously chose not. Cumberland also had the option, and since the Town could expand and be autonomous from Indy in the Hancock Co. portion, it chose to be "included."

Townhomes offer 'live-work' option

The trees have been cleared away, and earthmoving has begun on another key portion of Carmel's Arts and Design District in the heart of the city.

Construction is under way on Monon and Main, a development of three-story townhomes along Main Street just west of the Monon Greenway.

Some of the townhomes will allow the owners to open business offices on the ground floor and live on the upper levels.

With the first work on the site, potential buyers of the new homes are already lining up. A waiting list has at least 50 names for the 77 units.

Erinn Mosher of Gunstra Builders, which is developing the 4-acre site and constructing the new homes, said the first models could be ready to see by fall.

Monon and Main is proving so popular, she said, "because it is an awesome location, right on the trail, where you're able to walk to the shops and restaurants in downtown and even to Carmel High School, that isn't too far away."

Residents in the area could walk to the butcher shop, the florist and gift store, a winery, barber and beauty salons, diners, yoga studio, women's clothing stores and home-décor businesses.

When hungry, there's Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream eatery next door to Monon and Main. Or Muldoon's pub is a block up Main.

"The Monon Greenway is one of the busiest in the nation, with thousands of people on the trail on summer days," Mosher said.

Several blocks to the east, the city's Redevelopment Commission has helped private developers in construction of two three-story buildings at Main and Range Line Road that will house art and design-related businesses.

Old Main is at the center of the city administration's goal of creating an Arts and Design District.

Two large decorative stone and iron gates have been erected at the south and east sides of Range Line Road and Main in the evolving Arts and Design District.

Another of the gateways will be constructed at Main near the new Gunstra townhome development.

Mayor Jim Brainard and other city officials are scheduled for a ceremonial groundbreaking for the Monon and Main townhomes March 16.

Mosher said the townhomes, which will come in six floor plans depending on the number of bedrooms and baths, will be priced from $200,000.

Each of the 18 brick and concrete-siding buildings will be three stories, with a garage and a bonus room on the ground level. The kitchen and living room are on the second floor, and bedrooms are on the top floor.

That bonus space in the 19 units that face Main will be designed so that it could be used as a professional office or similar light business purpose. It's part of the "live-work" design to blend the residential with the commercial property along Main.

Longtime Carmel residents have been surprised -- some were a little shocked or even dismayed -- by the removal of the stand of trees on the 4.5-acre townhome site.

It now looks bare compared with the familiar wooded area.

Jim Morgan, sales manager for Gunstra, responded that he grew up in Hamilton County and has been sorry to see trees disappearing to make way for new construction.

"We, too, wish we could have left trees on this location. However, to get the look of the old downtown, it wasn't possible," he wrote in a response to the concerns.

"There is a beautiful new community coming, where the (residents) will be able to walk out their front doors and right into all that downtown Carmel will have to offer: restaurants, shops, the Monon and much more. They are going to feel like they're on vacation at some wonderful resort every day."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006603030372

does anyone think condos in Keystone @ the crossing would produce the same type of demand?

does anyone think condos in Keystone @ the crossing would produce the same type of demand?

I definitely think so. Which is why Kite wanted to build twin 8 story condo towers across the street until the Nora Nimby Nazis threw a fit.

I dont know why there havent been any condos actually built at Keystone at the Crossing though.

I've wondered the same thing, a new urbanist community would be great for Keystone at the Crossing. You would build residential development over the parking lots office towers use, and build garages for the office towers. Of course, the NNN (good idea KM) would explode and say it would increase traffic because there wouldn't be enough parking. :|

Just think how incredible the area would look:
http://i2.tinypic.com/qs5a35.jpg

http://i2.tinypic.com/qs5afa.jpg

http://i2.tinypic.com/qs5ah1.jpg

with the highway right there, i don't think that space is the best lot for condos but they could build a new office building in the parking lot area closer to the hwy to replace the square bldg NW of the tallest bldg, then put condos in its place.

i know this is completely off the Carmel topic but i just want to get someone's opinion:
the lot north of the fairgrounds @ Keystone & Fall Creek (i think there are some awful senior high rise apts over there), has been untouched forever (and understandably so). however, what could that site be used for?
my vision is a TOD, assuming the transit line would come that way.

When I was last up at Keystone at the Crossing, I saw a sign for the new high rise that has been "proposed" for some time. Is this sign new, or have I just not seen the it before?

YES...a condo tower at Keystone would be great! I am so surprised that this area isn't developing more like ATL's Phipps/lenox area. I suspect that a condo tower is only a matter of time up there.

If a condo tower were to go up how large would it be? I'm sure alot of ppl would live there whenever i go I like the area.

If a condo tower were to go up how large would it be? I'm sure alot of ppl would live there. Whenever I go I like the area.

found this online re: Keysone @ Xing (i know we are way off topic of Carmel but...:

"BPG Properties Nabs 1M-SF Office Portfolio in Indianapolis
December 28, 2005
By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor


BPG Properties, Ltd., the operating affiliate of Berwind Property Group Ltd., said this morning that it has acquired a five-building portfolio totaling nearly 1 million square feet in Indianapolis' Keystone at the Crossing office park. It plans to make $9 million in improvements to increase the value of the strategically-located property...Describing BPG as a very "hands-on owner," Neverauskas said BPG plans to make $9 million in improvements at the office park (pictured) over a two-year period, including cleaning facades, upgrading landscaping and signage and renovating common areas. "It used to be a very prominent park. It's kind of lost its luster," he pointed out. "It's a matter of rebranding and bringing in a new attitude."...
The 37-acre Keystone property, originally developed between 1978 and 1988, comprises five office buildings and one small retail building containing an eye laser surgery clinic..."There is the potential to create value because of the current leasing situation," he noted, adding that it also represented "the chance to upgrade it because it is in such a great location--and take it to the next level." The office buildings are within walking distance of the Fashion Mall at Keystone and Shops at River Crossing as well as residences and more than 1,000 hotel rooms and 45 restaurants."

I'm bold, I might send the BPG Prop. an e-mail to inquire about condos...
Where are the residences within that complex?

Carmel designs its future

CARMEL -- City officials and Pedcor Development are expected to break ground in about two weeks on City Center, a project that will give Carmel a new downtown with a four-star hotel, retail shops, restaurants, condominiums, apartments and an outdoor amphitheater.

But the city's downtown revitalization is already gaining momentum, according to Chaos clothing store owner Joanne Kouris. She's noticed more foot traffic at her Main Street business in the city's Old Town district.

"I think it's incredible to see," said Kouris, a 10-year Carmel resident who opened the store in July 2003 then moved across the street into the old pool hall at 130 W. Main St. in November. "There was not a lot happening in downtown Carmel 21/2 years ago. The downtown had been a little stagnant."

Now the excitement is starting to build since the city has started transforming its century-old buildings into the Carmel Arts and Design District, a four-block radius of Main Street and Rangeline Road. The idea, Mayor Jim Brainard says, is to re-energize Old Town by making it the center of an arts district.

The arts district -- marked by two large, red brick arches that span Main and Rangeline and 48 red and yellow logo signs attached to light poles -- will include a mix of fine-art galleries, restaurants, antique shops, unusual furniture stores and designer boutiques.

Carmel is developing the City Center south of the arts district at Rangeline and City Center Drive.

The project is especially exciting to Brainard, who remembers how residents disagreed on where Carmel's downtown was located when he first ran for mayor in 1995. Some thought it was in Old Town, others thought of Merchants' Square at 116th Street and Keystone Avenue and some thought it was at 116th and Meridian streets.

"It (the City Center) is going to be a real downtown for us," the mayor said. "We're trying to build a real Main Street. Rangeline, in essence, is our new Main Street."

The City Center will take two years to construct, Brainard said. It includes the $80 million Carmel Performing Arts Center, with a 1,600-seat concert hall and a 500-seat theater, that will break ground late this fall or early next spring.

The concert hall and amphitheater are set to open Sept. 1, 2010. The hotel is scheduled to open in spring 2008 but it may be phased-in to open at the same time as the concert hall, according to the mayor.

Pedcor will also break ground this year on the Indiana Design Center, located on City Center land on the west side of Rangeline and south of Main, between First and Third streets. The 21/2-story, 85,000-square-foot building, set to open in late 2007, will be modeled after Chicago's famed Merchandise Mart.

The Pedcor site is part of a series of sites in the old city core that Carmel bought and resold to private developers. Brainard views the public/private partnerships as an investment that gives smaller businesses as well as large developers an opportunity for ownership.

About $800 million in private-sector funds have been committed to developing the arts district, Brainard said, and about $50 million has been invested in the City Center project, with $60 million more to come.

Thus far, the city has invested about $20 million on infrastructure improvements, using tax-increment financing (TIF) funds, according to the mayor. A TIF district siphons new business taxes in a redevelopment area and reinvests that money in public infrastructure.

Carmel's Redevelopment Commission has awarded about $30,000 in grants to several small businesses in the Old Town area to help them make improvements to building exteriors.

Kouris' Chaos store received a $5,000 grant to replace windows, lights and a door as well as install a purple awning. The old pool hall's black windows especially needed replaced. "It was really kind of creepy," she said.

http://www.topics.com/articles/5/066377-6755-121.html


Its amazing that there is $800 million in development planed for Carmel's downtown. Its a number you'd usually see for a much larger city's downtown

Design Center site almost cleared
By Lesley Rogers Barrett
lesley.rogers.barrett@indystar.com

Carmel -- The future site of the Indiana Design Center should be cleared this week after the city of Carmel demolishes the final structure at the location.

On the horizon: An artist's rendering shows the Indiana Design Center, which will house a variety of retail home design businesses at Range Line Road and First Street Southwest. - Provided by Topics Newspapers

A building that once housed Payless Liquor will be torn down this week, said Les Olds, the city's redevelopment director.

The Carmel Fire Department had used the structure to practice rescues and other professional techniques earlier this month.

Pedcor City Center Development Co. will break ground this summer on its two-story, 85,000-square-foot merchandise mart at Range Line Road and First Street Southwest -- in the heart of Carmel's developing Arts and Design District.

Pedcor, the development company leading much of Carmel's core renovation, plans to spend about $12 to $14 million on the building, which will house retail home design businesses. There also will be a parking structure with 112 underground spaces and 64 surface spaces that will be open to the public.
Construction on the building should take 15 to 18 months, said Pedcor President Bruce Cordingley.

He said the center will be a one-stop shopping destination for home design and decor.

"I don't think we have any place in our community where somebody putting together a home can go to one place for kitchen, bath, carpeting, furniture, wall hangings," Cordingley said. "We want to get all of those. The best in the area."

No one has committed yet to move into the building, but Cordingley said Pedcor will spend the next six to 12 months recruiting home design businesses.

The Carmel Redevelopment Commission is selling Pedcor the site for $2.4 million. The commission spent about $2.1 million acquiring the roughly 1.5 acres of land, which included a gas station, bakery and the liquor store. The commission will break even on the project -- the city's goal -- because the cost of demolition makes up the difference.

Mayor Jim Brainard said the design mart will be one of the cornerstones of the Arts and Design District, which is expected to turn Old Town into a pedestrian-friendly area of art galleries, boutiques and restaurants.
"We think people will come from other major cities in the Midwest once it's built out," Brainard said.

At the southeast corner of Range Line Road and Main Street, Pedcor is building the Old Town Shops of Carmel.

The three-story building, which includes first-floor retail below office and living space, should be completed this summer, Cordingley said.

Pedcor is holding a groundbreaking ceremony on its signature project, City Center, on March 23.

The site at Range Line Road and City Center Drive will include apartments, townhomes, offices, restaurants and retail shops.

The city also is building an $80 million performing arts center at City Center.


http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060313/NEWS01/603130373/1006

Rendering of the Design Center:

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20060313&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=603130373&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0
On the horizon: An artist's rendering shows the Indiana Design Center, which will house a variety of retail home design businesses at Range Line Road and First Street Southwest

In response to the other suburbs, Carmel is the most well known but many are growing very fast. In reference to the east side being the least populated, Greenfield is kind of a ways away from Indy so it is more its own separate town. New Palestine relies on Indianapolis for most of its commercial needs. However, US 52 is being expanded to 4 lanes so expect an even bigger boom in growth once that is complete.

Carmel's city improvements are pretty nice, and they are doing everything first class, although there is an elitist feel to it. Living in Sydney as I do currently has made me really appreciate my small town feel back home in Indy.

Arts District landmark taking shape
Building, set to open around July, to have galleries, studios, offices

One of the first landmark buildings in Carmel's emerging Arts and Design District is nearing completion and beginning to fill with galleries and other businesses.

The brick exterior is going up on the Old Town Shops on the southeast corner of Main Street and Range Line Road, which is to be ready for business around July 1.

Pedcor Development Co. is developing the site purchased from the Carmel Redevelopment Commission, which assembled parcels of land to have a corner large enough eventually for two of the mixed-use buildings.

Melissa Averitt, director of marketing and sales for Pedcor, said the building will have six townhouse-style units, including two with four stories and the rest with three stories.

The plan is to have art galleries, home designers and similar businesses on the street-level of each unit. The upper floors are intended for artists' studios and professional offices or residences.

That's the plan for artist Magdalena Hoyos-Segovia, who was raised in Vera Cruz, Mexico, and now lives in Carmel. Her family is buying one of the Old Town Shops units, where a gallery for her artwork and others' creations will be on the street level. She plans to rent the upper floors for professional offices.

Hoyos-Segovia's contribution to the emerging district and the $500,000 Old Town Shops units will be to present art and artists with a Latin flair, she said.

Another unit in the building is leased to John Heinzinger and Sheri Piebes, who will move their Artisan Masterpiece home decor, glass and ceramic shop from Merchants Plaza.

The first floor will feature handmade crafts for sale. The second floor will offer make-your-own pottery, jewelry and more.

There will be candle-making and stained-glass classes, possibly metalworking classes and a potter's wheel. The third floor will be leased to an artist or group of artists for a studio and classes.

Averitt declined to name names, but she said the third unit is tentatively leased for a real estate and mortgage equity business on the upper floors, with the ground level still available.

The fourth unit is earmarked for Distinctive Investments, a company owned by real estate magazine publisher Steve Holloway. Plans are for an interior design firm to lease the ground floor.

Pedcor will own one of the units and has several prospects for leasing the space for gallery and office tenants but none signed yet, Averitt said.

The sixth unit in the building is still for sale.

The size of the units varies from 3,000 to up to 12,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, excavation has begun for a second building in the Old Town Shops facing Main just east of the first building.

Construction crews will move to that building when the first is complete.

Also, Pedcor is developing another anchor for the arts district, the two-story 85,000-square-foot Indiana Design Center. Ground was broken last month for that $14 million construction project at First Street Southwest and Range Line Road.

Construction on the Design Center is expected to take up to 18 months.

Also nearby in the arts district, Stenz Construction started work this spring on the $4.5 million Evan Lurie Fine Art Gallery at 30 W. Main St. The early 1900s-styled, three-story building will have a ground-level gallery and four penthouse apartments, priced from $650,000 to $750,000, on the upper floors.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20060512&Kategori=LOCAL0101&Lopenr=605120354&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0
Cultural mecca? Artists, craftsmen, offices and residences are planned for the Old Town Shops at Main Street and Range Line Road.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006605120354

Pedcor Development plans $14 million design center
Carmel retail facility aimed at builders, homeowners

You can add a massive retail home design and decor retail center to Pedcor Development Co.’s lengthy project list in Carmel’s downtown district.

Pedcor, which is responsible for much of the development going on in downtown Carmel these days, is expected to break ground this summer on a $14 million Indiana Design Center, an 85,000-square-foot, two-story, one-stop shopping spot for homeowners and builders.

An assortment of 20 to 25 retailers that sell everything from bathroom faucets to antiques is expected to occupy the center, said Bruce Cordingley, president of Pedcor. It will give shoppers one place to go for just about everything to do with building, designing and decorating their homes.

“It’s state of the industry,” Cordingley said.

The center will be built on the west side of Range Line Road, south of Main Street between First and Third streets.

The land was most recently home to a closed gas station, vacant bakery and a liquor store. Clearing of those buildings is expected to be completed in the next couple of weeks. The Design Center’s opening is slated for the end of next year.

The Design Center will sit within Carmel’s City Center, also being developed by Pedcor. It will be designed using the federal style of architecture, which is identified by a low-pitched roof, a smooth façade, delicate columns and moldings, and Palladian windows, often with an arched middle section.

In addition, there will be a parking structure with 112 underground spaces and 64 surface spaces.

And as the center goes up, Pedcor will go out and recruit tenants.

“We expect to attract business from all over,” Cordingley said.

Pedcor believes the multitenant center will offer several advantages over a standalone building or traditional retail mall.

“Individually, a lot of people involved in the home center can’t really make as big of a splash as they need to,” said Bill French, a veteran retail broker with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker in Indianapolis. “But being involved in the center, you have a multitude of independent operators that can come together, pool advertising and have a very strong and effective advertising campaign.”

Combining many businesses under one roof will provide a positive synergistic effect, French said.

And putting the Design Center in Carmel is a brilliant move, French said. Not only are the incomes growing along with the rest of the population in Hamilton County, but Carmel itself is booming with renovation, much by Pedcor.

Pedcor’s City Center project will include shops and restaurants, an outdoor amphitheater, an ice-skating rink, a hotel and an $80 million performing arts center. The City Center is adjacent to the Carmel Arts and Design District, which is in the middle of Old Town Carmel.

So Pedcor’s Design Center seems to fit right in.

But are Cordingley’s plans a bit too ambitious?

“It seems that 85,000 square feet is quite aggressive for that concept in terms of size,” said Mark Perlstein, partner with Carmel-based The Linder Co.

Retailing can be challenging in very large buildings, especially those that are two stories, because usually the first floor gets more exposure than the second floor, Perlstein said.

It might also be challenging for retailers to identify who the customers will be and how much they will spend before deciding if they want to take up residence there.

And some retailers that already have their own cabinet, carpet or other showrooms might not want to vacate their current place of business to move there, said Perlstein, who also thinks a spot more easily accessible to an interstate might have been a better choice.

But Cordingley thinks his idea is unique enough to work.

While more and more home builders are creating their own design centers, they’re builder-specific. Estridge Homes, for example, has Estridge Home Experience in Clay Terrace, an 8,000-square-foot boutique of home products.

Estridge’s center is a place where people building Estridge homes can go to pick their carpet, wall coverings and kitchen cabinets.

Pedcor’s Design Center will not be geared toward any particular builder. In fact, not only will consumers shop at the center, but builders from all aspects of the trade are likely to visit, get ideas and meet with vendors that can complement their business.

And Chicago-based The Merchandise Mart Design Center has a four-story showroom of residential housing furnishings. With locations in Los Angeles, Boston and other large cities, The Merchandise Mart is geared for wholesalers, with occasional special events that allow consumers to buy.

Cordingley thinks Indiana is ready for such a concept, and he says he’s shopped around and visited other states enough to know.

“I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “Consumers from all over central Indiana will come here.”

http://chicago.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2006/05/22/30/Img/Pc0300500.jpg

http://chicago.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2006/05/22/31/Img/Pc0310200.jpg

Old Meridian Street being transformed by development

Developers are planning new homes, office and commercial buildings along a stretch of Old Meridian Street that Carmel officials envision as a new gateway corridor.


City officials have been planning a reconstruction and widening of Old Meridian between Main and Pennsylvania streets, setting the stage for a spurt of redevelopment of old or vacant properties.

Buckingham Properties helped launch the development with the construction of offices, townhomes and apartments in Providence at Old Meridian, on the southern end of the corridor.

A short distance north in the 12800 block of Old Meridian, two projects are taking shape.

On the southwest side, Centex is proposing Old Meridian Place -- a mix of 129 townhomes, plus office and retail buildings, on 25 acres.

And on the northeast side of Old Meridian, Hoosier Realty has slightly less than 3 acres earmarked for an office building.

G. Ross Reller, vice president of Meridian Real Estate, said Hoosier Realty "has created a plan for the redevelopment of that site that is intended to meet the city's vision in the Old Meridian corridor."

"The design is to move the building close to the street, and then the parking lot can be hidden behind the building," Reller said.

It is similar to the new urbanism concepts that city planners have encouraged in other corridors including Main and Rangeline Road.

Buckingham's Providence development will have several office, townhouse and retail buildings in the same position close to the street.

"It is a design intended to create more sidewalk space and to make the area more pedestrian-friendly," Reller said.

That's the concept Hoosier Realty will propose with a two-story building of up to 30,000 square feet, he said.

The ground floor could be a mixture of office and retail businesses, and the upper floor could be office space.

"Some of it could be excellent for medical uses, because this area is between the new Clarian North hospital and St. Vincent Carmel Hospital," Reller said.

He said city approvals for the Hoosier Realty project haven't been sought yet. "We're still staying flexible," he said, until the details are complete for the rebuilding of the street.

So, groundbreaking on the proposed building is likely to begin in 2007 and occupancy about a year later, if the city's street project is ready, he said.

Plans for rebuilding the pavement of Old Meridian, which have advanced slowly for several years, include widening the street from two lanes to four with a center median, plus roundabout intersections at Main and Pennsylvania. Sidewalks would be added for a boulevard streetscape.

Rights of way have been acquired, Reller said, and preliminary work on the road project is under way.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006607140325

Newer uses for older areas
Plans to redevelop 2 Carmel sites have owners resigned or ready to move

CARMEL, Ind. -- Golf course views and spacious floor plans were the selling points for Mohawk Hills, once one of the area's premier apartment communities at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue.

Large lots in the quiet suburbs were the sales pitch for the ranch homes near 99th Street and Westfield Boulevard.

But that was in the early 1970s -- back when the Monon Trail still had tracks and farmers harvested most of Carmel every fall.

Now developers want to demolish both areas as part of a redevelopment wave that has surged across Carmel's core.

Some, though, say that wave has stretched too far, encroaching on some of Carmel's most-established neighborhoods.

"We're left sitting here, wondering if we're next," said Angie Molt, a 20-year Carmel resident who lives in a neighborhood next to Mohawk Hills.

"I don't want to move, but I can't control it if my neighbors want to sell to a developer."

Plans to redevelop Mohawk Hills and the neighborhood near 99th and Westfield are both before the Carmel City Council.

Indianapolis-based Buckingham Companies wants to transform the 116-acre Mohawk Hills golf course and apartment complex into Gramercy -- a collection of more than 2,000 condominiums, townhomes and apartments complete with offices, retail shops and a hotel.

Meanwhile, closer to the Marion County line, Carmel developer Pittman Partners plans to raze four ranch homes on 27 acres to build Aramore, a project with more than 200 townhomes and condos.

Redevelopment is not new to Carmel, with the city developing a budding arts district out of an aging Main Street, creating a $55 million Central Park and transforming an old commercial area into a new downtown, City Center.

But as Carmel develops its last stretches of open ground to the west, redevelopment in the city's older neighborhoods is expected to intensify.

"This kind of redevelopment is a good trend, and it will continue over time," Mayor Jim Brainard said.

It's an uncommon trend, said Eric Damian Kelly, acting chair of Ball State's Department of Urban Planning.

"I do work all over the country, and this kind of redevelopment in well-established areas is pretty unusual anywhere," Kelly said. "But in a small suburban city like Carmel, it's extremely unusual."

Stadium-sized price tag
The caliber of redevelopment proposed in Carmel isn't an everyday occurrence, either.

Buckingham plans to spend $500 million -- not much less than the $675 million budget for the new Indianapolis Colts' stadium -- to build Gramercy, which would include everything from three-story townhomes to 10-story condominium towers.

The project is designed to emulate 1800s Manhattan with unique architecture, small streets and neighborhood parks.

But just because Gramercy has fancy architecture and a half-billion-dollar price tag doesn't mean residents are welcoming the project to the neighborhood.

"They're creating a monstrosity," said John Sullivan, 68, who lives nearby. "I don't know that it's fair or moral to put businesses next to someone who's enjoyed the peace and quiet of their home for 30 or 40 years."

That's what makes redeveloping in older neighborhoods a challenge, said David Leazenby, vice president with Buckingham.

"When people have grown up in an area or had their home there a long time, sure, there's going to be resistance," he said. "But communities change, cities evolve, and it's not like this is happening overnight.

"I don't see this being a detriment to the city at all."

Most neighbors aren't sad to see the aging Mohawk Hills go, but many object to Gramercy's towering buildings and the added traffic they will bring.

"This is basically a city within a city, and that doesn't make it conducive to neighborhoods," said Phil Squier, who has lived Carmel since 1971. "We don't need a city in Carmel. We are a city. We need neighbors."

Very little opposition
Neighbors who live near 99th and Westfield are resigned to the reality that their neighborhood of modest ranch homes soon will be gone. Four of them have agreed to sell their combined 27 acres for the Aramore project.

Their wooded lots and unpretentious single-story homes, many of which have septic tanks, would be cleared for trendy townhomes and condos, priced at $400,000 and higher.

Unlike Gramercy, Aramore has gone before the City Council without any opposition from neighbors. Developer Steve Pittman has worked on the project for nearly two years and has met with neighbors 30 times.

"I wouldn't say that anybody is doing cartwheels about this area being redeveloped," he said, "but I think they've realized it's pretty apparent, and they're comfortable with the plans."

Pittman's project is part of a larger area Carmel is eyeing for redevelopment -- from 96th to 99th streets between Westfield and Keystone -- where dozens of more homes could be demolished.

Michael Hollibaugh, director of the city's planning department, said developers and the market will drive most of the change in the area, but he acknowledged the city would like some homes preserved.

Pittman predicts the entire district will become a mixed-use mecca with townhomes and condos built near neighborhood shopping and small offices.

Many longtime homeowners in the area, like Pat Rice, already are prepared to move. She lives in a secluded neighborhood, Wild Cherry Corner, of 15 homes on 25 acres.

Homeowners there plan to sell as a group and already have begun talking to developers.

"If I had my way about it, I wouldn't let redevelopment come in anywhere, but that's not reality," Rice said.

"It's hard but true."

A good idea?
Is disturbing the lives and homes of longtime residents and taxpayers worth the fruits of redevelopment?

The mayor suggests it is.

"Most cities don't have these kinds of opportunities," Brainard said. "I think it's important to recognize this is a private sector initiative, not a city initiative."

Is it a private investment? Sure, but neighbors of the proposed Gramercy project say the city always has the final say.

Molt, who lives nearby, says the city should redevelop in adjacent areas instead of letting pockets of it occur across the city.

Carmel leaders counter that the market dictates where and when redevelopment occurs. Rice, a former Plan Commission member, suggests another factor.

"My problem comes in when it gets political and has to do with how Carmel looks, and how we want to be a world-class city," she said. "It's like we have to be able to say to the world that Carmel is this enviable place.

"It's that attitude I sometimes have a problem with."

Kelly, the Ball State planning expert, said it's hard to deny Carmel's appeal.

"The real estate market is attaching a very high value to Carmel," he said. "That's what makes this redevelopment worth this kind of investment."

As for the neighbors, Kelly said they have little relief when redevelopment is supported by City Hall.

"Everybody sees the writing on the wall. The houses they've owned for 30 or 40 years are going to have commercial businesses next to them," said Sullivan, who lives near the Gramercy parcel. "We don't like it."

Brainard said in the end, redevelopment will improve the city and leave neighbors with higher property values and a better quality of life.

Squier, who's lived in Carmel for 35 years, disagrees.

"I'll move. They're just ruining Carmel."

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20060814&Kategori=LOCAL010103&Lopenr=608140399&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0
A look: This is a street scene envisioned around one business plaza in the proposed Gramercy development. The 116-acre site would be redeveloped during seven to 10 years. Small businesses would be on the ground floor, with two or three floors of apartments above.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006608140399

This is such great news! I have a couple of points, 1. Who the hell cares what somebody who has lived there for 20-30-40 years thinks, (move to Florida already!). I want to know why they are not interviewing 20-30 year olds for their opinion?!?! 2. I do not understand why the city of Indianapolis and the city of Carmel do not work together to get light rail to connect the two city centers?.?. Both areas seem to be adding people daily and introducing projects daily which is increasing density and population, so why not connect it with public rail transit? This would solve their traffic problem they are sooooo concerned with. (This would be like 7-10 years from now when these aforementioned projects have been completed and would make sense)

Carmel's Mayor Brainard is chairman of the IRTC (Indianapolis Regional Transportation Council) and the loudest advocate of light-rail outside of the City-County Building.

I was at Saks recently and took a ride up to Carmel to check things out. I am really impressed with that town. I wouldnt want to see new urbanist development there hurt Indy, but I actually think that Carmel is bringing a lot of professional types to Indy from places like Chicago suburbs that may have not considered Indy if it wasn't for an area like Carmel. I think encouraging more dense retail and condos will help curb sprawl away from Noblesville.

well, Carmel is landlocked, so they have no where else to grow, so its time to densify

This is such great news! I have a couple of points, 1. Who the hell cares what somebody who has lived there for 20-30-40 years thinks, (move to Florida already!). I want to know why they are not interviewing 20-30 year olds for their opinion?!?! 2. I do not understand why the city of Indianapolis and the city of Carmel do not work together to get light rail to connect the two city centers?.?. Both areas seem to be adding people daily and introducing projects daily which is increasing density and population, so why not connect it with public rail transit? This would solve their traffic problem they are sooooo concerned with. (This would be like 7-10 years from now when these aforementioned projects have been completed and would make sense)

With the Monon being using as a trail, I dont see where a light rail line would go from Indy to Carmel now. That really would have been the best route connecting downtown to Broad Ripple to Carmel.

Gramercy project given green light in Carmel

Carmel - The Carmel City Council met in its regular session Monday night. But the debate which followed was far from ordinary. The debate was on a proposed development of 116 acres of land near 126th St. and Keystone.

For more than ninety minutes they delivered at times passionate pleas before a standing room only crowd that numbered into the hundreds.

One of those who spoke was Dorann Ellis. "Take a good look around at the people gathered in this room. We are the heart and soul of Carmel," she said, "Do you really want this city to be another New York or Boston?"

The crowd would learn that, in the end, not even the strongest of testaments could sway the city's seven-member council.

When the vote was totaled, there were five votes in favor of the development and two opposed.

Concerns for the people that packed the council chamber centered around a mayor's vision for a growing city. One that would transform the one hundred sixteen acres of land that is the Mohawk Hills apartment complex and golf course, into a sprawling complex of business, retail and residences called Gramercy. When complete it will have constructed two thousand residential units in a mix of condominiums, town homes and apartments.

Republican Mayor James Brainard feels the opposition will come around to his point of view. "People are just afraid of change. But I predict when this project is completed it will raise property values and it'll be a wonderful thing for the neighbors," he said.

After the final vote was cast one of the council's two dissenting voices, Republican Mark Rattermann, called the decision to go forward with project unfortunate.

He said, "This is an existing neighborhood. They didn't ask for this project. And it's just being pushed upon them."

The seven month battle for the people who live here is over. But there is a longer fight. They say they'll win that when they try to vote out of office the five council members who supported the project.

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=5309240

Link to a virtual drive thru (http://www.gramercylifestyle.com/projectInfo.php)

Another New York or Boston! LOLLLLLLLLLL. Carmel is a great place, and I have nothing but good things to say about it for the most part... but that is one of the funniest things I've heard in awhile. God, people are so pathetic when it comes to being scared of change.

Gramercy is a neat project.

But, I do sympathize with the residents.

It is really nice to see the city of Carmel move towards a more sustainable, smart growth environment. While some residents may not understand these concepts, Gramercy developers, city leaders and other did. How many people who were against this development took to time to visit this type of development (or look it up on the internet) in other places? This project may very well reduce traffic in the future because it has the density to support mass transit, while typical suburban sprawl lives only on the car. It is all the suburban neighborhoods surrounding Gramercy that is creating the traffic jam, with no other option. Carmel is starting to get national attention for its smart growth development strategies, be greatful your community leaders and citizens understand that suburban track housing is a dead end street, financially, socially, and environmentally. I hope more communities in the Indy area and midwest refocus their development efforts to be more like Gramercy, Village of West Clay, etc...

YES! I saw this project on the news sunday night after the Sunday Night Game and I was actually scared that it would not be passed based on the way the reporters were talking about the project!

I must admit, even though I'm a transplanted Carmelite (and will probably be moving back to Indy in a few months), I'm pretty excited for Carmel with this Gramercy project. It would be nice if the design was a bit more modern, but it's still nice. The NIMBYs are out in full-force on the Indystar boards, of course, but I think the city-council did the right thing by approving this project.

(Now let's hope it's Indy's turn to get a shot of good news soon with a major (positive) OMS announcement. There's not many days left in August for them to break ground...).

I must admit, even though I'm a transplanted Carmelite (and will probably be moving back to Indy in a few months), I'm pretty excited for Carmel with this Gramercy project. It would be nice if the design was a bit more modern, but it's still nice. The NIMBYs are out in full-force on the Indystar boards, of course, but I think the city-council did the right thing by approving this project.

(Now let's hope it's Indy's turn to get a shot of good news soon with a major (positive) OMS announcement. There's not many days left in August for them to break ground...).
My god, I went to the Indy Star message board earlier and looked at about 15 posts and got so disgusted by the responses that I couldn't read anymore. They're all so narrow minded. Carmel is a CITY (edge city, at least). If they want the burbs, there are plenty of other places around Indy that would be more than happy to accomodate them.

As for OMS, the clock is definitely ticking, but isn't August technically the deadline to close on buying the land?

My god, I went to the Indy Star message board earlier

That place is scary.

Carmel mayor: Arts hall needs another $50M
Plan, which would raise cash privately, ignites criticism

CARMEL, Ind. -- Mayor Jim Brainard wants to raise $50 million in private donations for a new concert hall, maintaining the extra cash is needed to make it a world-class arts center.

The money would be in addition to the $80 million Carmel has borrowed for the project.

The concert hall already has been plagued by delays and still has no formal design, despite being approved more than a year ago by the City Council.

Critics fear the muddy lot where the Carmel Performing Arts Center one day may stand is becoming a money pit for a building that could be a drain on taxpayers for years.

"I'm shocked," said Bill Styring, 60, a Carmel resident and economist. "I couldn't figure out how they'd pay back the original $80 million, and now he wants to raise $50 million more? You've got to be kidding me."

Brainard is confident that pockets in Carmel and across Central Indiana are deep enough to support what he says will be a concert hall unrivaled in Indiana.

The mayor is counting not only on $50 million in donations, but also $10 million worth of interest on the city's original investment, to push the total to $140 million.

"We bought the cake," City Council President Rick Sharp said, "and now the mayor's out for the frosting."

Changing the plan
The Carmel Performing Arts Center is planned as the anchor for City Center, Carmel's emerging downtown.

Brainard's vision has been to build a concert hall with superior acoustics that would draw top acts from across the world.

But little has been said publicly about the project since it won 4-3 council approval in June 2005.

At the time, the center was billed as an $80 million project that would break ground in early 2006 and open in 2008. The city also planned to raise a $20 million endowment to cover operating shortfalls.

Now, Brainard says, a lengthy design phase has delayed the opening until fall 2010, and the $50 million he wants to raise does not include an endowment.
He now says that money can be raised on a year-by-year basis.

The original plan also included a 1,600-seat concert hall and 500-seat theater. Now, the two will be built separately to save money.

The delays and beefed-up fundraising goals have not been shared publicly until now, and some City Council members weren't aware of them.

"I didn't know about any of this," said Councilman Mark Rattermann, who voted against the arts center. "I had sticker shock at the $80 million, and now we want $50 million more?"

These changes have led some to compare the project to the struggling Indianapolis-Marion County Central Library project, which has had major delays and cost overruns.

"This performing arts center is looking more and more like the public library in Indianapolis," said Wayne Wilson, 59, a former council member who ran against Brainard for mayor in 2003.

"Part of the sales pitch for this $80 million bond was that it would pay for a world-class facility, a one-of-a-kind concert hall, and now it's going to cost $140 million. How do you miss by $60 million?"

Brainard insists both a theater and concert hall could be built for $80 million, but they wouldn't be as nice.

By raising the extra $50 million, he said, limestone could be used on the building's facade instead of brick or stucco. Interior finishes could vary from floors of concrete to tile or granite, and walls that are either coated with paint, wallpaper or perhaps veneer.

Can the mayor raise $50 million?

"It's a big job, a big challenge we've taken on, but it's important for the community," he said. "We're confident the money is there and people want to make Carmel a beautiful city."

Brainard declined to divulge how much he's raised but said he is spending most of his time meeting with some of Indiana's biggest philanthropists. He's hired New York fundraising consultant Willem Brans to help.

"Based on the quality level of this project and the demographics and nature of Carmel, we believe the potential is there," Brans said of raising $50 million. "This is the most important performing arts facility project in Indiana for the next 100 years."

Others remain skeptical.

"Maybe Jim Brainard is a miracle worker," Styring said, "but I don't think it can happen."

The arts center was passed with the promise that no residential property taxes would be used for it. Instead, a tax increment financing district would be used to siphon off new business taxes generated in Carmel's City Center to pay for the concert hall.

But Rattermann worries that an increased fundraising goal and lack of endowment will leave taxpayers on the hook to cover the $300,000 operating deficit that the concert hall and theater are estimated to generate each year.

"The well is only so deep," he said. "If we drain the well for construction, what's left to keep it open, other than taxpayers' money?"

To raise the money, the city is asking $25 million for naming rights on the concert hall. Private boxes will be sold in perpetuity for an average price tag of $1 million. Other naming rights will be available.

"Hopefully, people will step up, open their checkbooks and say they want to be a part of this," said Les Olds, who, as the city's director of redevelopment, oversees the project. "Then we hope someone decides they want to become immortal and would love to see their name carved in limestone across the top."

"It's up to the community how nice these facilities will be," Brainard added.

Adding amenities
Rattermann said residents was led to believe it was getting top-notch facilities for $80 million.

"I'm irritated because I thought $80 million was going to build this," he said. "If we knew he was going to do this, we could have made the $80 million subject to him raising this $50 million."

Wilson, the ex-councilman, said Brainard has misled the public.

"It's like he decides to get people excited enough to get something going, and then decides to give them more of the bad news once we're too far into the thing to do anything about it," he said. "That's the deception."

But Sharp, a backer of the project, counters that the mayor already had stated he intended to raise $20 million, and the amount snowballed when he saw other amenities that could be added.

Members of Carmel's arts community remain stalwart supporters of the mayor.

"You're always going to have the people who will be against a project like this," said Alan Davis, executive director of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra. "But this will bring visitors and businesses to Carmel and improve the city's quality of life, so I think the mayor's vision is right on target."

Brainard has taken heat recently for supporting Gramercy, a controversial redevelopment at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue.

"My neighbors were livid over the first $80 million, and now there's $50 million on top of that," Styring said. "Oh, they're going to go crackers."

Rattermann said the project's success is key to the city's future.

"This is a gamble," he said. "This project could be the best thing that ever happened to Carmel or the biggest albatross around its neck.

"I'm not sure which."

Brainard said he's not worried.

"We've taken a lot on, but I've always subscribed to the theory 'little ventured, little gained,' " he said. "Raising this money has made my job a lot tougher, but I think it's important for the community."

Councilman Fred Glaser has opposed the concert hall and its price tag, calling it ridiculous. But he doesn't doubt Brainard's ability to deliver to Carmel that world-class concert hall.

"The mayor has this vision, and he's going to do whatever he can to make it happen," Glaser said. "I don't see any stopping him. This is his legacy."

Music hall plan has topsy-turvy history
May 1997 -- In unveiling his plan for a new downtown, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard says the price tag for a performing arts center would be $17.5 million.
November 1999 -- In his State of the City address, Brainard says an arts center could be built in the summer of 2000. Original estimates were for 2007.
March 2001 -- City Redevelopment Commission calls for a study on the need for a performing arts center.
May 2003 -- Brainard insists the public prefers an arts center to a 10,000-seat arena backed in part by Mel Simon.
July 2004 -- The price tag is revised to $80 million. Groundbreaking would be in early 2005.
June 2005 -- The City Council approves $80 million for the center; Brainard says he plans to raise $20 million for an endowment. It's set to break ground in early 2006 and open in 2008.
September 2006 -- Brainard wants to spend up to $140 million, with a goal of raising $50 million in private funds. Construction has been delayed until 2008, and the opening until 2010.

SIMILAR CONCEPTS
David M. Schwarz, the architect designing Carmel's concert hall, also designed the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tenn.

That facility opened Sept. 9 with a four-day event that began with a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's "Festive Overture" by the Nashville Symphony.

Here's a comparison:
SCHERMERHORN SYMPHONY CENTER
Cost: $123.5 million.

Size: 197,000 square feet.

Seats: 1,900.

Style: Neo-classical.

CARMEL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Cost: $80 million to $140 million.

Size: Estimated at 134,600 square feet.

Seats: 1,600.

Style: Likely Greek Revival or Romanesque.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20060917&Kategori=LOCAL010103&Lopenr=609170460&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0
Delayed: This is a 2005 artist's rendering of what the new performing arts center in Carmel could look like. A lengthy design phase has delayed the opening until 2010.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060917/LOCAL010103/609170460

Workshop keys on smart growth
Gramercy redevelopment spurs protests at international seminar

Land planners and community designers today are finishing an international seminar in Carmel on the New Urbanism concept being used to develop parts of the city.

"Retrofitting the Suburbs: New Urbanism in the Midwest" attracted 175 participants, said Leslie Scott, marketing director for the sponsor, The Seaside Institute.

Leslie Pickel, managing director of the institute, said Seaside is a small-scale neighborhood on 80 acres in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. Designed in 1981, the intent was to create a compact, walkable community connecting neighborhoods.

"In the last 10 years or so, we've been concentrating on training experts in the field on smart growth."

She said Seaside hosted a seminar in Carmel because of the city's rapid growth as a suburb and its strong examples of new urbanism, including the downtown Arts & Design District, Clay Terrace mall and the Village of WestClay business and housing development.

Seminar participants took bus tours Thursday of those sites.

A proposed new urbanism project, Gramercy, drew local protesters at two Seaside events.

Gramercy is a housing, retail and office complex designed to resemble an 1800s Manhattan neighborhood. Indianapolis-based Buckingham Cos. hopes to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to redevelop the Mohawk Hills golf course and apartment complex at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue.

In August, in front of a standing room only crowd, the City Council voted 5-2 to approve the 116-acre project.

Henry L. Winckler, president of the Central Carmel Preservation Association, said at least 10 people protested outside Seaside's Wednesday reception at City Hall. A second protest was Thursday at The Fountains, the seminar site.

"The whole purpose is to get the mayor and the council's attention on the Gramercy project, which we feel is too dense for this area," said Winckler. "We don't feel it's a bad project, but we feel it's too dense a project for the area around it."

The protesters' flier cited concerns about a proposed tax increment financing district for Gramercy. The council is to consider that for the first time at 6 p.m. Monday at City Hall.

One protester, Phil Squier, lives in a neighborhood next to the site of the proposed project.

"I am upset that my tax dollars are being used to pay people to come in and have a seminar on urbanization, and (Mayor Jim Brainard) is going to take everyone around on a tour, telling them what a great job he's doing to make a mini-Manhattan, and we do not want it," she said.

"I do not want Carmel to look like New Jersey or Chicago."

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006609150376

Luxury hotel will be built on Meridian
Marriott Renaissance Hotel is OK'd by planners for street's 11900 block

A luxury Renaissance Hotel by Marriott with a conference center is planned in Carmel, the latest landmark in the growing Meridian Street office corridor.

Developer Winegardner and Hammons, based in Cincinnati, received 7-2 approval this week from the Carmel Plan Commission for the hotel's plans.

The developer declined to discuss details, including a timetable for the project, until plans are complete. However, much has been disclosed in a series of public meetings with city planners during the past three months.

The Renaissance Hotel, one of the luxury brands of Marriott International, would be in the 11900 block of North Meridian, on 8 acres just south of the intersection of 122nd and Meridian streets.

The full-service hotel would have 263 guest rooms, a 5,000-square-foot restaurant and lounge, exercise rooms and other facilities.

Plans show a 7,700-square-foot ballroom, 1,000-square-foot meeting room and up to eight board rooms for smaller meetings.

The eight-story building would be 92 feet tall. It would have nearly 190,000 square feet of space, including a conference center of nearly 13,000 square feet.

Light and dark red brick will cover the exterior. There will be parking for about 400 vehicles.

The two negative votes on the project followed nearly an hour of debate about the shape of decorative walls and parapets around the top of the building.

Commission member Carol Schleif said the design appears to violate the city's standards requiring that a wall or similar structure hide mechanical equipment and the tops of elevators.

She said to meet the code, a wall is needed to fill in open space around the top of the building. Others voted for the project without the wall.

Winegardner President Keith Daub and the company's engineers insisted they've used the same design for 11 other hotel buildings. And the structure is so tall that any unsightly features on the roof are concealed from ground view.

Several commission members said some of the other buildings along Meridian, including a nearby SpringHill Suites, left too much of the roof structures exposed.

Plan Commission member Madeleine Torres said that's one of the reasons "we're just very particular about the designs on the Meridian corridor."

The features of the planned Carmel Renaissance Hotel fit the Marriott prototype for its Renaissance Hotel brand. There are 137 Renaissance Hotels around the world, including 68 in the U.S. and 69 in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Marriott touts the Renaissance design for its whimsical touches, but the modern design and décor "caters to travelers who delight in the travel experience" because they value a high level of service.

Washington, D.C.-based Marriott has about 2,800 hotels of all types in the U.S. and 66 other countries.

Winegardner and Hammons has been developing hotels for nearly 45 years, including other Marriott brands and similar mid-rise buildings. City officials said this is Winegardner's first step up to the luxury features in a Renaissance Hotel.

City leaders have long sought a full-service, convention hotel in the Meridian Street business corridor.

And the new Renaissance has been proposed just as a new wave of 500,000 to 1 million square feet of new Class A office buildings are being planned, under construction or newly opened.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061021/LOCAL010103/610210365/1155/LOCAL0101

umm,if they mean Indianapolis new downtown,then I highly doubt it people are going to stop going downtown for a little suburb,
but if there talking about a new downtown for carmel,well then good for you,I wouldent want to live there,but its a pretty nice place,good for carmel.

Is this still the real Carmel development thread? We should keep this going because Carmel is a real leader in Indy - and nationally in many regards - in suburban development.

Legacy development goes to City Council next week
By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

A closely watched and anticipated new development of homes and businesses in a bicycle-friendly design has cleared a crucial step with Carmel planners and goes next week for rezoning by the City Council.

This land at the southeast corner of River Road and 146th Street would look very different under a proposal for The Legacy. The development could have more than 1,000 residential units, including houses, lofts, apartments and a potential senior or retirement facility. - Joe Vitti / The Star

To be named The Legacy, the development is envisioned as a traditional neighborhood including more than 1,300 homes and a retail town center on a 509-acre site forming the northeast gateway into Carmel.
The land is being sold to developers by Earlham College as part of a year-old deal that separated nearby Conner Prairie from Earlham's financial control.
Developers Pittman Partners and Platinum Properties have incorporated new environmentally friendly concepts into the project at 146th Street and River Road, just west of White River.

"Our goal is to create a high-end, mixed-use neighborhood, where people can walk out their door and then walk or bike on a world-class trail system to the nearby restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses," said developer Steve Pittman.

About 4,000 to 5,000 people could eventually call The Legacy home.
"Carmel was recently named a bike-friendly city. . . . We will put in a bike infrastructure that will be off the charts," he added.
The developers also hired Colorado-based Design Workshop to bring experience and fresh vision.

"We'll be implementing cutting-edge environmentally friendly concepts, including bioswales" for storm water drainage, Pittman said.
The traditional way of thinking about draining storm water is to run it through ditches to detention ponds. In The Legacy, he said, the grassy swales will channel and filter the water, so that it reaches the river in a cleaner form.
The site -- one of the last large and prominent locations in Carmel and valued at millions of dollars -- has been slow to develop, due to legal wrangling between Earlham and living-history museum Conner Prairie.

In a settlement reached one year ago, Conner Prairie was freed from Earlham's financial control but Earlham kept the land along 146th. The Pittman/Platinum partnership has a contract to buy and develop the property.
In a 7-2 vote in December, the Carmel Plan Commission voted to send a positive recommendation to the council for rezoning the site for a planned development with a mixture of types of homes and businesses.
The design that will be introduced to the council Monday night is slightly changed from the initial version filed with the city nearly nine months ago.
Pittman said the Plan Commission's suggestions helped to tweak the plan. If the rezoning is approved by the City Council, final details and designs will go through the Plan Commission again.

The current version is for about 1,316 dwelling units.

Plan Commission member Carol Schleif, one of the two who voted against the project, said the claim of a density of 2.7 homes per acre is misleading because about 95 acres east of River Road is in a flood plain and can't be used for homes. She calculated the net density closer to 3.67 homes per acre.

Is this still the real Carmel development thread? We should keep this going because Carmel is a real leader in Indy - and nationally in many regards - in suburban development.

Legacy development goes to City Council next week
By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

A closely watched and anticipated new development of homes and businesses in a bicycle-friendly design has cleared a crucial step with Carmel planners and goes next week for rezoning by the City Council.

This land at the southeast corner of River Road and 146th Street would look very different under a proposal for The Legacy. The development could have more than 1,000 residential units, including houses, lofts, apartments and a potential senior or retirement facility. - Joe Vitti / The Star

To be named The Legacy, the development is envisioned as a traditional neighborhood including more than 1,300 homes and a retail town center on a 509-acre site forming the northeast gateway into Carmel.
The land is being sold to developers by Earlham College as part of a year-old deal that separated nearby Conner Prairie from Earlham's financial control.
Developers Pittman Partners and Platinum Properties have incorporated new environmentally friendly concepts into the project at 146th Street and River Road, just west of White River.

"Our goal is to create a high-end, mixed-use neighborhood, where people can walk out their door and then walk or bike on a world-class trail system to the nearby restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses," said developer Steve Pittman.

About 4,000 to 5,000 people could eventually call The Legacy home.
"Carmel was recently named a bike-friendly city. . . . We will put in a bike infrastructure that will be off the charts," he added.
The developers also hired Colorado-based Design Workshop to bring experience and fresh vision.

"We'll be implementing cutting-edge environmentally friendly concepts, including bioswales" for storm water drainage, Pittman said.
The traditional way of thinking about draining storm water is to run it through ditches to detention ponds. In The Legacy, he said, the grassy swales will channel and filter the water, so that it reaches the river in a cleaner form.
The site -- one of the last large and prominent locations in Carmel and valued at millions of dollars -- has been slow to develop, due to legal wrangling between Earlham and living-history museum Conner Prairie.

In a settlement reached one year ago, Conner Prairie was freed from Earlham's financial control but Earlham kept the land along 146th. The Pittman/Platinum partnership has a contract to buy and develop the property.
In a 7-2 vote in December, the Carmel Plan Commission voted to send a positive recommendation to the council for rezoning the site for a planned development with a mixture of types of homes and businesses.
The design that will be introduced to the council Monday night is slightly changed from the initial version filed with the city nearly nine months ago.
Pittman said the Plan Commission's suggestions helped to tweak the plan. If the rezoning is approved by the City Council, final details and designs will go through the Plan Commission again.

The current version is for about 1,316 dwelling units.

Plan Commission member Carol Schleif, one of the two who voted against the project, said the claim of a density of 2.7 homes per acre is misleading because about 95 acres east of River Road is in a flood plain and can't be used for homes. She calculated the net density closer to 3.67 homes per acre.

I don't think that Carmel is a real leader in Indianapolis, its just the suburb of the northern county, where alot of rich families live, and in no way, contribute largely to the Indianapolis city.

Indy and Carmel are two different beasts, there's no doubt. But when it comes to a lot of things, Carmel is a leader:

1. Carmel is rebuilding all of its collector roads as parkways with multi-use paths, landscaping, etc. It's the only city in the region doing that.
2. It's a national leader in the use of roundabouts
3. Carmel is buying big time into new urbanist principles and is undergoing significant densification in its core. Now some of this is faux-density. Just putting the parking lot in back instead of in front doesn't raise density. But the large number of apartments and town homes going in, plus the replacement of single story buildings with multi-story buildings is a legitimate density increase. The Gramercy development is replacing 500 apartments and a golf course with 2100 condos + retail development, for example.
4. Main St. Carmel and the Old Town area has been significantly redeveloped. The city center project, etc. are leading to an almost total transformation of the old city of Carmel to create a real downtown.
5. The city has gone from about 50 acres to over 600 acres of parks, including a new showpiece in the under construction Central Park.
6. Unlike in Indianapolis, most of the major new projects like city center appear to be first class. Now they many not appeal to those of us who like modernism and a gritty urban form. New urbanisms is to a great extent nostalgia for the early 20th century small town. But for what they are trying to do, they are doing it as well as anybody. The new performing arts center is a long way from the "Hotel Mundane".
7. The mayor of Carmel is one of the principal regional supporters of expanded transit.
8. Carmel may be the most pro-cycling and pedestrian city in Indiana. Unlike a lot of other places, those paths are heavily used. The city is grade separating many of the arterial street crossings on the Monon Trail. Other trails are planned like Cool Creek. There are on street bike lanes in certain places, etc. The mayor has a bold plan to turn Keystone into a pedestrian and bicycle friendly parkway with grade separated interchanges and extensive landscaping.
9. A genuine concern for aesthetics. Again, the retro-brick look may not be to everyone's taste, but Carmel cares about making itself look good as well as function well. Extensive landscaping, tree planting, etc. is being put into place on new projects and Carmel has the toughest design standards and sign ordinance in the state.

I don't think Carmel is perfect by any means, but they are certainly doing a pretty good job overall in getting what they are trying to achieve. I recently took a large photo series and will try to post it soon.

Indy and Carmel are interlinked. The two feed off each other. There area a lot of scientists, executives, etc. who don't want to live in an urban area. By providing a first class upscale suburb for them, Carmel makes it easier for a lot of the Indianapolis companies to recruit. I think good things happening in Carmel are good for Indianapolis, and vice versa. Though obviously Carmel is much more dependent on Indy.

Indianapolis could easiely live without Carmel,
Indianapolis has its own major wealthy neighborhoods in its downtown core,
though Carmel adds to the Metro population, it has not done anything signifigant to help Indianapolis with redevelopment and restorations, along with economic needs, and I also, do not mean to sound rude, but downtown Carmel is NOT a historical area, it may have structures of older architecture, but in my opinion alone I find it to look rather fake, and I don't see why the money they use to make the structures look incredably ornate go to more imporant things.

unionstation, I just wanted to reply to your comment. I have seen a lot of your posts, and you seem to be all about more classical design for new buildings (I, myself, am not a fan). Then I wonder why you criticize Carmel for spending money to make their buildings appear more historical, if you seem to be for this type of design? You seem to be contradicting yourself.

I belive that historical structures are a city's most prize peices of architecture, I belive that constructing older looking structures in older areas as urban infill is also a good thing, but I do not belive that spending potfulls of money on making a suburbian city look old is worthe the money, it looks fake, and the money could be used for better,
I think money for ornate structures should only be used around older buildings, not Caremal, which is a newer city.
But notice another thing I say, is that I prefer older styles for downtown areas and historical districts, but not suburbs.

Indianapolis could easiely live without Carmel,
Indianapolis has its own major wealthy neighborhoods in its downtown core,
though Carmel adds to the Metro population, it has not done anything signifigant to help Indianapolis with redevelopment and restorations, along with economic needs, and I also, do not mean to sound rude, but downtown Carmel is NOT a historical area, it may have structures of older architecture, but in my opinion alone I find it to look rather fake, and I don't see why the money they use to make the structures look incredably ornate go to more imporant things.


I have to whole-heartedly disagree here! Carmel is a HUGE economic engine for the Indy metro. The number of businesses and corporate headquarters is astounding for a city of its size and they are the reason that the City is able to build and spend so much! I couldn't imagine Indianapolis without Carmel! I wouldn't want to either. Mayor Brainard may be of a different political affilliation than I am, but when it comes to planning, community development, and seeing the big picture, Mayor Brainard is a visionary! He is the staunchest supporter of light-rail outside of Marion County and he realizes that in order for Carmel to continue to thrive and grow nationally, Indianapolis must do the same!

yes, the downtown may be a bit "Disney'd," but it is beautiful and somehting to be proud of!

I have to whole-heartedly disagree here! Carmel is a HUGE economic engine for the Indy metro. The number of businesses and corporate headquarters is astounding for a city of its size and they are the reason that the City is able to build and spend so much! I couldn't imagine Indianapolis without Carmel! I wouldn't want to either. Mayor Brainard may be of a different political affilliation than I am, but when it comes to planning, community development, and seeing the big picture, Mayor Brainard is a visionary! He is the staunchest supporter of light-rail outside of Marion County and he realizes that in order for Carmel to continue to thrive and grow nationally, Indianapolis must do the same!

yes, the downtown may be a bit "Disney'd," but it is beautiful and somehting to be proud of!

I don't find fakeness beautiful,
but Caremal has done some things to help, but they haven't done anything to revitilize and help downtown Indianapolis grow.
Thats what I see as help.

By the way, it is now officially called the Indianapolis-Carmel Metropolitan Statistical Area.

By the way, it is now officially called the Indianapolis-Carmel Metropolitan Statistical Area.

that in my opinion, is dumb, Carmel is just another suburb of Indianapolis.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070104/LOCAL010103/701040364/1155/LOCAL0101

Legacy development goes to City Council next week

By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

A closely watched and anticipated new development of homes and businesses in a bicycle-friendly design has cleared a crucial step with Carmel planners and goes next week for rezoning by the City Council.

To be named The Legacy, the development is envisioned as a traditional neighborhood including more than 1,300 homes and a retail town center on a 509-acre site forming the northeast gateway into Carmel.
The land is being sold to developers by Earlham College as part of a year-old deal that separated nearby Conner Prairie from Earlham's financial control.
Developers Pittman Partners and Platinum Properties have incorporated new environmentally friendly concepts into the project at 146th Street and River Road, just west of White River.
"Our goal is to create a high-end, mixed-use neighborhood, where people can walk out their door and then walk or bike on a world-class trail system to the nearby restaurants, coffee shops and other businesses," said developer Steve Pittman.
About 4,000 to 5,000 people could eventually call The Legacy home.
"Carmel was recently named a bike-friendly city. . . . We will put in a bike infrastructure that will be off the charts," he added.
The developers also hired Colorado-based Design Workshop to bring experience and fresh vision.
"We'll be implementing cutting-edge environmentally friendly concepts, including bioswales" for storm water drainage, Pittman said.
The traditional way of thinking about draining storm water is to run it through ditches to detention ponds. In The Legacy, he said, the grassy swales will channel and filter the water, so that it reaches the river in a cleaner form.
The site -- one of the last large and prominent locations in Carmel and valued at millions of dollars -- has been slow to develop, due to legal wrangling between Earlham and living-history museum Conner Prairie.
In a settlement reached one year ago, Conner Prairie was freed from Earlham's financial control but Earlham kept the land along 146th. The Pittman/Platinum partnership has a contract to buy and develop the property.
In a 7-2 vote in December, the Carmel Plan Commission voted to send a positive recommendation to the council for rezoning the site for a planned development with a mixture of types of homes and businesses.
The design that will be introduced to the council Monday night is slightly changed from the initial version filed with the city nearly nine months ago.
Pittman said the Plan Commission's suggestions helped to tweak the plan. If the rezoning is approved by the City Council, final details and designs will go through the Plan Commission again.

The current version is for about 1,316 dwelling units.
Plan Commission member Carol Schleif, one of the two who voted against the project, said the claim of a density of 2.7 homes per acre is misleading because about 95 acres east of River Road is in a flood plain and can't be used for homes. She calculated the net density closer to 3.67 homes per acre.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070107/LOCAL/701070459/1015

City Center project on schedule
Several features of Carmel development are in place, but others are on the way

By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com
CARMEL, Ind. -- The gaping holes in the ground are finally beginning to be filled with the concrete and steel underpinnings for new buildings in Carmel's City Center.

Taking shape: Construction cranes and beams dominate the Carmel City Center site at the corner of Range Line Road and City Center Drive. Some of the development's buildings are set to open next year. - JOE VITTI / The Star

Motorists at Range Line Road and City Center Drive, in the heart of the city's redevelopment project, see at least four cranes and other heavy construction equipment at work on pillars and piers that will support some of the structures.

Carmel's city officials envision the new City Center as an 80-acre redevelopment to give the city a fresh downtown with stores, restaurants, apartments, a performing arts center, office buildings and other features.
With total cost estimates up to $300 million, Pedcor Development and the Carmel Redevelopment Commission and the City Council and administration are in a public-private partnership for the project.

Several features of the development -- including Pedcor's headquarters, a veterans plaza and a townhouse development -- are already up.
But many buildings, including the 1,600-seat Carmel Performing Arts Center and the Indiana Design Center, are still under construction.

"I hear people say they have been very anxious for this to get under way for some time," said Pedcor Development's Vice President Melissa Averitt. "We're very excited to get this next phase under way."

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held last March. Since then, there has been little visible construction.

Averitt and City Redevelopment Director Les Olds said much of the work, besides earthmoving to prepare the large site, has included infrastructure and investigation of the soils.

One discovery was that the water level underground was too high to allow a two-level underground parking garage that had been planned.

"We did some tests and started pumping water, a lot of water," Olds said.
So it was redesigned as one level of underground parking. More parking will be created in above-ground garages to keep the total on the site to about 2,400 spaces.

Signature Construction, a division of Pedcor, is the project's general contractor.

Olds and Averitt said the steel-reinforced concrete pillars that have started to rise in the excavated area actually sit on top of pilings driven deep into the ground and then capped with several feet of concrete.

The pillars and pilings will be part of the structure holding up the ceiling in the underground garage, which will be about 10 feet high.

The structure also will become the foundation for buildings and driveways that eventually will appear above ground at street level.

This part of the underground garage, the first of at least two phases of underground parking construction, is to have about 300 to 400 spaces.

At least five buildings of offices, stores, restaurants and apartments or condominiums are planned to rest on top of the foundation pillars that are rising now in the first phase.

Averitt said the Performing Arts Center is due to open in 2010.
She said some of the commercial buildings are scheduled to open early next year.

No tenants have signed leases for the space yet, she said, but the start of construction is building interest and inquiries.

"The prospects we've contacted are excited. We'll begin negotiating leases in the spring" when the progress of construction is known, she added.

Monon Center is almost done, will have many uses

By Tania E. Lopez
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com
As the $55 million Central Park project inches closer to completion, officials are focusing on the details of the finishing touches.

The Monon Center -- the 146,000-square-foot centerpiece of Central Park that will feature an indoor aquatic center, fitness center, three gymnasiums, classrooms and banquet rooms -- is about 95 percent complete, said Mark Westermeier.

The executive director of Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation gave an update on progress at Tuesday's public meeting of the Parks Board.
Besides the pool, outdoor features at Central Park will include a skate park, meadows, wooded areas and trails. The complex on 161 acres between 111th and 116th streets is expected to be completely open by spring.

At the meeting, Westermeier said the furniture, phone lines and Internet are in place in the east building of the center. A temporary phone system will be installed early next week.

The large wooden gymnasium floor, which can be divided into three courts, needs only to be varnished for it to be completed.
Fencing for the perimeter of the skate and water parks should be completed by week's end.

Westermeier also said the Parks Department has 696 summer sessions -- that's 646 more than ever before -- from art classes to belly dancing scheduled for this year.

"There is going to be a lot going on at the Monon Center," Westermeier said on Wednesday. "We are going to be able to do things that no one in Carmel has been able to experience in one building."

On Tuesday, the board also acted on these items:

All nine board members were re-confirmed to their posts. Sue Dillon will continue to serve as president.

A formal certificate of completion was accepted for Central Park.

Crystal Catering was added as an option for food and beverages at the Monon

Center's cafe to be voted on at a later date. The company already is secured to provide banquet services for special occasions.

The board awarded Schmidt Associates a contract to renovate the restrooms at West Park.

That project, which will cost $55,499, would allow the restrooms at the park to be opened year-round as opposed to only during the summer. Currently, the restrooms at West Park have to be shut down and locked during the winter months because they are not heated.

Westermeier said he spent a year focused on getting that project off the ground because there are no public restrooms in the surrounding vicinity. West Park's hill is a huge draw for sledders during the snow season.

Panattoni adds to Carmel corridor's new office projects
California company's 3-building development will join surge in office space along Meridian corridor

By Jeff Swiatek
jeff.swiatek@indystar.com
Panattoni Development Co. has jumped into the race to build office space along the Meridian corridor in Carmel, with a three-building project.

The Sacramento, Calif.-based developer's City Center at Penn Office Plaza adds to the flurry of development that could bring as much as 1 million square feet of office space to the Meridian corridor from 96th to 131st streets.

Panattoni said Tuesday it has started construction on the first building in the plaza, at a cost of $22 million for 143,000 square feet. It will open in October at Pennsylvania Street and City Center Drive, and is 30 percent leased to Carmel-based Allied Solutions LLC, according to Panattoni.

The plaza will contain a total of 400,000 square feet.

Demand for office space in the area surged with the opening of Clarian North Medical Center in 2005 and remains strong, said Thomas M. Osborne, an office broker for Resource Commercial Real Estate, the listing broker for the Panattoni project.

The construction later this year of a 263-room Renaissance Hotel by Marriott, across the street from the Panattoni project, also should appeal to office users, he said.

Panattoni bought 27 acres for its project from insurer Conseco Inc. and sold eight of them for the hotel, developed by Cincinnati-based Winegardner and Hammons.

It's the largest office project in the Indianapolis area for Panattoni, which also has a major industrial warehouse project in Plainfield.

Duke Realty Group, Lauth Property Group and Opus North Corp. also have major office projects under way along the Carmel stretch of Meridian Street.

that in my opinion, is dumb, Carmel is just another suburb of Indianapolis.

These designations are typically figured by commuting patterns and what not. While Carmel may only be relevant because of Indy, it does not change the fact that Carmel has a large job base and a growing (identifiable) residential component.

I would consider Carmel to be a good example of an edge city. Most metro areas have them, and when they become large/important enough on their own...they get the due credit. However from the census website...Carmel is within Indy's MSA, and even if they were outside of that...they would still be counted as part of Indy's CSA. The CSA seems to be the standard nowadays for comparing populations.

Conseco sells Hilbert acreage

Star report

A prime piece of undeveloped Carmel acreage formerly owned by Conseco co-founder Stephen Hilbert and his wife, Tomisue, will be listed for sale this week or next week.

The nearly 49-acre tract at the southwest corner of 116th Street and Spring Mill Road is owned by insurer Conseco Inc., which gained the title as part of a settlement with its departed co-founder.

Resource Commercial Real Estate is brokering the property, which won't be sold with a list price, but will surely fetch millions of dollars. Hilbert's former mansion is on the market, too.

Gramercy 'preview'
Developers of The Shoppes offer Carmel new urban look

By Tania E. Lopez
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com

To get a snapshot of what Gramercy is going to look like in the future, one would have to look no further than The Shoppes at Providence, a developer said.

The Shoppes are the latest component to the larger, 28-acre Providence at Old Meridian site, which features 330 apartments and nearly 100 completed townhomes by Ryland.

The two newly constructed buildings north of Carmel Drive and fronting on the east side of Old Meridian Street feature a mixture of commercial storefronts and residential apartments.

Indianapolis-based Buckingham Cos. are developers of The Shoppes and they also are behind the $500 million plan for Gramercy, a redevelopment of the Mohawk Hills golf course and apartment complex at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue into more than 2,200 apartments, condominiums and town homes.

"You don't see a lot of this here," said vice president of land development at Buckingham David Leazenby, during a tour inside one of the Shoppes apartments last week.

"It's a small snapshot and it's a step toward Gramercy."

So far, The Linder Co. has secured leases for a salon, an Italian restaurant and a salad shop for the ground floor commercial space of the three-story structures.

Bekah's Salon/Spa is scheduled to open in early February; Dattolo's Ristorante and Pizzeria is scheduled to open in April and a When Eddie met Salad shop is scheduled to open in May or June.

Linder leases the commercial space and the upper floors are leased and managed by Buckingham Cos. Mark Perlstein of Linder could not be reached for comment.

Leazenby said the two Shoppes buildings are about 95 percent complete and should start seeing new tenants move in early next month.

So far, about 10,000 square feet of commercial space remain available.
About a dozen of the 48 apartments have secured leases despite the fact that the city has yet to issue a certificate of occupancy to the buildings, he added.

"They leased blindly without even looking at the model," he said.

Each building has 24 one-bedroom loft style apartments with exposed brick walls and feature rear entrance elevators and intercom systems.

The Shoppes at Providence follows the New Urbanism design that Carmel city planners have envisioned for nearly a decade since they issued the Old Meridian Task Force Report in 2000.

Leazenby acknowledged that the new urbanism model is unprecedented for the city of Carmel and one that is charged with emotion for residents who are leery of the concept. But he also said new urbanism is not a threat to those accustomed to their subdivisions.

"That's not changing," said Leazenby. "What's changing is better and more opportunities for housing options. Carmel is becoming much more urban and a better place to be in."

Gary Hazen, co-owner of Bekah's Salon/Spa, said his was the first business to sign up for space. Hazen said he and his partner chose the location primarily because it's centrally located in an affluent area in Carmel and because of the potential to tap into the hundreds of residents living at Providence who will pass the salon on their way home.

"The concept of residential and retail combined is really winning across the county," said Hazen. "Since it was fairly a new concept to the city, we wanted to be a part of that."

Another positive step forward in the Carmel area. I just hope the mixed use, pedestrian concept spreads throughout the region. Now if we could only get mass transit off the ground and put these three concepts (mixed use, pedestrian, mass transit) together the Indy area would really have something.

Mayor to seek 4th term, oversee several projects

By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

Mayor Jim Brainard plans to run for a fourth term leading the Carmel government.

In his first three terms in City Hall, critics said the Republican pushed the pace of redevelopment and change. Supporters praise him for leading with innovation and relatively lower property-tax rates.

No challengers to the mayor's re-election have surfaced with firm announcements of their plans to run against him or the seven Republicans forming the City Council. Several council members are expected to file for another term.

Political insiders recall the threats of reprisal at the ballot box made several months ago by vocal opponents of the Gramercy project. That development, which proposes new homes and businesses on the Mohawk Hills golf course and apartment property, was approved by the officials.

Keith Clock, Hamilton County Democratic Party chairman, said several candidates for Carmel offices are weighing decisions to run and a joint statement may be released soon.

In the last election in November 2003, Brainard received 74 percent of the vote to defeat Libertarian Dean Berkley.

Wednesday is the first day for municipal candidates to file at the county election office in Noblesville for their party's May primary. The filing period continues until noon Feb. 23.

Winners in the May primary will be on the November ballot.

Four more years

Brainard said four more years would allow him to continue with the projects that have become priorities in his administration.

Centerpieces include the continued transformation of Main Street into the trendy Arts & Design District, and the City Center redevelopment with retailing, restaurants, offices, hotel and a concert hall.

Among the more visible and sometimes controversial changes, about 25 roundabout intersections will be in the city by the end of the year and at least 40 within a few years. Some motorists say they love the circular intersections for speeding up traffic flow and improving safety, while others find roundabouts confusing.

The mayor also boasts of expanding the parks and adding recreational trails. "There were 40 acres of parks when we came into office and there are about 800 acres now," he said.

In addition, the mayor said city utility rates are lower now than when he came to City Hall and the municipal property tax rates are the lowest in Hamilton County.

In an era when Indianapolis and other cities have crushing financial problems and hundreds of millions in unfunded pension liability, Brainard said the city has a $4.4 million saved for fire pensions and $3.3 million for police pensions, fully funding those future obligations.

Critics claim that under Brainard, Carmel has taken on too much debt to be paid by future generations.

The mayor has said the critics don't understand that general property taxpayers aren't being asked to pay all of the $250 million in debt the city owes. About $100 million of that money will come from the property taxes paid by the businesses that benefited from the city's spending.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070126/LOCAL010103/701260330/1155/LOCAL0101

Planned special census could pay off for city


By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

Plenty of clues hint that Carmel is still growing even though developers fear they'll run out of land someday.

Population going up

Since the Census Bureau officially recorded 51,484 people in Carmel on April 1, 2000, here are the federal agency's estimates of the city's population each July 1 since:
• 2005: 59,243
• 2004: 57,321
• 2003: 56,514
• 2002: 54,178
• 2001: 52,928
• 2000: 51,781

Source: Stats Indiana, Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.

Residents say more kids are in the school system, more cars seem to be scooting around the roundabouts, the Monon Greeenway is busier, and more townhomes and houses go up every year.

For the city government's budget, that growth could mean more state and federal money flowing into the local coffers, if only there were proof that Carmel has more people.

So, Mayor Jim Brainard said the city plans to conduct a special census late next summer or early in the fall to update the numbers that probably have changed significantly in just three years since the last calculation.

The U.S. Census Bureau will coordinate the count. The city must pay the cost of enumerators, who are hired to canvass neighborhoods and conduct other research to count the number of residents.

Brainard estimated the special census will cost $800,000 to $1 million.
However, the reward might be about $3 million to $4 million in additional money from state and federal grants and revenue sharing in just three years before the next official census.

That increase would channel more state and federal money to the city's budget for streets and roads and into other funds based on the size of a community, he said.

City financial consultant Curtis Coonrod said more population also can mean more money to the city from cigarettes, alcohol and other taxes.

He estimated the cost of the special census could be recouped by the city in roughly 13 months. If the city waits for the 2010 census, the increased revenues might not be received until the 2011 budget year, he said.

"We would expect that the costs of the special census would be more than offset by the increased revenue sharing," Brainard said.

Other Hamilton County cities and towns have charted the same population trends and they paid for special counts to qualify for more state and federal revenues.

Hamilton economic development officials have said the county is among the 20 fastest-growing in the nation, up by about 32 percent in five years to a total 240,000 residents in 2005.

The Census Bureau conducts a national count every 10 years.

Carmel's population was 51,484 in 2000.

The city's population has been growing by roughly 1,500 a year, sometimes more.

The most recent update to the census -- conducted because of changing city boundaries to include people living in newly annexed areas -- figured Carmel's population at 59,243 in 2005.

There have been more areas annexed into the city. However, a large chunk of southwest Clay Township and the Home Place neighborhood have resisted the mayor's attempts to annex them into the city. So they remain out of the updated head count.

City officials expect a special census will count at least 65,000 to 70,000 people.

City officials track building permits for new home construction as one of the indicators of the city's rising population.

The Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis reported 687 new home building permits issued in Carmel in 2005 and 472 in 2006.

Can I ask a favor to the moderator to change the title of this thread to the Carmel Development Thread? Or perhaps we could start a new one. This is far from just a discussion of downtown Carmel.

I concur. As the original starter of the thread I would like it to be changed too so that it is a full Carmel discussion.

Are you sure that you can do that?
I mean Carmel is booming with development, but for its size wouldent that mean all kinds of cities could have their own development threads? Such as Richmond or Muncie to St.Joseph?

I wouldn't suggest it be a sticky thread, but why not? I'm happy to keep posting Carmel news here.

Heck, I mean, it is making quite a bit of development, lets just hope that it goes smoothly. :)

As though, I would be quite interested in the development of the lighrail.

A war of letters to the editor has broken out over Carmel's debt levels and use of TIF's.

Your Letters

January 25, 2007

Reader's comments from Carmel:

Saying taxpayers won't spring for city's debt is all smoke and mirrors

On Page 3 of the Jan. 20 Carmel Star, the article "Mayor to seek 4th term, oversee several projects" quoted the mayor as saying "the critics don't understand that general property taxpayers aren't being asked to pay all the $250 million in debt the city owes. About $100 million of that money will come from property tax paid by the businesses that benefited from the city's spending."

I would like to clarify that if I can.

According to the clerk treasurer's report, the city's "taxpayer obligated debt" is $243 million, and, if you add the new Central Park debt ($55 million) to that amount, it will be $298 million. The park debt should be added since the City Council approved the addition of this debt against the city residents.

The mayor has repeatedly implied that the residential taxpayers will not have to pay for many of the recent "special projects" that have appeared in Carmel in the last four years. This could be construed to be technically true, but effectively, it is not.

For example: A young couple that was recently married just bought a new home and two new cars. They have payments to make on all three. Both spouses work and have individual checking accounts. One day, the husband comes home with a brand new Harley Davidson motorcycle costing $20,000. The wife is upset. "I do not feel we need this and I will not agree to pay for it."

The husband says, "Don't worry, you will not be paying for this, I will. I will make the payments out of my checking account."
She says, "OK, but you were making the car payments and I was making the house payments. How are you going to pay the car and motorcycle payments now?"

He says, "You will have to pick up the car payments since my income is now going to be used for the motorcycle payments. . . . But remember; you are not paying for the motorcycle."
She thinks she is.

This example shows what the city has done. The Redevelopment Commission has siphoned off more than 10 percent, or $578 million, of the assessed value of the total assessed value of $5.725 billion and put it into the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Fund to be used to pay for many of the recent "special projects." The TIF money, which is controlled by the mayor's Carmel Redevelopment Commission, can be used for all kinds of "special projects": i.e., Brookshire Golf Course, Performing Arts Center, etc.

Like the motorcycle payments, the mayor can say the residential taxpayers are not paying for these extravagances, but that is only because the tax base was siphoned off the new commercial property into the Redevelopment Commission's checkbook.

Taking the tax money off new commercial properties all over the city and putting it into a separate checking account means the taxes from these properties will not contribute to the city's budget and the residential taxpayers will have to pay more.

The TIF'd commercial properties still need all the city services, but the tax money is siphoned off. There is no free money and somebody is going to pay for all these "special projects."

Additionally, when the city sold the bonds, they required the entire city tax base be used to guarantee the loans; i.e. the bonds for the Performing Arts Center, etc., are backed by all of our tax revenue, not just the new commercial property.

I think the debt is an issue that needs to be discussed, too. For comparison purposes, I called a few cities around Central Indiana to see how much debt they have.

While the city of Carmel also has utility debt, we are talking only about non-utility debt here. The developer-backed TIF debt is not included in the Carmel numbers or the other cities; i.e., Gramercy.

Yes, our average debt per person is 666 percent of the average of the above cities. If you think this is depressing, you should see the payment schedule on all this debt.

Lastly, I think that citizens and voters should not rely on what they hear about this issue from any of the other candidates for Carmel offices or me. Citizens should do a little research on their own or ask any government official, other than those in Carmel, if a city with 59,243 people should be $298 million in debt (or $243 million without the park debt).

I think if you do that, you will agree with me, Carmel has too much debt.

Mark Rattermann,
Carmel City Council member


City's ideal situation

Councilman Mark Rattermann's letter of Jan. 25 is accurate as far as it goes but it doesn't go far enough.

As a member of the City Council, Rattermann should know that debt per person, while an important measure, doesn't tell the whole story.
Any meaningful analysis of debt has to taken into account the income available to support that debt.

In the case of a municipality, income per capita is a key measure of a community's ability to repay debt. In the case of Carmel, I have seen figures showing that Carmel's per capita income is close to double the state average
In addition, Carmel has a highly diverse, tax-paying industrial base that is continuing to grow at a rapid rate, at least based on what I see when I drive up and down U.S. 31 and in other areas of the city.

Carmel is in an ideal situation: Its population is growing because it is a highly attractive place to live, its industrial/commercial base is growing, diverse and "clean," and its citizens enjoy a superior level of income.

Rattermann's criticism of tax increment financing (TIF) also does not tell the full story. The idea behind a TIF is to create a higher tax base by bringing in taxpayers that would not come if the improvement were not made. The resulting increase in tax revenues covers the cost of the improvements but, more importantly, represents a permanent increase in the community's tax base.

We are fortunate that the leaders of our community -- except apparently for Rattermann -- understand all this. So does Moody's, a national credit rating agency. The last I heard is that Moody's rates Carmel Aa3, meaning that its debt is considered high quality investment grade by investors.

Glenn Stoup, Carmel

We are a fast-growing city in a fast-growing county in a state that does not have too many areas making that claim.


We are competing with other cities around the country to attract corporate relocations that bring high-tech, high-paying jobs, which also help keep taxes low.
We need to build the infrastructure to keep up with our growth, and we need to invest in the amenities that influence and contribute to quality of life.
Carmel City Council member Mark Rattermann's letter ("Saying taxpayers won't spring for city's debt is all smoke and mirrors," Jan. 25, Page 9) certainly implies the city is engaging in reckless spending.

I could not disagree more strongly.

Building parks and green space, a network of trails to encourage alternative transportation, cultural facilities and a vibrant heart, through redevelopment, are all investments to ensure Carmel's future.
I find it disconcerting that Mark presents such flawed explanations of very complex topics. I can only conclude that this represents election year politics at its worst.

Let me first address the example of the newly married couple, which Mark offered. I am certain Mark understands that the underlying base tax revenue continues to flow to all taxing units -- it is not cut off or redirected -- but he fails to include this fact in his illustration.
If we consider the husband buying a Harley without consulting his wife, aside from questioning the wisdom of this young husband's reckless decision, we need to examine the question of payment. Mark suggests the husband will redirect his salary to pay for his acquisition and that this is analogous to how tax increment financing, or TIF, works.

The more accurate portrayal would be that the husband's base salary will continue to pay for the car and the money from his newly created sales commission program will pay for the Harley.
TIF is wholly dependent on new income while preserving the base for current recipients.
While this is not as provocative a scenario as the one presented by Mark, it is more complete.

The contention that the Carmel Redevelopment Commission has siphoned off any of the assessed value of the city is an equally flawed position -- one that is missing a key element that just happens to help paint an alarming outcome.
I have already addressed the fact that the base underlying tax revenue continues to flow to the appropriate taxing units, so the question remains, "What are we giving away?"

The simple answer is we are granting opportunity and risk. I will admit it is more inciting to talk about millions of dollars we are giving away, but that is simply not true. Mark's portrayal of siphoning income would be accurate if you believe the development that takes place would have taken place without any of the incentives we provide. This belief is, however, at odds with customary thought regarding redevelopment.

The central point omitted in Mark's argument is that we are using this tool, TIF, to foster redevelopment, which is inherently more costly and difficult to achieve than new development.

If you are unhappy with the rebirth of our old downtown as the new Arts & Design district and if you are unhappy with the plans we have for our new City Center, currently under construction, then you have every right to be unhappy with the City Council's and Redevelopment Commission's use of TIF.
Next, Mark takes issue with some of the projects undertaken by the Redevelopment Commission. These choices are clearly a matter of opinion, and I believe we have made great investments for the residents of Carmel.

He takes issue with our purchase of Brookshire Golf Club, which is one of our actions in which I take a great deal of pride. We proactively moved to preserve green space as well as assure that residents will continue to have an affordable, family friendly venue for golf. I also should mention it will pay for itself.

Another special project that Mark seems at odds with is the Performing Arts Center, which is the centerpiece of our City Center redevelopment project. The City Council's approval of the $80 million bond to fund this project has resulted in nearly $200 million in private investment just in the City Center alone.

I think that is a pretty good return on investment by anyone's standard.
It is true that the Performing Arts Center bond pledges property tax as a backup to the TIF revenues. That is to make the bonds more marketable and get a lower interest rate for the city. Notice I said backup to the TIF revenue, which is the principal source for repayment. All of the projections presented to the city by some of the finest professional financial advisers in the state show we will not need to go this route.

I think you can see that while Mark relayed some of the story, it certainly was not the whole story.

Mark next wants to have a discussion about debt. I think that is a great idea, but he only gives it passing mention and references what I consider a meaningless statistic.

I think we should dig a little more deeply to understand what we are talking about as opposed to merely throwing out alarmingly large numbers.
First of all, while I respect all of the communities that Mark contacted, I do not believe they are necessarily in the same position as Carmel. I also do not think that the per-capita breakdown of debt is especially relevant. I probably have less per-capita debt in my family than Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, but I do not know that this indicates that Mr. Irsay is in financial trouble.

Recently, the city released a chart contrasting total debt against the city's assessed valuation, which I think is a far more relevant comparison. Given this approach, Carmel's debt is 4.36 percent of our total assessed valuation, while Plainfield's is 5.60 percent and Noblesville is 7.57 percent.

Another indicator that our financial house might not be nearly as shaky as
Mark portrays is the financial rating the city has received from Moody's and Standard & Poor's. These institutions exist to provide investors with a measure of risk by assessing the financial health of, in this case, municipalities and, yes, they evaluate the level of debt.

Moody's rates Carmel an Aa2 and Standard & Poor's gives us an AA. Both ratings are nearly the highest available. In Indiana, only Indianapolis is ranked higher. I do not believe that any of the municipalities on Mark's list are ranked as high as Carmel.

I won't bore you with much more on debt, but I think it is worth quickly examining why we incurred this debt. Growth is the main reason, with much of it going for infrastructure improvements to protect residents' health, safety and welfare. Keeping promises made by the city is another reason some of this debt was incurred.

Mark knows, since he moved into the city from western Clay Township, that about $70 million has been or is being spent on road and intersection improvements in the newly annexed sections of west Carmel. These improvements were promised by the former City Council as a benefit of annexation to the people of these areas.

Carmel has one of the highest assessed valuations in the state. If you account for our size, I have little doubt that we are the highest. This has allowed us to finance growth and keep our tax rate at one of the lowest in the state; in fact, we have the lowest in the state for a city our size or larger.

Our tax rate for 2007 will be substantially lower than 2006 to compensate for the higher assessment many of you are seeing due to the state's mandated valuation trending.

Our utility rates are among the lowest.

Also, our city services are among the best.
I think these facts indicate that, political concerns aside, we are prudently managing the finances of the city.

One final thought concerning TIF that ties to our tremendous growth in assessed valuation: One day our growth will stop. When that happens, we will see the real pressure to maintain levels of service and restrain the growth of the tax rate. You could think of TIF as a savings account because when the bonds that TIF supports are retired, the properties come back on the tax roles and all that new income comes to the various taxing units, including the city of Carmel. Right about the time our growth levels off, we should begin to see TIF properties mature and their revenues redirected.

Lastly, I take great umbrage at Mark's closing comment that you should not, or perhaps he meant cannot, rely on what you hear from any candidate for Carmel public office.

This is a slap in the face to residents who offer themselves to public service. Now Mark graciously includes himself in this comment, and I will respect his wishes as it applies to him.

However, I firmly believe that all candidates) I know who are seeking public office in Carmel are doing so because they want the best for the city, and I believe in their integrity.

Anyone who suggests anything less should perhaps review his own motivations.

Rick Sharp, Carmel City Council
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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201/LOCAL010103/702010307/1155/LOCAL0101

Work begins on main Stratford building

By Bruce C. Smith
bruce.smith@indystar.com

Construction is nearly complete on the first of 40 quaint bungalows to be in the Stratford at WestClay, a community to offer resort-style living for people who are at least 62 years old.

This model shows The Stratford at WestClay, a $70 million retirement community within the Village of WestClay. The development will include about 217 units. - Bruce Smith / The Star

Next to the short streets lined with rows of attached bungalows will be a massive main building, three and four stories tall, with 172 apartments, a restaurant, swimming pool and the community's other amenities.

A deep hole excavated in the ground is beginning to fill with the concrete columns and foundations of a parking garage that will be under the main building.

Some of the bungalows will be available for buyers soon; the main building should open in spring 2008.

The Stratford will have 217 apartments, penthouses, bungalows and other units with continuing care ranging from independent living to assisted living, skilled nursing and memory help.

Much has been done in the design so that even the 10 apartments that offer skilled nursing services are personal and homey, according to the developers.

The Stratford is a $70 million upscale portion of the Village at WestClay under development near 131st Street and Towne Road. The Stratford is rising on about 8 acres of WestClay's 700 acres.

In the spirit of new urbanist communities, WestClay is intended to be like a diverse city of the last generation. There are a variety of types and sizes of homes; shopping will be within walking distance for residents. There are parks and sports, and the streets are designed as much for walking and biking as for driving.

WestClay residents will be all ages.

The Stratford is intended to offer upscale retirement living for seniors in the 70 to 85 age range, said Michael Katsis, in sales and marketing for the Stratford.

"We believe this is the first completely new community offering continuing care to be built in the Indianapolis metro area in many years," he said.

Early sales already have been strong, even before the bungalows and the main apartment and amenity building started to go up, he said.

Six of the nine penthouses, priced from $700,000, plus the monthly service fees, have been sold so far.

Gene and Mary Jo Bridgeford, who already live in WestClay, have committed to purchasing a penthouse.

Gene, a retired insurance company executive, is 82 and facing some health challenges that could limit his mobility and ability to care for a large house.
Mary Jo, 78, a retired elementary school teacher, is looking ahead to their need for health care.

Their current home, which is their third in WestClay, is a large 5,500-square-foot house with a yard.

They've reserved a 3,400-square-foot, three-bedroom, third-floor penthouse with a den and dining room. It will be large enough to feel like a house but have the conveniences and availability of help they'll want, she said.
"We still feel like we're 52 so this is going to be a great lifestyle. We've made a lot of friends here. We love the summer concerts in the park and lots of children," she said.

The Stratford won't be inexpensive, but Katsis said there will be a wide range of price possibilities based on the size and floor plan of units and the package of optional services.

Up to 43 different floor plans from one to three bedrooms are possible in the bungalows and apartments.

Apartments will range from 761 to 3,245 square feet. Bungalows with garages are two bedrooms and two baths, ranging from 1,550 to 1,707 square feet.
Initial purchase prices range from $150,000 to $700,000 plus monthly service and meal charges of $1,800 to $5,200.

Under Stratford plans, up to 80 percent or 90 percent of the initial entrance fee or the resale market value of the unit may be repaid when a buyer moves.
It is a plan that Stratford Cos. has been building in other cities and plans to expand in the Indianapolis area.

It will be interesting to see where Carmels is financially in 20 years.

I have little doubt the Carmel can repay the debt. The only question is the tax level necessary to do it.

The problem is that taxes are not an end in and of themselves. They are a means to an end, namely financing the service level that government wants to provide to its citizens. Just like there are different types of cars appealing to various customer segments, there are different service levels a city can offer. Carmel decided to significantly upgrade its service levels. A lot of the debt is associated with that. For example, the city went from like 60 to 600 acres of park land. It spend $17 million to redo the sewer and street infrastructure of Old Town. It built Hazel Dell Parkway. You can't talk about the debt apart from what it purchased.

Might Carmel's taxes go up in the future? Potentially, but it would still be far lower taxes than what you'd pay in a lot of places. I can tell you from personal experience that Chicago and its suburbs have crushingly high property taxes. Yet they continue to be a desirable place to live. As long as you are selling a product people want to buy, you can charge a premium price. The minute you start selling the same product as everyone else, price becomes all important.

Looking at the past suggests that taxes are not going to do through the roof. Brainard has been mayor for 10 years and taxes have remained flat despite 30% inflation over that time. If he didn't cause taxes to spiral out of control in the first 10, why would anyone expect something similar in the next 10?

oops, bad post

Carmel development news continued here:

Indianapolis: Carmel Development News (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=438555)