Carmel, IN Development News [Archive]

arenn

February 3rd, 2007, 07:16 PM

Great idea, I will continue to post Carmel related information here. Speaking of...

Carmel doesn't have a college or university right now. I'm sure they'd like to add something at some point. It is interesting to see IU dipping a toe in the water.

IU business courses to be offered in Carmel
MBA will be through Kelley School of Business

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

Indiana University's Kelley School of Business will offer master's in business classes in Carmel beginning next fall.

The Kelley School is opening a satellite location in the Carmel Community Life and Learning Center, 515 E. Main St.

IU is planning information sessions to explain the details of enrolling. Information also is available on the Internet at www.kelley.iupui.edu with links to classes in the executive MBA program.

The first information meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Monday in University Place on the IU-Purdue University Indianapolis campus. The second will begin at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Ritz Charles conference center, 12156 N. Meridian St., Carmel.

Classes will begin next August. Tuition is $461 per credit hour. The degree requires 51 hours of academic credit.

Roger Schmenner, associate dean of Kelley's Indianapolis programs, said the plan is to offer evening classes in the first two years of the three-year MBA degree curriculum. Students would shift to classes at the IUPUI campus for their third year.

"We've seen continued growth in business activity in northern Marion County, and there are more than 50,000 non-farm companies operating in Hamilton and Boone counties," he said in a written statement.

"For many people, advancing in business is going to mean some more education, and for business education, the degree of choice is an MBA. It can be a broad degree with accounting, marketing, financial strategy" and other business basics, Schmenner said.

IU isn't alone in its offer of advanced business education in the Northside suburban area. Indiana Wesleyan and Ball State University also offer popular MBA programs in area.

"A growing economy has a need for executive and management talent -- and that creates the need for a top-notch business education program like the Kelley School," Schmenner said in the statement.

IU reports that its Kelley School routinely ranked among the nation's top 20 graduate business programs.

The main campus in Bloomington is home to Kelley. The IUPUI campus has two evening classes of about 60 students each, and both are full. They saw an increase by 50 percent in the number of graduate students in 2005.

With classes full but demand from new students still high, Schmenner said the plan is to get some classes closer to students and find new space off campus.

"We also found that about 70 percent of our IUPUI students in business live north of I-70. And there is just a lot of business growth on the Northside," he said.

More than half of Hamilton County's population has an undergraduate degree, a figure at least double the average in the metro area.

"The location in Carmel should be convenient to people who live or work north," he added.

Daniel Smith, dean of the Kelley School, said in a written statement, "With more and more young professional living and working in the northern suburbs, we want to create an option that meets their needs while maintaining Kelley's reputation for academic excellence."

A typical student might begin classes at 6 p.m. or later for the evening sessions.

Classes in Carmel will be taught by the same faculty in the classrooms at IUPUI's core classes during the first two years. Then in the third year, students will diversity their specialties and shift to classes at the IUPUI campus.

arenn

February 3rd, 2007, 07:19 PM

Looks like Brainard will have a real challenger this year. Brainard is probably at his most vulnerable versus a credible challenger. He's really pushed the city forward at an incredible rate of change, and that always makes a lot of people mad.

GOP challenger will file to take on the mayor
Ex-councilman, who'll run in primary, unafraid to disagree

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

Mayor Jim Brainard won't get a fourth term in office without a challenge -- from his biggest political rival. I don't necessarily think this Koven guy is a horrible man or anything, but his vision is clearly to roll Carmel back to the Ted Johnson era. It would be a disaster for the whole region if he won.

John Koven, a Republican, served on the City Council from 1999 to 2003. - Provided by Jeff Brantley

John Koven, a former City Council member, will file his candidacy today.
The 56-year-old Republican repeatedly squared off with Brainard while on the council from 1999 to 2003. Koven said he's running because Brainard has become a career politician who is out of touch with common Carmel residents.

"He's running a Chicago-style political machine like the old days," Koven said of Brainard, a fellow Republican. "The administration that runs this city has gotten too powerful."

Koven said he's running on a platform to reduce the city's debt, build lower-density projects and return community input to City Hall.

"Wherever we go as a city has been all about his vision," Koven said. "Without a doubt, it's been all about his ego."

Koven said if elected, he would paint over Brainard's name on the green and gold-leaf signs welcoming visitors to Carmel. Instead, he said, it would read, "The citizens of Carmel welcome you."

Brainard defended his time in office.

"We're going to run a positive campaign, focused on a record of providing good services at a low cost without raising taxes," he said.

"I'm confident we'll be successful, because we've worked hard for what citizens want."

The two will face off in the May 8 primary, considered the marquee race to win the mayor's seat, because no Democrat ever has been elected in Carmel.
Koven was elected by caucus to fill the seat of a council member who resigned to move to Fishers after the 1999 primary. Koven ran for re-election in 2003 and was defeated.

Koven spent much of his childhood in Noblesville but graduated from high school in New Jersey. He returned to Indiana and worked as a banker for 12 years before starting his own computer software company, Komputrol, in 1981.

That company developed software for local governments and school districts; Koven sold it in 1997. Since then, he's bought and restored old homes as a hobby while doing some work as a business consultant.

"I'm not saying the mayor's vision has been bad, and I'm not saying he hasn't done some things right, but it's time for a fresh perspective," Koven said.
He said Indiana should have term limits to prevent a mayor from seeking a fourth term, but Brainard disagreed.

"Abraham Lincoln said, 'I believe in term limits as determined by the voters,' and I agree," Brainard said. "No one can make a career out of politics if the voters don't want them to stay there."

During Koven's time on the council, he and Brainard regularly butted heads on several issues including the City Center project.

Koven also filed a complaint against Brainard with the Indiana Supreme Court in 2002, claiming he instructed an attorney to overcharge the city $5,000 and float the money to the mayor's campaign. A 14-month investigation found no wrongdoing.

On Thursday, Koven maintained he made the right decision to file the complaint. He said the matter is in the past, and he plans to run a positive campaign.

Brainard's camp said the same.

"The mayor is going to run a positive campaign, but unfortunately John Koven is a troublemaker," said Allan Sutherlin, Brainard's campaign manager.

Wayne Wilson, a friend and supporter of Koven's, said the challenger has been inaccurately portrayed.

"John is a man of the highest integrity," said Wilson, who ran against Brainard in 2003 and plans to run for the City Council this year.

"I think a lot of people like to paint John as a nemesis to the mayor, but all he's ever been is a persistent individual who asked hard questions and demanded honest answers."

ragerunner1

February 5th, 2007, 11:29 PM

arenn

February 7th, 2007, 04:10 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070207/LOCAL010103/702070372/1155/LOCAL0101

Mohawk Hills demolition will proceed slowly
Gramercy construction not likely to begin this summer

By Bruce C. Smith and Tania E. Lopez
bruce.smith@indystar.com

Buckingham Cos. will continue refining the details this year on Gramercy, one of the largest and most expensive developments in Carmel's history.

Over the past couple months, Buckingham has been beefing up its design team with a national lineup of consultants and experts to refine the details of the buildings, parks and green spaces, streets and other features of Gramercy.

They include:
• Weaver Design Group, an Indianapolis company that worked on Carmel's Village of WestClay.
• Land Design of Charlotte, N.C., as landscape architects.
• MBH of Newport Beach, civil engineers.
• EMH&T; Second Globe of Indianapolis to help plan the artworks for the public spaces.
• Denver-based Miles Brand Inc. to handle marketing and advertising.

But don't expect to see bulldozers or wrecking balls moving in soon to begin clearing away the aging Mohawks Hills apartment complex or golf course to make way for the redevelopment.

Buckingham Vice President David Leazenby said construction on Gramercy will begin on about 10 to 15 acres on the northwest corner of the Mohawk site, which is a corner of the golf course. The first phase of the plan includes construction of about 150 to 200 residential units, he said.

However, that work probably won't begin this summer. So, golfers will have one more season to enjoy the public course that is popular for its moderate rates and moderate difficulty.

No demolition of any occupied apartment buildings is planned for this year, he said.

Gramercy is proposed to be a $500 million redevelopment of the 1970s-vintage Mohawk apartments and golf course on about 116 acres. It is located west of Keystone Avenue between Carmel Drive and 126th Street.

Planned as an example of new urbanist design with about 2,100 residences of several types, plus commercial and other businesses, Gramercy takes its name and some 1800s architectural inspiration from Gramercy Park in New York.

Amid controversy over the high density, impacts on traffic, loss of Mohawk's relatively affordable apartments and other concerns, the Carmel City Council approved Gramercy's planned unit development zoning last year.

Mayor James Brainard supports Gramercy, which will help remake Carmel's downtown into a more urban environment along with his City Center and Arts & Design District projects.

Buckingham in October agreed to reduce the height and number of some housing in taller buildings adjacent to neighboring homes on Auman Drive and 126th Street. The City Council also agreed to use up to $20 million in tax increment financing for Gramercy infrastructure. With the TIF, future taxes paid by Gramercy would build streets and roads in the area.

Leazenby said Gramercy will be built in many phases over the next decade.
After the city's zoning and financing approvals, the next step for Buckingham will be to submit more detailed drawings and designs for city approvals.

First of those will be 10 to 15 acres of the golf course on the northwest corner of the property. Leazenby said the designs are to be ready about May.

Future phases can be designed and adapted if market conditions change over the next 10 years as Gramercy is built. "Things do change, and you want to be able to respond to the market," said Buckingham senior development manager Sara C. Nasuti.

Overall in Gramercy, Buckingham has city approval for mostly single-family homes and some townhomes.

Taller buildings up to about five stories with offices, retailing, apartments and other residential uses will be in future phases on the south end of the site toward Carmel Drive. Gramercy does not yet have a direct road connection to either Carmel Drive or Keystone, but the developers are working for both, Leazenby said.

At the hub of Gramercy is to be a plaza surrounded by shops, restaurants and other buildings of three and four stories, accented by a clock tower.

arenn

February 10th, 2007, 05:00 PM

It looks like the developer of the proposed Park Place outfoxed the opposition. Instead of just coming right out and admitting that they don't wany any development of any kind, per usual, the opponents raised smoking screen issues, in this case the need for improvements to Guilford Rd and the height of the building. Well, the city already plans to improve Guilford, and the developer said, "Ok, you think it is too tall, I'll put the first floor underground." It is interesting that given the significant opposition to this that the council is passing it in an election year. I'm not surprised to see the mayor staying away from this one.

Park Place too tall? Sink it, says developer
New design puts 1 story of controversial retirement center underground

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

The developer of the controversial Park Place retirement center in Carmel is sinking the large building into the ground, on purpose.

A Carmel City Council committee liked the plan enough to give it a ringing endorsement. Opponents who staged a petition drive got a rebuke.

Critics of the proposed $60 million to $70 million development along Guilford Road at 116th Street have complained that it will disrupt a wetlands and cause traffic problems, and that the four-story design is just too tall.

Thursday night, developer Wayne Beverage and attorney James E. Shinaver unveiled a new design that simply sinks the 55-feet tall structure into the ground by one story. So the change makes the building appear as three stories instead of four from the exterior.

The parking garage that had been designed as a first-floor ground level will be lowered to become underground parking. That will leave three stories of apartments above ground.

The council's land-use, annexation and economic development committee voted unanimously to send a favorable recommendation on rezoning the 19.55 acres for final action Feb. 19 by the full council.

Four votes on the committee from members Rick Sharp, Ron Carter, Brian Mayo and council President Joe Griffiths give the developer and his Park Place project a majority on the seven-member council.

"I believe this project will fill a niche of need within the county. It would be only the second (continuing-care retirement center) in the city, and it is something we need," Sharp said. "I expect there could be three or four in the coming year or so."

Concerned neighbors Marnin and Norma Spigelman, residents of a townhouse development across Guilford from the Park Place site, led a petition drive that collected about 420 signatures from 68 neighborhoods in the city. The petitions opposed the rezoning.

The Spigelmans have said roads and other infrastructure should be ahead of new development rather than following.

Marnin Spigelman said at the committee session Thursday that the plans to improve Guilford would only add a turn lane rather than widen the two-lane road to four full lanes.

He also questioned the developer's estimates of the density of the number of housing units that will be created in the revised three-story plan. "I don't see how they can cut down the building by one story but still have nearly the same number of units," he said.

Beverage said the revised design is for 191 upscale apartment-style units of independent living priced in the $200,000 to $600,000 range. That will be only three fewer units than the initial four-story design, he said, removing some space for ramps to reach the underground parking.

Park Place also will have about 20 assisted living suites and 28 nursing care suites.

While Spigelman said the density could be closer to 13 or 15 units per acre, Shinaver said density will be closer to 9.76 per acre. That would be very close to the 9.4 and 9.6 units per acre density and the three-story height of two neighboring developments.

Critics said part of the building would be on wetlands or in a flood plain of a creek running through the site.

Shinaver said Williams Creek Consulting analyzed the wetlands and found about 1.2 acres of wetlands and 1.9 acres of flood plain, which can be avoided or incorporated in the site plan. Or it can be replaced under state and federal rules with wetlands in another location.

"But no buildings will be on wetlands or in flood plains," Shinaver said.
Carmel resident Lois Springer told the committee the development will cost the loss of wildlife habitat and loss of trees that the Citizens for Greenspace organization has planted. "It is not just a field of weeds. It's teaming with life," she said.

Beverage said the planted trees will be preserved and relocated on the site to help re-create pockets for wildlife habitats.

About increased traffic from the development, Beverage said the average age of residents is likely to be around 78 years old. There will be about 190 parking spaces for them in the underground garage, but such retirees won't be driving as much as young families with children, Shinaver said.

arenn

February 13th, 2007, 06:26 PM

Note that this is actually a separate project from the Performing Arts Center, which is a pure concert hall. This one has gotten a lot less attention.

Carmel to start City Center Theater

Star report

A groundbreaking will be next month for the City Center Theater, the city announced today.

City Center -- a redevelopment project of at least 80 acres with stores, restaurants, apartments, a performing arts center, office buildings and other features -- would cost more than $300 million, according to the city's mayor.

The city is in a public-private partnership with Pedcor Development on the project. The land for the final phase of the City Center, at Range Line Road and City Center Drive, was cleared in the past two years and some costs began to appear on the Redevelopment Commission's annual budgets. This year's Carmel Redevelopment Commission budget is up by more than 17 percent, anticipating increased construction on the City Center.

Pilings and pillars that will form an underground parking garage and foundation for the final phase of City Center have become visible in recent weeks.

According to a news release issued today by Nancy S. Heck, director of community relations, the theater's groundbreaking will be 2 p.m. March 13 on the building site, west of Civic Square and the Monon Trail near the intersection of Gradle Drive and Third Avenue Southwest.

The mayor said the 500-seat theater is part of the public-private partnership set for completion concurrently with the 1,600-seat concert hall -- both form the Performing Arts Center -- as early as December 2010.

The statement said the theater's architectural design is classically inspired to blend with the surrounding structures in City Center.

The theater is expected to total $10 million.

Heck declined to release the cost of the theater project, provide additional designs or give more details about its contents until the groundbreaking.

"I know that many residents share our excitement to see these facilities coming out of the ground," Brainard said in the release. "It has taken almost 12 years of planning and input from the community to get to this point. In about four years, this community will have its own theater, Performing Arts Center and amphitheater."

A ceremonial groundbreaking for Pedcor's portion of the City Center project was held last March. Construction on the Performing Arts Center has yet to begin as designers refine plans and Mayor Jim Brainard and a consultant look for private funds to enhance the project. Carmel has borrowed $80 million for the concert hall and the theater, but additional funds raised privately could up the price tag to $120 million, according to previously reported estimates.

KM1410

February 13th, 2007, 07:58 PM

jacerw99

February 14th, 2007, 04:59 AM

Damn. There is some serious stuff happening in Carmel.

ragerunner1

February 14th, 2007, 09:36 PM

Carmel is emerging as one of the great urban design centers in the US. They are embracing new urbanism, redevelopment, mixed use and traffic calming concepts at a rate that very few other cities in the US can compare to. While not every project in Carmel is a great urban development project, they are way ahead of most. I just wish every midwest city (expecially suburban and midsize cities) would adopt Carmel's approach to more substainable development. The only thing missing in their efforts is mass transit. Which is going to take a region effort to address. Here in Cincy I just wish we could get the average developer to build some rearload townhomes or single family houses and the communities to embrace roundabouts and mix use in their development codes.

Unionstation13

February 14th, 2007, 11:15 PM

I love that design. Downtown Indy needs more designs like that. Craftsmanship must be a popular returning architecture.

arenn

February 14th, 2007, 11:51 PM

ragerunner, actually, Carmel's mayor is a huge supporter of transit. He's one of the biggest backers. The priority of the region is to first look at a rail line to Fishers and Noblesville, since there is already trackage owned by local government in that area. Carmel favors an automated guideway monorail similiar to the Clarian people mover. The reason being that there is no suitable right of way for rail to Carmel otherwise. (The Monon line will never be deconverted from a trail, and it is a single track ROW to boot).

arenn

February 15th, 2007, 12:02 AM

You can download the City Center site plan from here: http://www.carmelcitycenter.com/files/ccc_site_plan.pdf

CG5

February 15th, 2007, 02:24 AM

Here is a rendering for the above. Nice looking project...

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070213&Kategori=LOCAL010103&Lopenr=702130320&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0
Construction will begin next month on the Carmel City Center Theater and adjacent buildings, all part of the Carmel Performing Arts Center. The $10 million, 500-seat venue is one of the key pieces of the 80-acre City Center, a partnership of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission and Pedcor Development. A ceremonial groundbreaking for the theater has been scheduled for 2 p.m. March 13.

Wow. So I was just browsing, and I saw the picture of that theater. I had to sign in quick just to say: OH.MY.GOD. Seriously, how much harder could you try? That looks like something Michael Graves would shit out with his hemherroids. It's the utmost in American bullshit and pomposity. I've coughed up less offensive splotches of phlegm.

Seriously.

Ok, back to hibernation for me.

arenn

February 15th, 2007, 02:59 AM

I don't find Carmel's Georgian style architecture to my taste either, truthfully.

Unionstation13

February 15th, 2007, 05:05 AM

I like the georgian style, its better than glass if you ask me. But they do make it seem fake.

Unionstation13

February 15th, 2007, 05:09 AM

Wow. So I was just browsing, and I saw the picture of that theater. I had to sign in quick just to say: OH.MY.GOD. Seriously, how much harder could you try? That looks like something Michael Graves would shit out with his hemherroids. It's the utmost in American bullshit and pomposity. I've coughed up less offensive splotches of phlegm.

Seriously.

Ok, back to hibernation for me.

What would you prefer? For todays architecture I think it is supposed to influence historical architecture, and detailing. I am all for that, as many people are constructing buildings in fine craftsmanship agian.(especially the wealthy). I like how they use older styles, and the front garden, but I am not a fan of how the structure itself is layed out, and stone would have been better.

CG5

February 15th, 2007, 09:55 AM

Was that supposed to be a verbal interpretation of what's going on in that facade?

Unionstation13

February 15th, 2007, 04:42 PM

Lets hope that when it turns out it doesent look fake, thats a big risk. Carmel has done very well with reviving older styles, and encouraging older designs. I think that Carmel could get away with it. Arenn, what kind of religiouse structures are constructed in Carmel? I am very interested in seeing how older styles influence the religiouse structures.

ragerunner1

February 15th, 2007, 06:35 PM

At least it is mixed use and has some architectural detail. That makes it better than most office, retail and residential development taking place across the midwest and US.

cwilson758

February 15th, 2007, 09:10 PM

the style may not be everyone's favorite, but you have to admit that there is attention to detail, which is better than 90% of suburban development in this country.

CG5

February 15th, 2007, 10:00 PM

You have got to be kidding me. Where did I put my Xanax...

arenn

February 15th, 2007, 10:38 PM

Unionstation13

February 15th, 2007, 10:41 PM

The Indianapolis needs to except developments of both older and new styles, so we can retian history, and have new designs aswell! Our city council is more of "well.. that looks nice.." and stuff. I think that the city council needs to talk with citizens and developers. We need more interesting projects, not just Mcdonalds and rowhousing with vynil siding. I like some modern designs, especially some that are in Berlin.

CorrND

February 16th, 2007, 01:08 AM

Unionstation13

February 16th, 2007, 01:46 AM

Sorry, I am just really bored. lol XP

CG5

February 16th, 2007, 03:23 AM

At least Carmel has a style and they made a conscious decision to go in that direction. All too many places - including the rest of Indianapolis - pretty much just go with whatever happens to show up. I'm more of a fan of today's more modernistic designs. Mayor Brainard has explicitly rejected them. Unlike downtown Indy, which just accepts whatever corporatecure comes along, at least he considered it, then made an explicit choice against it.

But the choice was not based on any lofty architectural ideals, I can guarantee you that after seeing Carmel's "vernacular." There is an obvious motive behind the type of architectural planning that places like Carmel do. It's similar to what Walt Disney did with Main Street U.S.A. in his theme parks. The idea behind this kind of historicist architecture (which, contrary to the idea of the architecture having a "style," actually borrows elements at random from many different styles and slaps them together in a cheap, indiscriminant bricolage) is to create streetscapes that mimic the authentic historic towns and main streets that Americans so gleefully bulldozed in the 60s and 70s. By building claptrap "historical" town centers, developers aim for the nostalgic jugluar. They count on people reacting to the "historic" architectural elements, allowing them to sell them on the idea of living further and further out from the real urban center, where what's left of the actual historic neighborhoods are left to the impoverished. In short, architecture like this is nothing short of a bald-faced lie, aimed to keep people paying higher prices for real estate that otherwise would have trouble selling. It's a temporary fix to fight the "location, location, location" mantra, but authentic, unique places cannot be created by mimicking existing places. Not only are they useless in the long run; they also cheapen the architecture that they rip off.

On top of that, dishonest crap like this doesn't belong in any city that wants to build itself up as a center for creative class-types, as Carmel is supposedly trying to do. It's shortsighted and foolish, and with substandard public design will come substandard "creative" residents. You can call that elitist, but it's damn true.

(And please don't think that I'm defending what's being built in downtown Indy. "Corporatecture" is equally offensive, if for different reasons. But the mix of styles is, and always has been, a critical piece of the urban puzzle--just look at successful spaces like Monument Circle. Architectural variety is what makes cities interesting places, and homogeneity of the built environment would be a dishonest representation of city life.)

arenn

February 16th, 2007, 03:42 AM

CG5, I actually agree with a lot of what you say. I think it is difficult to have a real Arts and Design district when the arts, design, and architecture as practiced by today's artists - i.e., modernism - is not welcome in the town. That is still an area in development, but if it doesn't gel into a real, functioning neighborhood, it will end up as a Disneyesque pastiche. New Urbanism is clearly a form of backwards looking nostalgia.

Having said that, what's your alternative? It sounds like you just plain hate the burbs and would like everyone to live in the inner city. That's patently unrealistic. Nostalgia seems to be selling. Generica appears to be selling. Other than these, what would you suggest for the suburbs instead?

Also, we have to be very careful about applying our own personal tastes as if they were objective critiques. A lot of what Carmel is doing is not personally to my taste - I even outright hate some of it - but that doesn't mean it is wrong. It means I am not their target customer.

CG5

February 16th, 2007, 07:39 AM

First off, New Urbanism is not, in and of itself, a bad system. The New Urbanists have a lot of great ideas -- they practically started the current movement in development toward dense, walkable neighborhoods. Their approach to architecture, however, is unfortunate in that it makes the (rather odd) assumption that, to have neighborhoods that work like older urban neighborhoods, they have to look like the older urban neighborhoods. Which brings us to where we are with this conversation.

Saying that everyone should live in the central city would be "patently unrealistic," as you put it. But that's not what I'm advocating. The argument against the suburbs isn't one of taste anymore. It's about what works and what doesn't, and time has proven what urbanists have been saying all along (see: Jacobs, Jane) -- the suburban sprawl model is neither sustainable nor functional. The environmental and health costs have been astronomical, and continued sprawl-like development would make for a pretty ugly future. The solution, it would seem to me, would be to build dense, urban (not central city -- there's a difference) and/or walkable neighborhoods and connect people to mass transit. It's not a new idea, and it's not revolutionary. You've heard it a billion times already. But repetition does not defeat validity.

As for nostalgia and generic architecture selling...well, duh. In the words of P.T. Barnum, no one's ever lost money underestimating the taste of the American public.

CorrND

February 16th, 2007, 04:23 PM

CG5 - if I'm reading you correctly, you don't seem to have any problem with the development of Carmel other than the architectural style (a fair criticism). They're building "dense, urban...and/or walkable neighborhoods" with an eye toward connecting the suburb to Indianapolis central city with mass transit. They can't build mass transit on their own, but if Indy ever got their act together, Carmel would be onboard in a heartbeat.

arenn

February 16th, 2007, 04:29 PM

IndyStar.com Metro & State
February 16, 2007

Even gas stations feel 'new urbanism' pressure

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

Warren K. Johnson would love to remodel his aging gasoline station and convenience store in the heart of Carmel, but zoning rules stop him.

In neighboring Fishers, two busy stations are to be rebuilt with larger convenience stores to lure more quick-stop shoppers.

The former Shell station at 96th Street and Allisonville Road in Fishers is demolished, and the Shell at 116th Street and Allisonville is closed and will be down within two weeks.

New owner Alimentation Couche-Tard, a Canadian company buying and converting stations all over North America, will reopen the Fishers stations as Circle K stores selling Shell fuels.

The company already has remodeled a third Fishers Shell station with a Circle K store on 116th near I-69.

"I'd have to make the station two stories tall and put the fuel pumps behind the building to comply," he said.

He owns a station at 116th Street and Range Line Road that sold Citgo fuel for many years but recently switched to sell gas from Texas-based Valero.
But at this location, he can't keep up with the current national trend to rebuild stations with bigger convenience stores offering premium coffee bars, sandwich cafes, hot pastries and other quick-stop foods.

Dozens of stations in Indiana are undergoing reconstruction, including some in neighboring Fishers and Indianapolis where Carmel motorists buy fuel.

The conversions increase the offerings inside the convenience store, where the profit margins are higher than at the fuel pumps outside.

"Convenience store retailers can make more on a 12-ounce cup of coffee than in a 12-gallon tank of gas," said Jeff Lenard, vice president of communications for the Virginia-based National Association of Convenience Stores.

"This is a street fight for customers. This is expensive real estate in fast-growing communities, so they have to get the maximum returns," Lenard said.

The national trend comes back to the neighborhood street corner and independent station owners like Johnson.

Johnson owns eight stations in the Indianapolis metro area, including three in Hamilton County in Carmel, Noblesville and Sheridan. He hopes to average a profit of about 7 cents a gallon on gas.

"That means I might make about 70 cents on a $24 fill-up at the pump. But I can make 70 cents on a bottle of water," he said.

Zoning rules at the downtown Carmel station have prevented him from expanding or even extensively remodeling the 1,440-square-foot store, he said.

He has extended shelves and added coffee urns. "But I can't do anything that would require a building permit."

Range Line is in a special zoning overlay district enacted a few years ago that requires new buildings to be at least two stories tall. They must be moved close to the street or sidewalk. Parking is to be out of sight in the rear.

City officials have pushed such "new urbanism" concepts to improve the look of downtown Carmel.

There's a new two-story Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, a two-story veterinarian's hospital, and the two-story Fineberg building of restaurants and offices at Range Line and Carmel Drive.

Across that intersection is a Shell gasoline station with a store so small it has only a couple shelves for snacks.

It was one of 32 former Shell stations bought a year ago by a Canadian company, Alimentation Couche-Tard, which is rebuilding and rebranding many of them as Circle K stores.

Carmel planning officials agreed that the two downtown stations would be required to rebuild if they make any changes.

Johnson said, "I just wanted to remodel my car wash and was turned down."

Meanwhile, his Carmel Valero station is always busy with neighborhood residents stopping in for coffee or snacks. City snowplow drivers took short breaks there this week.

Regular customers Scott Pendergrass, owner of Penn Communications technology company, doesn't mind the 1993-vintage station as it is. "It's the friendly people and the great drinks that bring me in each day."

Unionstation13

February 16th, 2007, 05:04 PM

Did the Carmel city council ever think of having a good mix of old and new? Like the way Berlin builds sexy glassy structures, and then turns around and builds beautiful stone structures. Is there any hope for a variety of architecture in Carmel? I know they want to be Goergian, but every city needs atleast a little bit of modern architecture as a peice of future history.
Like the city hall, I love the city hall, and I love alot of new development, but I think they need to have maybe patches of modern here and there, to keep variety. Downtown Indianapolis needs to work on more variety of architecture without constructed alumnium funky abnormal structures, while retaining stone and sexy glass. I have an idea as to what to do with Carmel, filling in avaliable corner spots with glassy artsy structures like those in cities in Europe. Europe seems to be getting such fine development while American cities get the concrete crap. Hey Arenn, are there any plans to build a variety of new and old in Carmel?

arenn

February 16th, 2007, 05:41 PM

Union, the mayor has made it clear that while he doesn't hate modernism per se, he considers it inappropriate for Carmel. He prefers traditional or classical models, which he says will stand the test of time.

He did acknowledge that red brick could become monotonous. I believe we'll see much less of monolithic red brick structures and more variety, including limestone and painted brick or stucco.

But let's not forget, there is the Michael Graves designed Thomson Building in Carmel.

Part of the problem in the suburbs is that the vast majority of the homes are in planned subdivisions with deed and/or homeowner restrictions on design elements. So to build a home with anything other than a traditional design is illegal.

To get modernist homes would require someone to buy into an older lot with no restrictions such as in Old Town or Home Place. Commercial property is also much more free. As long as you comply with the zoning ordinance and building codes, the city can't stop you from building anything you want. I'm not sure what architectural standards the city has in its zoning ordinance, but my guess is that you could accomodate a modernist design within them.

They key is, if you are a modernist, why choose Carmel? I'd suggest you're more likely to choose a community that shares your values. That might not be anywhere in Indianapolis, alas. But at least the one thing the inner city has going for it is that it is comparatively free of deed restrictions on design. You'd have to get out of the regional center or a historic district to do much, however.

Unionstation13

February 16th, 2007, 05:45 PM

Interesting, does the mayor of Carmel want Carmel to look like an average Indiana city? I like the idea of a variety of facades, but every city wanting to be world class needs to have some newer designs and taste. Downtown Indianapolis needs a strict mayor like Carmels(except more open to a variety of styles) but Indianapolis really isnt a modernist city, most architecture is either traditional, or hidiously steroetype suburbian. What about that new music hall? Doesent it have modern detials? Like the glass canopy?

arenn

February 16th, 2007, 06:36 PM

The new Performing Arts Center is a type of neo-classical. It was modeled after some building in Italy. The glass canopy you referred to is actually a set of acoutsical planels in the interior. I guess you could call it modernist, but that's a minor element.

Unionstation13

February 17th, 2007, 12:43 AM

interesting.. Do you know where we could find pictures of the new preforming arts center?

arenn

February 17th, 2007, 06:57 AM

Go to the Mayor's page on the Carmel's web site and download the PDF of the 2006 State of the City presentation. There are renderings and information on slides 44-46. Also, there's a future City Center rendering on slide 36. And you can see concept renderings of the Keystone roundabout interchanges on slides 25-28.

CG5

February 18th, 2007, 02:27 AM

They key is, if you are a modernist, why choose Carmel? I'd suggest you're more likely to choose a community that shares your values. That might not be anywhere in Indianapolis, alas. But at least the one thing the inner city has going for it is that it is comparatively free of deed restrictions on design. You'd have to get out of the regional center or a historic district to do much, however.

I'm curious, arenn...are you making the argument that homogeny is a good and/or defendable thing? That it actually benefits the people living in a place for everything to look the same?

And I really wish people would stop calling the Carmel aesthetic "Georgian." If that's Georgian architecture, I'm a twelve-year-old girl from Estonia.

arenn

February 18th, 2007, 02:48 AM

I'm curious, arenn...are you making the argument that homogeny is a good and/or defendable thing? That it actually benefits the people living in a place for everything to look the same?

Homgeneity simply is. Whether it is a good thing or a bad one is a matter of taste. I personal value more diversity, but the record of human history suggest that people like to congregate among those like themselves.

The real question is: if Carmel's aesthetic is not yours, and particularly if Carmel's mayor has explicitly rejected that aesthetic, why live there? There are plenty of other places. That's all I'm saying. Birds of a feather, and all....

CG5

February 18th, 2007, 03:34 AM

Interesting.

CG5

February 18th, 2007, 08:36 PM

Recent post in the CEOs for Cities blog:

The following, from a speech by former Winnipeg Mayor Glenn Murray, provides a wonderful perspective on placemaking...

"Winnipeg started as a city that had a huge sense of possibilities. The first people who arrived there were trying to attract the railroad so they built grand railroad stations. They built beautiful Carnegie libraries and grand boulevards with beautiful trees. There was a sense that beauty had to be necessary and a necessity had to be beautiful and that when you walk down the main street of your city, what things looked like were a reflection of your values, your sense of civic pride, sense of identity and a celebration of the intellect, the imagination, the culture and the success and prosperity of the community. You wore it on your sleeves.

"The idea was also about the pulic good. People like Carnegie were putting money into libraries because they thought it was important that places of knowledge and learning were open and accessible for people who might feel the library was a much more extraordinary and beautiful place than they would ever be able to own. The public realm had to be beautiful and to be shared, so we could all have something greater together than any one of us could own individually.

"One of the changes in values in the suburbanization of our culture is that what's on our property matters most.... You cannot talk about change or culture unless you deal with the values that are associated with it."

And then a dictionary entry:

cre·a·tiv·i·ty
1. the state or quality of being creative.
2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.
3. the process by which one utilizes creative ability.

You can keep arguing about matters of taste, if you like, but pretentious historicist architecture has no place in the public realm. While it may comfort people and tickle their sense of nostalgia, it does nothing to challenge or energize them. It is not "good" architecture, especially in the civic sense, because it says very poor things about citizenship. It sends a "follow-the-leader" message and placates the people that it is supposed to bring up and bring together.

That may sound like overstatement, but I don't think it is at all. Civic structures used to reinforce the idea that society is about working together toward an outcome that is greater than the what its individual members could achieve on their own. Architecture is a direct reflection of societal values, though people have become convinced (through apathy generated by these very types of designs, that the built environment does not affect them in any important way.) To say that it is solely a matter of opinion -- though opinion plays its part -- is to deny the importance of architecture in the public realm, and vice versa.

Unionstation13

February 18th, 2007, 08:42 PM

older styles of newer architecture has a place. It reminds us of what we were, the past, and it honers history, and our past, our building blocks of what we are today. If we were to abandon the idea of having newer older styles than it would be masses of glass and steele in newer areas. Newer buildings and neighborhoods should share a mix of old and new ideas. Older designs respect what made us what we are today. Alot of craftsmanship is coming back as a trend, along with modern styles, I think this is a good mix of old and new.

CG5

February 18th, 2007, 09:06 PM

No, actual old buildings remind us of what we were in the past. Ripping off those buildings and combining elements of their design willy-nilly to create some plasticine knockoff insults and cheapens the original work. It's a simple matter of supply and demand: the more there is of something, the less important each individual piece of that something is.

And why the assumption that, just because a building is an original, inspired piece of architecture it has to be a modernist steel and glass box? Please don't misinterpret what I'm saying -- context is all in architecture, and it is very important that architects take their cues from the existing environment when creating a new building. Have you never heard of Moshe Safdie? Antoine Predock? "Traditional" materials like wood and stone are alive and well in contemporary (not "modernist," which is a style, not an era) architecture.

Unionstation13

February 18th, 2007, 09:14 PM

If the new/older structure is done tastefully it does remind us of what we were. And that is important, but when you construct it tastefully it respects the past. Like the newer/old styled buildings in Berlin, that are done very tastefully and very nicely. But some just looks plain and fakish. Dont get me wrong, I think that modern architecture is important, but so is reviving older fashions.

CG5

February 18th, 2007, 09:16 PM

Post some images of what you are talking about in Berlin.

Unionstation13

February 19th, 2007, 01:16 AM

Well, they arent all neccarely in Berlin, but many new designs that I think we in Indianapolis could use, with a mix of post-modern structures aswell. a couple of examples.

Painter's Yard, Chelsea
http://www.johnsimpsonarchitects.com/urban/images/06big.jpg
http://www.johnsimpsonarchitects.com/urban/images/08big.jpg

Downing College, Cambridge
http://www.qftarchitects.net/public/photos/howard_large_colour.jpg

Baker Street, Marylebone
http://www.qftarchitects.net/commercial/photos/baker_colour_large.jpg
http://www.qftarchitects.net/commercial/photos/baker_colour_large2.jpg
http://www.qftarchitects.net/commercial/photos/baker_colour_large3.jpg

Richmond Riverside
http://www.qftarchitects.net/commercial/photos/richmond_colour_large2.jpg
http://www.qftarchitects.net/commercial/photos/richmond_colour_large3.jpg

Corinthian Villa, Regent's Park
http://www.qftarchitects.net/houses/photos/corinthian_colour_large.jpg

Gothic Villa, Regent's Park
http://www.qftarchitects.net/houses/photos/gothick_colour_large.jpg

Great Canfield, Essex
http://www.qftarchitects.net/houses/photos/canfield_colour_large.jpg

Forbes House, Ham Common
http://www.julianbicknell.co.uk/images/Forbes-House-Front.jpg

198 Piccadilly
http://www.robertadamarchitects.com/RAA_images/picc_30-web.jpg

Poundbury
http://www.robertadamarchitects.com/RAA_images/pbury2_16-web.jpg

Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville
http://www.dmsas.com/images/projects/p0134/1.jpg
http://www.dmsas.com/images/projects/p0134/4.jpg

Jakriborg, Malmo
http://www.ulmus.dk/gallery/pics/1094979243_Pict0038.jpg
http://www.ulmus.dk/gallery/pics/1094980672_PICT0023.jpg
http://www.ulmus.dk/gallery/pics/1094980701_PICT0024.jpg

CG5

February 20th, 2007, 01:08 AM

Ok, so that proved nothing.

Anyway, I'm more interested in what arenn has to say.

Indyman

February 20th, 2007, 01:28 AM

@ union station. Some of those buildings dont look new. They appear to have been there a long time (some anyways).

Unionstation13

February 20th, 2007, 02:52 AM

Thats becuase the developers wanted that, they managed to make them look snugged. I like the designs, becuase of the detailing.

arenn

February 20th, 2007, 04:26 PM

Indyman

February 20th, 2007, 04:41 PM

Thats becuase the developers wanted that, they managed to make them look snugged. I like the designs, becuase of the detailing.

Well if thats that case I am truely impressed. They did a great job.

Unionstation13

February 20th, 2007, 05:20 PM

Well these structrues were constructed from the 1960s forward. Newer older styled buildings. And alot of them were also recently constructed. I am very impressed how they rebuilt alot of Germany, making it seem as if they never were bombed, especially in Dresden. They just reconstructed a massive stone cathedral and it is a beauty! When a community works hard enough together they can make beautiful things.

CG5

February 21st, 2007, 04:58 AM

Many of the buildings in Europe are much newer than they appear. In particular, you may note that Germany was all but destroyed during WWII. They build new buildings to look old there, exactly what CG5 seems to hate. Interestingly, much of the US Capitol building is older than the Houses of Parliament in London.

CG, what were you looking for me to comment on?

I was hoping for a response to what you had posted earlier. I prefer to spar with people who can construct complete sentences, is all.

And please don't paint me as a mindless hater. I'm going to the trouble to explain why I have a problem with this type of architecture; give me some credit.

arenn

February 21st, 2007, 05:03 AM

By the way, union, the same architect who designed the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville is the designer of the Carmel Performing Arts Center.

Unionstation13

February 21st, 2007, 03:53 PM

Thats really interesting, I love his designs.
When is the Carmel Performing arts center set for construction?

arenn

February 21st, 2007, 04:20 PM

Thats really interesting, I love his designs.
When is the Carmel Performing arts center set for construction?

I'm not sure when construction on the PAC itself is scheduled to start, but I believe it is supposed to be open by 2010.

arenn

February 21st, 2007, 04:44 PM

You can keep arguing about matters of taste, if you like, but pretentious historicist architecture has no place in the public realm. While it may comfort people and tickle their sense of nostalgia, it does nothing to challenge or energize them. It is not "good" architecture, especially in the civic sense, because it says very poor things about citizenship. It sends a "follow-the-leader" message and placates the people that it is supposed to bring up and bring together.

That may sound like overstatement, but I don't think it is at all. Civic structures used to reinforce the idea that society is about working together toward an outcome that is greater than the what its individual members could achieve on their own. Architecture is a direct reflection of societal values, though people have become convinced (through apathy generated by these very types of designs, that the built environment does not affect them in any important way.) To say that it is solely a matter of opinion -- though opinion plays its part -- is to deny the importance of architecture in the public realm, and vice versa.

I agree completely that architecture is to a great extent a reflection of the values of a society. But what I've had to fight in myself over the years is a tendency to view my values as universal. I don't like generic suburban environments much at all. But there are obviously huge numbers of people for whose values are reflected perfectly by them. A lot of people's values are accurately reflected by this type of throwback architecture.

Consider creativity, your example. This is something that certainly hasn't been been equally as valuable in all places and times. I don't think creativity per se really is a universal value or inarguably good. We've become so used to the idea of progress and creativity that it seems like the natural order of the universe to us, but to others, many who might have been as happy or happier than we are, it wasn't so. (I'd actually argue that with all this talk about the "creative class" we've gotten to the point of fetishization of creativity when there are arguably far more important virtues out there).

I think the idea behing nostalgia based architecture is quite different from they way you portray it. I think the idea is to harken back to a simpler day when people didn't lock their doors, neighborhs helped out neighbors, and their really was a sense of community, not just this hyperaccelerated world we are in today. The 19th century vision of a small town may not be perfect by any means, but there are a lot of good things in it.

I agree with your statement about the impact of society of architecture and vice versa. As they say, "We shape our buildings, then they shape us." But you appear to be almost suggesting that we use a forward looking type of architecture in an attempt to mold society in a better vision. There's nothing wrong with that per se, but I think the underlying issue is still that there's a value conflict, not merely an architecture conflict. Obviously we all think our values are the best or we wouldn't hold them, but remember that other people feel the same way about theirs. Perhaps values is a better term than taste, though certainly there is at least some of the latter involved in a value set.

CG5

February 22nd, 2007, 08:56 PM

What is the purpose of humanity if not to progress?

Unionstation13

February 22nd, 2007, 09:54 PM

Progress doesent neccarely mean we have to have modern designs, you can maintain timeless styles while moving forward in human progress. Massive goverment buildings can be constructed in timeless styles and still continue progress. Progress doesent neccarely mean moving into the future and latest styles.

arenn

February 24th, 2007, 07:13 AM

What is the purpose of humanity if not to progress?

Progress implies a forward motion towards a destination. The real value conflict isn't rarely between change and statis, but rather about what is the vision to be sought after - namely, values.

It would take a book to talk about progress, but one highly readable account that I think really fleshes out the issues is the classic "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn. He argues that there is actually not, strictly speaking even progress in a field like science.

I'd argue that much of what passes for progress in the realms of urban planning and architecture is really no such thing, but is in reality more akin to fashion trends: endless change, some probably arguably better than others, but not getting any closer to any sort of real destination.

CG5

February 24th, 2007, 09:37 AM

That argument is akin to suggesting that there is no merit in art; that all artistic expression is frivolous and based on the whims of fashion and trends. If you call that a conflict of values, I guess you're right. But my brain cannot physically process that idea, so I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

arenn

February 24th, 2007, 03:27 PM

The arts are exactly the case I'm talking about. Is it "progress" to go from Leondardo to Van Gogh to Pollock? In music, is it progress from Monteverdi to Bach to Mozart to Beethoven to Boulez? No. It isn't progress, it's just change.

You might argue that more variety is better ipso facto, but that's another argument of values that I doubt anyone would believe it true in all cases.

Unionstation13

February 24th, 2007, 04:30 PM

Did anyone ever read about that movement that alot of french designers aimed for, the perfect city?

CG5

February 24th, 2007, 08:29 PM

Unionstation13

February 25th, 2007, 02:27 AM

That really has nothing to do with the architecture over all.
And I stopped debating, so why continue it? Lets just agree to disagree.

CG5

February 25th, 2007, 02:56 AM

I am not having a conversation with you, am I child? Go play with your toys and let the adults alone.

Unionstation13

February 25th, 2007, 03:14 AM

LouisvilleGuy05

February 25th, 2007, 03:23 AM

I am not having having a conversation with you, am I child? Go play with your toys and let the adults alone.

:lol: finally someone said it.

CG5

February 25th, 2007, 03:29 AM

You mean I'm the first?

arenn

February 25th, 2007, 04:57 AM

Are you just arguing for the sake of arguing now? Because I'm getting the implication from your posts that you're arguing against humanity having any sort of purpose. Which is a valid argument that I've heard before, but certainly not one that anywhere near the majority of the population would agree with.

I don't believe there is any such thing as a purpose of "humanity". People have a purpose. Groups of people such as communities or even nations might be said to have purposes, but people's purposes/morals/visions/values whatever are different. I think it is perfectly valid to have conservative values based on preserving traditional or historical modes of living such as might warrant 19th century retro architecture. (These types of values are also consisten with classic leftist causes such as environmentalism). So it is less that I think there's no purpose in this world, only that there's nothing akin to Plato's "good" that serves as a universal purpose. We've got purposes, not a purpose. I personally think that's a good thing.

Artistic movements are both part and product of the overal advancement of humanity. The whole lot of us are a system, and the "progress" we are aiming for--or the one that the vast majority of us claim to be aiming for--is a more just, equal, and harmonious society for all of humankind. Would you disagree? Art, in all of its forms, challenges people's ideals and perceptions and forces them to look at things in new ways. It is also influenced by fashion, but this only reinforces the connectivity of the arts with other areas of human expression and discourse.

I'd argue that "just", "equal", and "harmonious" are feel good terms that have no operational value. Seldom has anyone claimed to act in the name of injustice. Consider: do we have equality of outcomes or equality of opportunities? Should a society be based on maximizing individual liberties or maintaining certain community values at the price of some individual sacrifice? To take it further, which is the primary agent: the individual or the group? There are far from universal answers to these questions.

What communism progress? Some people certainly thought it was. Some still do. Others violently disagreed.

Is globalization progress?

These things and many more are clearly subject to debate.

I think that the problem we run into, in terms of values, is that most people say they want a more harmonious world for all, but only put any effort into creating a more harmonious world for themselves and their loved ones/countrymen. Or just themselves. And it seems pretty obvious, if you look at the state of things, that this system has never worked in the past. And I kind of can't believe that I'm in this debate in the Carmel Development thread. heh.

Well, to bring it back to the original point. You seem to think that we should use architecture to challenge people and drive them in new, progressive directions. To be blunt, I think that's simply a rejection of the value set of the leaders of Carmel, who want to create a traditional Main Street type of community life, in favor of your own. I think the people of Carmel deserve the right to choose for themselves what kind of town they want to have. I'm equally free to reject it in favor of a place that is more like I want. But we don't need to stamp out nostalgia based New Urbanism just because it turns us off anymore than fans of chocolate ice cream need to stamp out vanilla.

KM1410

February 25th, 2007, 10:46 PM

You know what? I am done, you are acting like an angry three year old. Back to Carmel. Do they know if that home in Westclay will be fixed or leveled and redone? The one that cought on fire not too long ago.

I'm not trying to be rude, but are you seriously asking about the status of a single house in a subdivision?? Sometimes I get the feeling you just post to add to your post count.

Unionstation13

February 25th, 2007, 11:44 PM

No, I did it mainly to change the subject back to Carmel, and it was the first thing that popped into my mind.

NaptownBoy

February 26th, 2007, 02:34 AM

I'm not trying to be rude, but are you seriously asking about the status of a single house in a subdivision?? Sometimes I get the feeling you just post to add to your post count.:lol: Funny that you mention that because I thought about that scenario too. I average about 3 posts a day, which is a little high, but anything above 4 a day I suppose is excessive.

Unionstation13

February 26th, 2007, 05:35 PM

:lol: Funny that you mention that because I thought about that scenario too. I average about 3 posts a day, which is a little high, but anything above 4 a day I suppose is excessive.

I'm addicted.:banana:

Indyman

February 26th, 2007, 11:27 PM

^^ uh yeah...Ive just noticed that this thread has totally been wasted by some stupid argument. Hopefully it gets back on track...

arenn

March 6th, 2007, 06:30 PM

Design center work to start today

Star report
CARMEL, Ind. -- City officials were gathering this morning for the groundbreaking of the Indiana Design Center.

The retail home-design business, which has received support from the city's Redevelopment Commission, is at the southwest corner of Range Line Road and First Street Southwest in the Carmel Arts & Design District.

Pedcor City Center Development Co. in March 2006 had indicated it would break ground last summer on its two-story, 85,000-square-foot merchandise mart.

Pedcor, the development company leading much of Carmel's core renovation, said in March 2006 it planned to spend between $12 million to $14 million on the building, which will house retail home-design businesses and a parking structure with 112 underground spaces. The site also was to have 64 surface spaces. Construction was scheduled take 15 to 18 months.

The Indiana Design Center will provide a place to discuss home design, decor and renovation. The concept for the design center is to offer a variety of home renovation and decor products in a single location.

Income to the Carmel Redevelopment Commission this year from land sales is expected to total about $6.2 million, including money Pedcor will pay for the site of the Indiana Design Center. City officials have been unable to confirm the exact amount Pedcor will pay to the city.

Bruce Cordingley, Pedcor Cos. president, will attend today's groundbreaking, according to Carmel government spokeswoman Nancy S. Heck.

arenn

March 7th, 2007, 05:57 AM

Design Center key for Carmel

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

CARMEL, Ind. -- Pedcor President Bruce A. Cordingley and Carmel city officials turned ceremonial chrome shovels of soil today to kick off construction of the $14 million Indiana Design Center.

The building, which will include an underground parking garage, will be a key in the $300 million redevelopment of central Carmel.

Mayor Jim Brainard and officials of the city Redevelopment Commission -- which invested $2.4 million in land and demolition for the new center -- hailed their public-private partnership and posed for pictures after nearly two years of planning.

The Indiana Design Center is due to open to the public for retail sales in about a year and a half. The two-story 85,000-square-foot brick and stone structure at Range Line Road and First Avenue Southwest is to become a focus for companies and consultants in home construction, design and decor.

Cordingley and Brainard said the center will draw people from all over the metro region to meet with experts in building and decorating.

And Cordingley hopes first impressions will dazzle.

"You'll walk in through the proscenium and into an atrium two-stories high," he said.

"On the ground flood, there will be shops and showrooms on both sides, where you can find nearly everything you want for a new (or remodeled) house," he said.

Architects, engineers, interior designers, landscape experts, fabric shops, decorative hardware, flooring and artwork and others will have spaces or offices in the design center.

"We've spoken with at least 50 companies from Indiana interested in talking further about space in the Design Center," Cordingley said.

Below the building will be an underground garage with 110 parking spaces.
The structure will face Range Line Road, and it will be close to the sidewalk, in the new urbanist style.

Traffic will turn off Range Line and into a driveway through the center of the building to parking behind the building. The second floor of the building will span over the drive, creating tunnel-like entry.

The Indiana Design Center is just a block from Main Street and the heart of the Arts & Design District.

The city's Redevelopment Commission has been buying land, demolishing old buildings in some cases, and then reselling the sites to developers for new construction in a redevelopment of the Old Town area.

Almost across Range Line from the Indiana Design Center is Old Town Shops, newly opened three-story gallery and office buildings constructed by Pedcor in partnership with the city agency.

Brainard and Redevelopment Director Les Olds explained that the city purchased several parcels to make way for the Design Center for about $2.1 million. The city spent another $300,000 for demolition and cleaning the site.
Olds said the city is applying for about $250,000 from a state environmental grant fund to repay costs of removing gasoline-contaminated soil where a service station was located.

The city commission recouped the costs of the land by selling it to Pedcor.
Before Brainard took a turn with a ceremonial shovel, he said no residential property taxes are used in the project. Future taxes from the commercial redevelopment will pay for utilities and other infrastructure.

"The Arts & Design District is an initiative that will not only improve our quality of life in Carmel but . . . will create new jobs for years to come," the mayor said.

KM1410

March 9th, 2007, 04:33 AM

Carmel theater work starts Tuesday

Days after a ceremonial groundbreaking to start building one major redevelopment in the old downtown, Carmel officials and their partners will be grabbing chrome shovels again.

A brief ceremony and groundbreaking is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday to start work on the $10 million City Center Theatre and adjacent buildings, the city announced today.

The theater will be along Third Avenue Southwest, just south of City Center Drive and across Third from the new Veterans Memorial Plaza.

Mayor Jim Brainard said the theater is part of the two-building package that will make up Carmel's Performing Arts Center.

The City Council has funded the combined project up to $80 million so far, and the mayor is attempting to raise millions of dollars more in private contributions to enhance the facilities.

The 500-seat theater designed for staged performances includes a five- and six-story backstage area to accommodate scenery, curtains and equipment suspended above the stage.

That theater is part of a much larger building, a classically designed architecture like most of City Center.

Pedcor Cos., the Carmel-based development group in a $300 million public-private partnership of downtown projects with the city Redevelopment Commission, designed the theater building.

Pedcor will lease the extra office and business space in the theater building.

Construction is expected to start later this year on the 1,600-seat concert hall in the Performing Arts Center. It is designed with the acoustics for world-class symphony performances.

Brainard and his advisers in fund-raising said two separate buildings with distinctly different designs will produce the best performances, sound quality, viewing for the audiences and conditions for performers.

Both buildings are to be open by 2010.

Construction will also include a power and utilities building and a multi-story parking garage behind the smaller theater.

They are part of the whole City Center redevelopment by the city and Pedcor to include a hotel, shopping, offices, townhomes and other features. Many of the buildings will be above a level of underground parking.

A large public open space, the Village Green, will be at the center of key elements of City Center.

The smaller theater will be on the south side of the Village Green, directly opposite from the symphonic hall.

And a wide "Spanish steps" and outdoor amphitheater will be on the east end of the Village Green.

The mayor has said the city's share of the costs of the developments will be funded with the property taxes on the future construction.

Meanwhile, city and Pedcor executives including President Bruce A. Cordingley made a ceremonial start to construction this week of the new Indiana Design Center.

That $14 million, two-story building is going up a few blocks from the City Center in the Arts & Design District near Main Street and Range Line Road.

The 85,000-square-feet showroom and office space to showcase the home construction, interior design and remodeling industry, could be open in about 18 months.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703090324

arenn

March 17th, 2007, 04:13 AM

U.K. firm to bring 120 jobs in Carmel move

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

A biosciences company is expected to announce plans this afternoon to move its headquarters to Carmel, bringing up to 120 jobs and a payroll of $10 million a year.

Oxford BioSignals Medical, a company with roots at Oxford University, has applied for tax breaks and other incentives to set up its headquarters in Carmel's Meridian Street office corridor.

The Carmel City Council meeting scheduled Monday includes the introduction of a resolution creating an economic revitalization area for the existing office building at 12900 N. Meridian St.

That three-story building is in Duke Realty's Hamilton Crossing park of class A office space occupied by law firms, accounting and computer software companies.

The council will consider a 10-year property tax abatement for the equipment that Oxford BioSignals would install to set up its headquarters.

Information from the company and economic devleopment consultants Ginovus indicates the company has less than 10 employees with current salaries near $378,000, but plans to create up to 120 more jobs over the initial five years in the new headquarters.

The jobs are to pay $60,000 a year or more.

Oxford BioSignals will invest at least $2.4 million in information and reseach equipment.

The new equipment is described in the city filings as "information technology/telecommunications equipment, laboratory equipment, research and development equipment, computer hardware and computer software."

Location of the facility in Carmel is contingent on the 10-year tax abatment.

Oxford BioSignals provides data analysis software that helps monitor hospital patient safety and drug-related cardiac safety.

The company's web site says it uses out-of-the-box approaches and technology to lead to early crisis warning and better patient care.

Announcement of the development is expected at a 2 p.m. press conference with officials from the company, Carmel, the state government and Clarian Health.

arenn

March 22nd, 2007, 07:04 PM

City Center visualized

New drawings bring concepts into focus as work on public-private project continues

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

A year after the first shovels of dirt were turned, the vision of Carmel's City Center continues to come into focus and detail.

Hanover Square would showcase obelisk-type artwork in the center of the plaza, lined with retail and restaurant spaces.

It is taking shape as the new urbanized core of a suburban city that has lacked a true downtown.

Officials from the city's Redevelopment Commission and chief developer Pedcor, who are locked in a $300 million partnership on the project, unveiled elegant concept drawings Wednesday of the main buildings and plazas by nationally known designer Kiku Obata.

And Pedcor kicked off a marketing campaign dubbed the "Art of Life" to begin sales and leasing of the hundreds of thousands of square feet of apartments, penthouses, offices and retail space. Some of the new buildings will begin construction this summer.

Copies of a marketing flier from Pedcor with many of the latest scenes are being distributed in a variety of local publications.

"Come back in three years and see Carmel's new downtown," Mayor Jim Brainard said Wednesday during a news conference to display the new designs for the project. "It will be so beautiful that it will be a magnet for the state, the region and beyond."

City Council member Ron Carter, who heads the Redevelopment Commission, said the vision for the old center of Carmel has grown a long way from a park envisioned a decade ago. "Now, I'm blown away, flabbergasted by these sketches that just get better and better."

The city and the Redevelopment Commission are putting about $100 million into infrastructure, plazas, public spaces and performance space. Pedcor is contributing about $200 million for all the other commercial buildings.

Together, their concept has settled into a mixture of residential, business and recreational features, taking its inspiration from urban city centers of the early 1900s.

"This isn't downtown Chicago or downtown Indianapolis, it is downtown Carmel that will become its own special place," said Pedcor President Bruce Cordingley. "There was an early vision of this as a retail center but there has been a level of architecture and design added here."

Construction work is already visible on 80 acres at City Center Drive and Range Line Road, where a Kroger shopping center and other old structures once stood.

In the past year, old buildings have come down. There have been ceremonial ground breakings in the past month for two new downtown buildings, including a 500-seat theater.

And at the corner of City Center and Range Line -- the corner that likely will become a signature feature of the whole site -- a big hole in the ground is beginning to fill with an underground parking garage.

Pilings for the garage will form the foundation for the six- and nine-story office and apartment buildings and clock tower above.

Construction will begin to speed up on the site so that much of the 15-acre heart of City Center will open in 2010.

After further planning and design, Brainard and Cordingley said the main components of City Center now include: 230,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 300 luxury penthouses and condominiums and apartments, and about 170,000 square feet of office suites.

A 1,700-seat Performing Arts Center, which Brainard believes will have concert acoustics to compare to the best halls in the nation, will be on one side of the broad Village Green. And the 500-seat theater for live performances will be on the opposite side of the green.

The Monon Greenway will bring bikers and hikers through the Village Green and by the performance spaces to steps that lead up to an office tower and a 102-room boutique hotel.

Kiku Obata said her design firm focused on creating images of City Center as a unique place blending nature and the outdoors features of the parks and plazas with the traditional buildings designed by Pedcor.

The view in the Chandelier Court is a paved plaza with café dining space under an overhanging chandelier. Multistory retailing, office and penthouse buildings surround the courtyard, in her drawings.

The centerpiece of Fountain Plaza is a very long canal-like fountain with paved and grassy courtyards on both sides. It separates the hotel from retail and residential buildings.

Hanover Square is another wide paved decorative plaza with obelisk-type artwork in the center. The plaza is surrounded by more retailing and restaurants.

Asked if it resembles open-air shopping malls like Clay Terrace in Carmel, Cordingley said City Center is much more.

"There are no big box stores. This is mostly locally owned businesses with flavor and variety. You can see the beginnings of this in the new buildings at Main and Range Line, with their vibrant and creative artists," he said.
City Center also will be home to many people, who will be able to park their cars out of sight underground and walk from apartment or office to entertainment, shopping and dining, he said.

Critics question high density of urban housing that isn't typical of suburban Carmel. Brainard said the 80 acres in City Center is a tiny fraction of the 50 square miles within the city.

"Everyone doesn't want to live in the old suburban community with a house on one acre. This gives them options for people who don't want a cookie cutter subdivision any more," he said.

arenn

March 22nd, 2007, 07:06 PM

Planners favor 24-home site in Old Town

Cobblestone Commons' single-family residences are proposed on 2.6 acres near the Monon Greenway

By Tania E. Lopez
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com

A project aimed at attracting baby boomers, empty nesters and young professionals to the historic Old Town District in Carmel is under way.

It's to be named Cobblestone Commons, and planners want to build 24 detached single-family homes on 2.6 acres near the center of downtown Carmel.

The developers have hired the Noblesville-based McGinnis Group to spearhead the project's design.

The plans for architecture, design, lighting and sign renderings were presented at a Plan Commission meeting Tuesday, after an arduous process to meet the city's strict guidelines since the site is within the Old Town planning area.

Cobblestone Commons would be just south of Smoky Row Road (136th Street), between the Monon Greenway and First Avenue Northwest.

The $8.4 million project is the concept of Uptown Partners, a year-old company formed by longtime Carmel resident Justin Moffett and partner John Heston.

The land is owned by Moffett, who said he purchased it during a year's period starting in fall 2005, acting on a hunch that the downtown area was ripe for redevelopment.

"There are so many townhomes in Carmel," he said. "We feel we created a townhome alternative."

Each unit is designed to average 2,000 to 2,600 square feet with an asking price in the $325,000 to $375,000 range.

Moffett, who grew up in the neighborhood, said he spent more than a year meeting with land planners and collecting information from neighbors before filing a request with the city in October to rezone the site from residential to planned unit development.

Moffett said the city received more than 50 letters from Old Town neighbors in favor of the project.

"That's unprecedented," he said. "That really shows you the pulse of the community on where they are on this project."

Plan Commission member and City Councilman Brian Mayo made the motion to send the request without a recommendation to City Council for a final vote.
The vote was 5-4 in favor of the project, but a recommendation requires six votes.

cwilson758

March 27th, 2007, 07:38 PM

Here is some stuff on Carmel City Center. This project is amazing and I can't wait to see it finished.

http://www.carmelcitycenter.com

Site Plan:
http://www.carmelcitycenter.com/files/ccc_site_plan.pdf

WHAT WILL I FIND AT CARMEL CITY CENTER?
• Residences - 300 luxurious penthouses, condos and apartments
• Office - 170,000 square feet of premier office suites
• Retail & Dining - 230,000 square feet of exceptional independent boutique retail, fine dining and
exciting nightlife
• Hotel - 102 room boutique hotel with specialty suites, deluxe rooms, ballroom and meeting room space
• Recreation – Village Green, Spa, Fitness center, Monon Trail, Central Park nearby
• Culture – 1600 seat Performing Arts Center, 500 seat multi purpose theater, outdoor ampitheater,
public art, fountains and sculpture garden all located near Carmel’s Arts and Design District
• Parking – Two multi-level garages, an underground single level garage and street and surface parking
with about 2400 spaces
WHEN WILL CARMEL CITY CENTER OPEN?
• Carmel City Center will offer a limited selection of residential, office, retail and dining options as early
as fall of 2008 followed by a Grand Opening in the fall of 2010 when all aspects of the project are complete.
• Phase I Opening in fall of 2008 is planned to include:
• Residential – 108 apartments, condos and penthouses in two buildings
• Office – 19,000 square feet in one building
• Retail & Restaurants – up to 50,000 square feet
• Parking underground plus surface and street
• Grand Opening in the fall of 2010 is planned to include:
• Residential – remaining 142 apartments, condos and penthouses in three buildings
• Office – 110,000 square feet in five buildings
• Retail & Restaurants – up to 180,000 square feet
• Parking – three garages plus street and surface parking totaling 2400 spaces
• Performing Arts Center – 1500 seat world class concert hall
• Multi-Purpose Theater – 500 seat theater
• Ampitheater – for community and civic activities
• Boutique Hotel – 102 room hotel plus 10,000 square foot ballroom, signature restaurant and spa
• Village Green – public gathering space, farmer’s market, city festivals and celebrations
• Fountain Court – entertainment and gathering space for public and private events
• Expanded Monon Trail – widened trail with lanes for bicycling, walking or running and roller
blading, a Bikeport with locker room and storage facilities

arenn

March 27th, 2007, 10:22 PM

CorrND

March 27th, 2007, 10:33 PM

You can check out the latest renderings of the City Center here:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BG&Dato=20070321&Kategori=LOCAL0101&Lopenr=704210802&Ref=PH

I'm too lazy to repost the images here right now.
Wow, some of the elements will be quite tall, at least taller than I expected. Wren Tower appears to be tallest -- at least 8 maybe 9 usable stories plus the steep roof.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BG&Dato=20070321&Kategori=LOCAL0101&Lopenr=704210802&Ref=PH&Item=6&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Q=60

NaptownBoy

March 27th, 2007, 10:52 PM

Edit: Glad that Carmel has decent taste in architecture...

Unionstation13

March 28th, 2007, 12:21 AM

wow, those plans are pretty attractive.

k2h

March 28th, 2007, 12:24 AM

The renderings are quite impressive. It is very seldom i appreciate anything related to the suburbs, but this is an incredible development. I must commend Mayor James Brainard for his vision and leadership in getting this development to move forward. The Indianapolis region may get some much-deserved national recognition for good land use planning! Once complete, i think this development will definitely have an impact on future suburban development planning in the Indy metro area and will serve to educate the public on the numerous benefits of good land use planning.

Hopefully, this project will also "raise the bar" for projects downtown. With the increasing competition for residents/shoppers/tourists between Carmel and the city center, Indy downtown planners/decision-makers should finally wake up to the fact that recreating suburbia downtown is ill-conceived and promoting a diverse urban environment downtown is apropos.

Unionstation13

March 28th, 2007, 03:47 AM

arenn

March 28th, 2007, 08:42 PM

Carmel is already driving a lot of suburban change outside its borders. You can bet that items like roundabouts wouldn't be as big on the local agendas if Carmel hadn't put them there. Fishers is also looking at some type of a city center concept. Noblesville is trying to raise the bar on its downtown. Avon's thoroughfare plan uses nearly identical collector street cross-sections to Carmel, though none of them have actually been built yet.

Now roundabouts are a national trend and everyone always wants to improve their downtown, so let's not overstate the case. But I believe these trends are far more advanced locally because of what Carmel has done.

arenn

March 29th, 2007, 06:42 PM

http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=33088

Carmel unveils plans for $80 million performing arts center

Indianapolis Business Journal

By Tracy Donhardt, The IBJ

tdonhardt@ib.com

The seats in the new Carmel Performing Arts Center will be designed so music will be acoustically unaffected whether people are sitting in them or not.

The walls and jutting upper-level balconies will be curved so sound waves wrap around the hall, preventing sound from becoming focused in a single spot.

A suspended reflective canopy will be raised or lowered depending on the number and types of instruments being played so reverberation time stays perfect at all times, thus doing away with the need for microphones.

These are but a few of the design features that will go into the city's 1,600-seat orchestra hall being designed by Indianapolis-based CSO Architects Inc., which recently reverted to its original name from CSO Schenkel Shultz.

Only about a dozen similar orchestra halls exist in the country, said architect Dan Moriarty with CSO, who compared the performing arts center to Carnegie Hall in New York City.

It'll seat slightly fewer than the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Hilbert Circle Theatre downtown. That one, built as a silent-movie theater, holds about 1,800 patrons.

The Carmel hall is designed solely for music, said Moriarty, whose firm has designed Ball State University's Sursa Performance Hall and the Indiana Historical Society, which features musical performances throughout the year at its 300-seat Frank and Katrina Basile Theater.

CSO is working with David M. Schwarz Architectural Services Inc. in Washington, D.C. That firm designed the Maddox-Muse Center and the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, both in Fort Worth, Texas.

In addition to design decisions to make the interior acoustically superior, the shell of the building will be dense-likely made from Indiana limestone-to keep outside noise outside. Larger ductwork in the walls will allow air to flow in complete silence.

Patterned after the Villa Rotonda in Vicenza, Italy, the hall will be octagonal, with Palladian windows and columns spanning the exterior. It will eventually become the permanent home of the 32-year-old Carmel Symphony Orchestra, which now travels around through local high schools.

"We are really excited about having a permanent place to play," said Alan Davis, executive director of the symphony. "It will mark a major milestone in the history of the orchestra."

The hall will become part of Carmel's City Center and is being built in tandem with a 500-seat staged performance theater being designed by Pedcor Design Group, a unit of Pedcor Development.

"This has been a very exciting experience for us," said Steve Sturz, president of Pedcor Design Group, of the chance to build the theater, which is part of a mixeduse residential, retail and office project.

Pedcor Design has developed theaters in high schools and universities, but nothing on this scale, Sturz said. "This is quite honestly a fairly new thing for me."

The group is now working on the interior design, designing the layout for the right acoustics for live theater, which is different from that for an orchestra performance.

Patterned after the traditional architectural style of the surrounding city center Pedcor is developing, the challenge is to create a place where people can live amid the comings and goings of music and theater patrons, plus those who will work in the area and come to shop.

Multi-story parking will be segregated for those who live in the village, for those who work there, and for those visiting.

"We want to be sure if there's a performance going on, that someone who lives there can get home with their groceries," Sturz said. "We're all learning a lot. There are some adventures on a dayto-day basis."

Together, the orchestra hall and theater are an $80 million project long planned by Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, who said he expects to draw music lovers and theater goers from beyond Carmel's borders.

"There's been criticism that Carmel does not contribute to Indianapolis," Brainard said. "This will correct that."

The city will own the building, but lease it for 100 years to an as-yet-unnamed not-for-profit. Ground breaking is expected to take place at the end of this year, with completion slated for fall 2010.

The $80 million is being funded with revenue from the tax-increment financing district created nearly 10 years ago. Property taxes generated by new development within TIFs go toward financing future growth. Brainard needs another $50 million to come from private donations.

At least some of that will come from the Carmel Arts Council, said Doreen Squire Ficara, executive director of the council.

Originally from England, Ficara, 80, has actively led the council since 1994, a year after its inception.

The council is working to attract naming rights for some portion of the interior and make a contribution to the center's overall funding needs in return, said Ficara, whose council stages the Young Performers Showcase annually.

Calling herself too busy to worry about being old, Ficara plans to work closely with the city and Pedcor to get others to help fund the center she said will make Carmel's downtown a hot destination. "I just hope I don't get too old before it happens," she said.

KM1410

March 30th, 2007, 04:48 AM

Going up: Lurie Building

What: Lurie Building, a retail, office and condominium project.
Location: 130 W. Main St., Carmel.
Developer: Stenz Development.
Total space: 45,000 square feet.
Timetable: Groundbreaking in April 2006; opening planned in July.
Cost: About $5 million.
Features: Four-story masonry building, based on design of the old Kress Variety Stores. Evan Lurie Fine Art Gallery is on the first floor, with possible offices and four condominiums on the upper floors. The 3,000-plus- square-foot condo units are priced from $650,000.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070329&Kategori=BUSINESS&Lopenr=703290419&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0
Castle look: The 45,000-square-foot Lurie Building at 130 W. Main St. in Carmel offers retail, office and condominium space. An opening is planned in July.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007703290419

arenn

March 31st, 2007, 09:31 PM

Mayor insists city is fiscally fit; opponents fear financial crisis
Brainard defends debt load; foes attack it and the budget process

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

Though political opponents disagree, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard insists the city's finances are in great shape and the growing debt to pay for new development can be paid.

Mayor Jim Brainard says the city is managing its debt of about $230 million, and that double-digit growth is helping keep property tax rates low. He also said the city expects to increase its safety net -- or operating balance -- to $26 million by 2013. - Matt Dial / The Star

During the next five years, he projected the city will not only pay its bills and keep up the redevelopment of old downtown but also build its nest egg and keep property taxes in check.

"We have a financial plan, and we've managed the debt."

He said the city's rating among Wall Street bond brokers is one of the highest they award.

With financial adviser Curt Coonrod at his side, the mayor talked recently in his office about the city's general fund. He said it will keep a safety net -- or operating balance -- growing to $26 million by 2013.

Republican and Democratic opponents of Brainard's and current City Council members' fear the ambitious redevelopment of City Center and the Arts & Design District could cause a financial crisis within three years.

They estimate the city's current debt load at more than $290 million. Brainard puts the number closer to $230 million but doesn't include $55 million for the new Central Park, which is shared debt with Clay Township. He said the $230 million includes an $80 million bond sold to build the Performing Arts Center concert hall and theater buildings, plus about $70 million for roads.

Brainard also said developers are obligated to pay a large share of the city's bonds sold for infrastructure in special tax districts. Property taxes to be paid in the coming years on new business buildings are dedicated to pay those bonds, he said, so development supports itself.

Then there is Carmel's double-digit growth in population and building, which keeps expanding the property tax base.

"It is key to remember that we still have one of the lowest property tax rates in the whole state," Brainard said.

He claims the city's part of the 2006 tax rate, about 53 cents per $100 of assessed value, was the fifth lowest rate of all Indiana cities and could go lower in '07.

As the assessed value keeps going up -- estimated about $6.5 billion this year, up more than $1 billion from last year -- then the tax rate can go down.
The effect of growth and new construction can be a lower tax rate even as city government raises more money.

"Our property tax rates are not going up. Our fiscal plan is to fit within the growth," Brainard said.

The city's total budget for 2007 is $67.9 million for all funds except water and sewer service, which operates on user fees.

Income in the general fund was $49.4 million last year. It is projected to be $56 million this year, rising to $74 million by 2013.

Brainard and Coonrod's projections show spending to be generally $2 million to $3 million less than income each year. So, they intend to increase the cushion to $26 million, from $11 million now, during the next five years.

Brainard also insists that Carmel's debt from bonds and other borrowing is low compared to similar Indiana cities.

Opponents speak out

Few topics trigger reactions from the mayor's political opponents like city finances and the mayor's perceived power to control spending.

Property tax bills for 2007 are expected to go in the mail to landowners in June or July.

John Koven, running against Brainard in the Republican primary, said, "It's too bad the tax bills won't be in the hands of the voters before they have a chance to vote in May."

Koven, a former City Council member who split from the Brainard camp, said, "Carmel's method of setting a budget and tax rate is very unusual. It is different from about 98 percent of the cities and towns in Indiana.

"Most of them set a small increase in their budget each year and then try to live within their income," he said. "In Carmel, they force the system the other way for political purposes."

"The council passes a resolution to put a limit on the tax rate (for the next year), and then they give up the council's authority over the budget by letting the mayor set the rate," he said.

"They make a wish list and then have to cut it to stay within their income. But it is the mayor who has the final say. If he wants to support the arts rather than sidewalks, he can, because the council acquiesced its authority," Koven insisted.

Henry Winckler, the only Democrat running for mayor this year, believes the city's debt is close to $296 million but may include more owed by the Redevelopment Commission.

The bond payments are near $7.6 million in 2006, and they will double or triple in the next few years, Winckler insisted.

"Somebody will have to pay the bill. I don't care how much you squeeze down the (property tax) rate before the election, the chickens will still come home to roost," Winckler insisted.

He was referring to Brainard's recent letter to the state regulators of local government finance, in which he said the assessed value of property in the city is up 22 percent this year.

So the mayor asked that the 2007 property tax rate be cut by what he says is 22 percent, which he said effectively would keep the final tax bills for many Carmel landowners fairly stable.

Call Star reporter Bruce C. Smith at (317) 444-5526.

arenn

March 31st, 2007, 09:34 PM

The one that gets me is "Grande Boulevard". I'm not the ultimate expert on French, but Boulevard is a masucline noun, so the appropriate term would be "Grand Boulevard" as Grande is the feminine form, wouldn't it? I think somebody is getting too cutesy over at city hall.

First group of 19 Carmel projects is set to start

1. Cool Creek North Trail, new entryway from Monon Greenway to 146th Street.
2. East Grande Boulevard, from Guilford to Old Meridian streets.
3. West Grande Boulevard, from Old Meridian to 131st streets.
4. 136th Street, from Oak Ridge to Ditch roads.
5. Towne Road, from 116th to 146th streets.
6. Clay Center Road and 116th Street intersection.
7. Pennsylvania Street, from 103rd to 106th streets.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070331/LOCAL/703310351/1015/LOCAL01

Construction 'season' brings road, trail work
7 projects include Cool Creek North pathway to 146th

By Tania E. Lopez
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com

With warm weather looming, commuters will begin to see more construction projects in Carmel.

Work on six road projects is scheduled to start next month and continue through early 2009. While there are 19 projects planned, only work on the six roads and a trail are scheduled to begin this year, said Mayor Jim Brainard.

Funding for construction comes through a $72 million bond issue approved by the City Council last June.

Brainard said most of the improvements are being done on areas annexed by Carmel. He said the sheer size of the projects prompted the city to hire an outside consultant.

Over the next 31/2 years, the city will pay Beech Grove-based Crossroads Engineers PC up to $1.2 million to be program managers for the 19 projects.

The company is responsible for overseeing all work funded by the 2006 bond and is in charge of duties such as assisting the city engineer in obtaining bids and developing an overall budget and timelines for completion.

Brainard said the city had no choice but to seek outside help.

"This is a huge project for us," he said, adding that hiring a consultant on a temporary basis would prevent the city from having an overstaffed department after the projects were completed.

"Because of limited staff, we have to hire a consultant."

Crossroads has had a long history with Carmel and is working under a contract signed with the city 10 years ago. The company also will design one of the 19 projects.

The work includes creation of the Cool Creek North Trail, a spur that would connect the Monon Greenway to 146th Street and add a bridge over the creek.

Brainard said work on the trail won't begin until July 1, but most of the six road construction projects are scheduled to begin next week.

Call Star reporter Tania E. Lopez at (317) 444-5528.

arenn

April 8th, 2007, 03:51 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070408/LOCAL/704080411

The $55M playground
Take a hike, learn Japanese, run, dance and swim; you'll be able to do it all at Carmel's colossal park

See a 10 shot photo gallery here:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=BG&Date=20070408&Category=MULTIMEDIA01&ArtNo=704080805&Ref=PH

By Jason Thomas and Tania E. Lopez
jason.thomas@indystar.com

CARMEL, Ind. -- Think of the Monon Center at Central Park as a playground and a community center on steroids.

Water feature in the outdoor water park at the Monon Center in Central Park in Carmel. - Joe Vitti / Indianapolis Star

HAPPY TRAILS, FOR YOU

Take a hike or a ride on about five miles of trails connecting to the Monon Greenway, which extends from Downtown Indianapolis to the edge of Westfield. For weary trail users, the Monon Oasis is a glass second-story observation deck where they can relax on sofas and look out at the park's natural surroundings.

STUFF TO DO FOR FREE

• Bring your fishing pole: A 5-acre stormwater lagoon (above) will be transformed into a stocked fishing pond once the water warms up this spring. Wetlands make up about 10 percent of the 161-acre park.

• Grab your skateboard: A 10,000-square-foot urban-style skate park outside Monon Center West will be open during regular park hours.

A WATCHFUL WORKOUT

The 10,000-square-foot fitness center has TV-equipped cardio machines that let you monitor your children in the child-care center or just watch a show.

A WORLD OF WATER

Spin in the circular water slide or an enclosed body flume, or go slow and float down the lazy river in an outdoor aquatic facility that can cool up to 2,000 swimmers on the hottest of summer days. The flume and another open body slide both curve down a 35-foot-tall hill. The outdoor water park should open Memorial Day weekend. Ventilation problems have indefinitely postponed the opening of the year-round indoor aqua center, which has competition swim lanes and another pool with slides.

Alexandria Nichols, a manager with the National Recreational and Park Association, and other U.S. parks officials took a bus to the $55 million facility while it was under construction in January. As the center came into view, Nichols said, everyone reacted with one word:

"It definitely was, 'Wow.'

"It's almost like they have a visitors' center mixed in with a recreation facility. That's not something I've necessarily seen before," she said.

Local public officials will dedicate the park and its 146,000-square-foot center Saturday. A public opening, initially set for next Sunday, has been indefinitely postponed because of problems with the center's ventilation system, parks officials said. A grand opening of the outdoor water park is set for May 26.

The Monon Center joins a U.S. trend started in the 1990s to make community parks into more than just playgrounds, pools and concrete-block meeting halls.

Carmel property taxpayers are covering the cost of development, but user fees from locals as well as nonresidents will cover the paychecks of 200 employees, most of whom are part-time, and pay other expenses.

The center straddles the Monon Greenway, Carmel's name for Indy Parks' Monon Trail, which extends from Downtown Indianapolis to Carmel.

The facility features a mix of recreational facilities -- an indoor aqua center and an outdoor water park, a two-story gymnasium with three basketball courts ringed by an elevated walking/running track, a 10,000-square-foot fitness center -- combined with community gathering areas, such as a banquet facilities and computer labs.

Nichols said her national association will bring thousands of U.S. parks officials to a national conference in Downtown Indianapolis in September, and the Monon Center is one place they can visit, which will add to the state and national buzz coming from Carmel.

Carmel's facility copies many features of Plainfield's park district, especially the Plainfield Recreation and Aquatic Center. Carmel officials repeatedly visited the popular regional attraction west of Indianapolis while designing the Monon Center, said Nate Thorne, Plainfield's aquatics center director.

Plainfield's outdoor water park, the most popular of its attractions, draws people from as far away as Terre Haute, he said. About 30,000 visited the outdoor water park in the first two months it was opened last summer.
Thorne said the Plainfield facility and three other nearby parks have features similar to the Monon Center, but Central Park puts all the pieces into a single location.

Carmel officials anticipate the center becoming the region's quintessential park and recreation facility, in line with other ambitious projects in the Hamilton County city. The developing City Center and the Carmel Performing Arts Center projects also will be along the Monon Greenway.

"I can tell you that I don't think the people of Carmel and Clay Township are really prepared for what they're going to see out there" at Central Park, said Ron Carter, president of the Carmel City Council and executive director of Indiana Greenways.

"I think they're going to be blown away."

It began with a plan

Planning for Central Park began 11 years ago when the Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation Board developed a strategic plan that identified a need for a large, central park.

Judy Hagan, parks director at the time, said negotiations to purchase the wooded farmland that would become Central Park began in 1997.

Three years later, Hagan, then the Clay Township trustee, wrote a check for $5 million to purchase the land.

"What was really cool about Central Park was being able to acquire property that was on the (Monon Greenway) trail," said Hagan, who retired from the trustee's office in December.

"There was a growing sense that if we didn't do something now, the opportunity would be lost because the land would be so expensive."

Despite its rapid population growth and land development, Carmel has lacked park amenities, according to parks director Mark Westermeier.

"The most exciting project, prior to this, was a sled hill in West Park," Westermeier said. "This is a major departure from where the park system has been and where it's going."

Designing the park

What makes the facility unique to architects and officials alike is that the Monon Center is built over the Monon Greenway, which passes underneath an enclosed walkway called the Monon Oasis, dividing the center into east and west buildings.

"The interaction to the Monon Trail is what really attracted us to do it," said Frank Parisi, an associate with Carol Stream, Ill.-based Williams Architects, adding that the Monon Center is the most unique of the firm's half-dozen large parks projects.

Parisi's firm took advantage of the natural lay of the land in designing the facility. Central Park's size, 161 acres, nearly matches that of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and its grounds.

A 5-acre lagoon will collect stormwater, saving it from entering the city's drainage system, and become a stocked fishing pond. Plus, about five miles of trails snake through the wetlands and specialty gardens, providing another recreational outlet.

Also, a filtration system will remove chemicals from the pool water before it deposits into the lagoon.

Who pays?

These attractions don't come cheap, however. A 20-year bond issued in 2004 covered the park's $55 million price tag. Carmel and Clay Township homeowners will pay an average of $96 per year in taxes on property assessed at $200,000.

Another issue is how to pay for upkeep of the facility.

"Oftentimes you can get the funding to build the facility, but it becomes very challenging in trying to generate enough revenue to operate the facility without cutting programming," Nichols said.

Funds to operate the Monon Center at Central Park -- Westermeier estimates it would cost $2.5 million each year -- will come from user fees.

Fees can cover the entire center and park, or just a portion of it.

Fees to use all of the facilities range from $10 for a daily pass to yearly passes at $1,040 per household for Carmel residents. So far, Westermeier said, about 1,000 memberships have been sold.

Nonresidents will pay higher fees, ranging from $15 for a daily pass to yearly passes at $1,560 per household.

At the outdoor water park, daily fees will be $5 to $8 for residents and $8 to $12 for nonresidents.

Residents this week should receive the "Escape Guide" by mail, a 72-page booklet of programs and prices for May through August, according to marketing director Lindsay Dudeck.

Parts of the park, including the fishing pond, the trails and the skate park, are free to all, though.

Getting fees set and doing other pre-opening tasks have kept administrators busier than usual in recent days. A vision 10 years in the making finally is about to become reality -- something Westermeier finds hard to believe.

"So many people worked so many hours on this project that has been going on for so many years and has had so many people involved," he said. "It's sort of hard to put into words what it all means."

Star Public Service Team Editor Gregg Montgomery contributed to this story.

arenn

April 8th, 2007, 08:20 PM

Hey, there's also a pretty cool interactive tool. This thing is loaded with stuff, including free wi-fi.

http://www2.indystar.com/images/graphics/2007/04/0408_mononcenter/

I'll post one picture.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BG&Dato=20070408&Kategori=MULTIMEDIA01&Lopenr=704080805&Ref=PH&Item=1&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Q=80

unvrsty07

April 12th, 2007, 10:09 AM

At Old Town Shops, it's hard to walk on by

Oil paintings with bright colors, dreamy landscapes and even a portrait of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning can stop passers-by in their tracks at Carmel's Old Town Shops.

What's old is new again: The Old Town Shops in Carmel are an example of the new urbanism building trend: curbside shops with old-style facades meant to attract pedestrian traffic. Where's the parking? In back, hidden from view. - STEVE HEALEY / The Star

Art galleries and boutiques fill in the ground-level retail spaces in the two new Old Town buildings at the southeast corner of Main Street and Range Line Road.
The three- and four-story structures were envisioned as live-work designs that mix ground-level retail shops with apartments for the businesses' owners on upper floors.
But with each three-story unit selling for $500,000 to $800,000, nearly all of the space is being earmarked for retailing, art galleries and other income-producing uses. Only two of the units remain for sale.
"This is working out better than we could have expected," said Pedcor Cos. Vice President Melissa Averitt. "The first-floor shops are very nice. They're the unique and high-end retail that we wanted."
The $10 million project has been a public-private partnership between the Carmel's Redevelopment Commission and Carmel-based Pedcor.
Old Town Shops is a an example of the "new urbanism" Mayor Jim Brainard and other Carmel officials are promoting to revitalize Main and other sections of the city's old core.
For example, Pedcor designed the Old Town Shops to be close to the sidewalks, just like the old downtown retail districts. That makes them perfect for window shopping.
Such buildings still can attract a lot of car traffic, but it's hard to tell from the front. The parking lot, elevator lobbies and metal balconies for the second and third floors are tucked behind the buildings.
The two buildings that form Old Town Shops may appear old in style, with their early-1900s look of brick and decorative limestone. But construction crews finished most of the exterior work in the past few months.
One of the tenants, Carmel Chamber of Commerce President Mo Merhoff, said she loves the view up Main Street from her third-floor office, above the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The core of Carmel's Arts and Design District now is bracketed by two new retail/office developments with architecture reminiscent of urban designs of a century ago.
They are the Old Town Shops, with nearly 50,000 square feet of space in the first block of East Main, and the Amli building, 20,000 square feet in the 200 block of West Main.
It's not unusual to see people wandering off the Monon Trail and walking up and down Main. They have plenty to see as they peek in windows of the new shops and restaurants.
Artist Magdalena Hoyos-Segovia displays her paintings and the work of others, particularly South American painters, in her two-story gallery that includes a children's theater.
There are offices for insurance and investment companies, a publishing operation, real estate sales offices, and Evansville-based Union Fidelity Bank, which has ties to Pedcor.
The Tree Haus Boutique and CC Home decor shops also now call Old Town Shops home.
John Heinzinger and his wife, Cherie Piebes, moved their Artisan Masterpiece gallery and studio from another site in Carmel to a three-floor unit at 19 E. Main St. The show and sales galleries are on the first two floors, and a studio on the third floor is for painting and pottery classes.
Heinzinger said it was pricey, but added, "We're thrilled by the (Pedcor) design and construction and the location. We really wanted to be in the Arts and Design District."
Inside another tenant's shop, Wes Dwyer's Art and Soul gallery, is the painting of Manning, the Colts quarterback, by K.W. "Kim" Gilbert.
Gilbert created the painting to capture the moment in 2004 when Manning threw his 49th touchdown pass to set an NFL single-season record.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070412&Kategori=BUSINESS&Lopenr=704120467&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

cwilson758

April 12th, 2007, 03:47 PM

I think that Carmel has the right idea with regards to density, but I can't help but think that the City will look like a big version of Epcot or Disney World.

Unionstation13

April 12th, 2007, 03:53 PM

well, so far, alot of the buildings are actually tasteful,
hopefully that city centre doesen't become a wreck..

arenn

April 12th, 2007, 06:43 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070412/LOCAL1802/704120361/1195/LOCAL18

April 12, 2007

Dan McFeely
Broad Ripple, Carmel ideas meld

Broad Ripple seems to be "Carmelizing" these days.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070412&Kategori=LOCAL1802&Lopenr=704120361&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

I know that hurts village veterans who have long held up their noses whenever someone even mentions the word Carmel.

After all, isn't Broad Ripple the anti-Carmel of all anti-Carmels? Young, hip, racially diverse.

As far away from predominantly white suburbia as you can get? Perhaps.

But in a new world of new urbanism, the ugly truth is this: Free-standing commercial-only buildings are a thing of the past.

The new trend is the kind of building you see on this page. Read more in Cathy Kightlinger's excellent stories on Pages 3 and 4 today.

This new building will have three stories, not one. More than just a quaint little shop, it will feature office space on the second floor, high-priced condos on the top floor.

In other words, it's going to look a lot like the new buildings sprouting in downtown Carmel.

Add to that the relatively new condos that have been built in Broad Ripple -- very much like the condos I see in, um, you know where . . .

Am I the only one seeing a trend here?

Are we going to need some new signage to tell these two communities apart?

Now, the folks of Broad Ripple really should feel pretty good about this.
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard has often said he wants to duplicate their quaint, village atmosphere in his suburban city. He has often specifically mentioned Broad Ripple in conversation.

Clearly, he is a fan.

And, clearly, he is trying to duplicate -- if not one-up -- the village by creating a new Arts and Design District.

The other day, my wife and I enjoyed a wonderful pizza at Bazbeaux while watching people rollerblade on the Monon Trail.

We were in Carmel, not Broad Ripple.

But who could tell?

KM1410

April 14th, 2007, 09:02 PM

Carmel to get $30M hotel
Office growth lures Renaissance to North Meridian corridor

A prestigious, full-service hotel soon will complement Carmel’s booming office market along North Meridian Street.

A Cincinnati developer broke ground this month on a roughly $30 million Renaissance hotel with 263 rooms and 14,000 square feet of meeting space. The Renaissance Indianapolis North will sit on 122nd Street, between Meridian and Pennsylvania streets, just north of Conseco Inc.’s headquarters.

The developer, Winegardner & Hammons Inc., bought the eight-acre property from Californiabased Panattoni Development Co., which bought it from Conseco. Both sales were brokered by locally based Resource Commercial Real Estate.

The new hotel will feature a great room with a library and fountain, executive boardrooms, a 7,500-square-foot ballroom, a Starbucks and a restaurant dubbed grille31.

The eight-story hotel will rise amid major new office projects from Opus North Corp., Lauth Property Group, Duke Realty Corp. and Panattoni that are slated to add more than a half-million square feet of office space to the thriving corridor.

“There would not be a Renaissance going up there if North Meridian were not the corporate address that it is,” said Rob S. Hunden, a hospitality consultant with Chicago-based Hunden Strategic Partners, which has helped develop several Indianapolis projects. “This is a real step up for Carmel.”

The Renaissance isn’t the only project in the works that would add to Carmel’s roster of about 1,200 hotel rooms, which are mostly in small, limited-service hotels along U.S. 31.

Pedcor Development Co. is slated to build a 110-room conference hotel at City Center, and Browning Investments has filed plans with the city to build two new hotels as part of a 20-acre retail and office complex northeast of U.S. 31 and 131st Street. Neither developer has revealed brand names for their projects.

The new Renaissance will be Indiana’s first for the Marriott-owned brand, a slightly more fashion-forward concept similar to Starwood’s W hotels. Prices likely will be comparable to the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, where the rate on a recent weeknight was $149, or Renaissance Chicago North Shore, where the rate was $109.

Another Renaissance hotel is in the works for downtown Indianapolis as part of a $250 million complex of hotels near White River State Park. That project, a partnership of White Lodging Services Corp. and REI Real Estate Services, will include a 1,000-room JW Marriott convention hotel slated to open in January 2010.

For Carmel, the Renaissance is just one more amenity that will help keep taxes low, said Mayor Jim Brainard. The city did not offer incentives to entice the developers but granted a variance for a larger-than-usual sign to give the hotel more visibility. The hotel, which is slated to open in late summer 2008, will be accessible from 116th Street, Carmel Drive and Old Meridian Street.

“It’s a prestigious name,” Brainard said. “We’re very happy.”

Winegardner & Hammons owns and operates about a dozen other Marriottbranded hotels in several states. The company was drawn to Carmel by attractive demographics, rapid residential growth and a strong office market, said Cindy Swift, the company’s business development director.

Other developers had been reluctant in the past to build a new, full-service hotel in Carmel, but new office buildings and hospital facilities and a strengthening hotel market likely helped make the pitch this time, Hunden said.

Average occupancy in Hamilton County hotels has lingered at around 60 percent since 2001, as available rooms jumped from 1,400 to more than 2,000 in 2006, according to data from Hendersonville, Tenn.-based Smith Travel Research. But revenue per available room, a key measure of success for hotels, has steadily risen in the county, from an average of $45 in 2001 to $54.47 in 2006.

The new Renaissance should give the county’s office market another boost by offering a new amenity for tenants, Hunden said. It also could help Indianapolis as the city bids on major events like the Super Bowl.

http://chicago.ibj.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=IBJ/2007/04/16/3/Img/Pc0030500.jpg

arenn

April 14th, 2007, 09:30 PM

IIRC, there was actually some controversy about that Renaissance Hotel because it used template architecture that included exposed mechanicals on the roof in violation of the normal requirement for the Meridian corridor.

arenn

May 4th, 2007, 02:04 PM

Carmel wins the AMLI annexation case. I am personally very surprised by this as I thought this was a lost cause. Carmel now includes a sliver of Washington Township. I'm not sure how much applicability this has to their other cases.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070504/LOCAL/705040332/1155/LOCAL010103

City wins court fight to annex apartments
Issue had been key in now-resolved spat

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

CARMEL -- The Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday on a Carmel annexation -- but it wasn't the highly anticipated decision on whether the city can annex southwest Clay Township.

While the Supreme Court still is considering that case, it issued an opinion on Carmel's attempt to annex an apartment complex just north of 146th Street.
In August 2004, Carmel was engaged in a heated annexation dispute with neighboring Westfield. Both communities were vying to annex a 7.5-square mile area in Hamilton County's Washington Township.

Westfield had been responsible for planning the area, but Carmel tried to swallow the land, citing concerns about Westfield's planning standards.

At that time, Carmel moved to annex the AMLI apartment complex just north of 146th Street at Spring Mill Road. The annexation was key at the time, because it would have placed Carmel's boundaries within three miles of the parcel both Westfield and Carmel were seeking to annex.

Under state law, if a town's annexation bid is within three miles of a city, it must gain that community's approval for the annexation.

At Carmel's request, the apartment complex asked to be annexed. But Westfield argued Carmel couldn't annex across 146th Street because the county owned the roadway and not the city.

Neighbors Carl Michael Steele and Victoria A. Russo-Steele filed a lawsuit challenging Carmel's annexation on behalf of Westfield's argument.

A Hamilton County court ruled Carmel could not annex the area, but the Indiana Supreme Court reversed that decision Wednesday.

The annexation no longer holds the same significance, however. Since then, Carmel has dropped its efforts to annex north of 146th Street, allowing Westfield to do so.

"We're very encouraged with the job Westfield has been doing the last couple years and they've made great improvements in their planning and zoning," said Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, who applauded the court ruling.

"But at the time, we were greatly concerned about what was happening on that 146th Street boundary because all the traffic generated by planning decisions made up there affects Carmel."

Carmel's annexation of the apartment complex marks the only area of the city to extend north of 146th Street.

Even after Carmel decided to allow Westfield to annex the 7.5 square miles in Washington Township, Brainard said it was still important to challenge the Hamilton County court decision.

"I think it's important for cities to establish good state law on issues like this," Brainard said. "This was a poor interpretation of the law that needed to be corrected."

City leaders are awaiting a Supreme Court decision in its annexation of 8.3 square miles in southwest Clay Township.

Oral arguments in that case were held in March. A decision is expected in the next few months.

KM1410

May 5th, 2007, 04:26 AM

Ingersoll moves to Conseco building

Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies moved into the landmark Conseco buildings in Carmel that once served as the insurance company's luxurious headquarters.

Though Ingersoll Rand has roots in Indiana dating back 100 years, it frequently has been overlooked as one of the state's largest corporations.

Moving to the higher profile address in the 11800 block of Pennsylvania Street will lift the company's profile, plus it consolidates other operations and gives room for growth.

"This will help us to work together and better as a team," said Richard M. Goldsbury, president of global product and business strategy for the Ingersoll Rand division.

"We had considered building a new office, and we looked at sites in Fishers and Carmel and several places. But this is a good location for our employees and it fits us," he said.

The company, which makes mechanical and electronic security systems such as door locks, electronic key pads and high tech security systems for airports, is one of five main divisions of the international Ingersoll Rand.

The lock and security division has about 14,000 employees worldwide including the 375 in engineering, sales, marketing, human resources and other administrators who have moved to the Carmel headquarters.

The company moved to the building from other sites, including an office building located a few blocks away in Carmel. And the senior management of Security Technologies also moved the national headquarters here from New Jersey.

Wall Street-traded Ingersoll Rand reports about $10 billion a year in sales. The lock and security division, with $2 billion in annual sales, is ranked the sixth largest corporation headquartered in Central Indiana and 12th largest in the state.

The campus in the Meridian office corridor includes three buildings -- a central structure of four stories and two wings of two stories -- nestled among dense, tall trees.

The glittering Conseco sign high above the columned main entry is gone, replaced by the red Ingersoll Rand name.

Conseco sold its headquarters buildings and other adjacent land while recovering from bankruptcy.

The new, streamlined and rejuvenated insurance company has consolidated in other Conseco office buildings nearby.

Real estate experts have estimated the purchase price of the property between $6 million and $7.8 million.

Ingersoll Rand also remodeled or updated most of the 120,000 square feet with carpeting, wall coverings and paint.

The ornate fourth floor executive suite, once the domain of Conseco founder Steve Hilbert, has not been taken over as offices for the Ingersoll Rand leadership. Instead, the space will be used as a conference and meeting center for the company.

Hilbert's fourth floor offices were designed and decorated much like his well-publicized but vacant $25 million French Renaissance mansion in Carmel, which is for sale.

Ingersoll Rand has kept some of the rich flavor but toned it down with more contemporary office furniture and carpets over the wood inlaid floors.

On a tour of the building, Goldsbury said "this floor (Hilbert's fourth floor) was a little beyond" the Ingersoll Rand corporate style.

Gone are the museum-quality paintings and art works that Conseco sold to pay debts. Gone are some of elaborate chandeliers to be replaced by simplified but currently stylish, frosted glass light fixtures.

Still remaining are the rich cherry woodwork, ornate fireplaces in the board rooms, marble bathrooms and a domed ceiling above a round conference room table.

This week, workers were cleaning up and repairing the decorative lighting in the landscaped courtyard formed in the triangular space behind the buildings.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070504/LOCAL/705040577

arenn

May 5th, 2007, 04:19 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070501/BUSINESS/705010342/1155/LOCAL010103

Health-services hub
Carmel, educated worker base lure life-sciences employers

By John Russell
john.russell@indystar.com

When Scott Law drives to his Carmel office, he passes dozens of doctors' offices, medical clinics, health-consulting firms and medical suppliers, located up and down the North Meridian Street corridor.

Backdrop for new business: Scott Law, CEO of Zotec Solutions, which supplies billing software and services for physicians' practices, says Carmel's amenities and its educated populace are reasons companies like his are expanding their presence in the city. - Charlie Nye / The Star

If he drives a little farther, he can see some of the features that are attracting all the health-related companies: dozens of upscale subdivisions, filled with some of the highest-educated workers in Indiana. Hiking trails. A concert hall and arts center. A new recreation complex.

"Have you driven around Carmel lately? It's a beautiful environment with a great employee pool," said Law, founder, president and chief executive of Zotec Solutions, which supplies billing software and services for physicians' practices.

North Meridian Street -- once known as an insurance corridor when Conseco was one of Central Indiana's highest-profile companies -- is gradually bulking up as a health-services corridor.

And the biggest reason that companies and experts cite for the trend: an ability to tap into a highly educated labor pool and offer high-paying jobs close to home.

That's not to say that Downtown Indianapolis is in danger of losing its claim as a major life-sciences hub in favor of Carmel. The larger city is home to major hospitals, a medical school, a life-sciences incubator, and life-sciences giants such as Eli Lilly, Dow AgroSciences and Roche Diagnostics.

Carmel officials dismiss any suggestion that they are winning, or even playing, a heated battle with Indianapolis for the title of life-sciences heavyweight.
"If Indianapolis succeeds, that helps Carmel, and vice versa," Carmel Mayor James Brainard said. "We're all in this together, all of Central Indiana."

But the new business development does increase Carmel's tax base and budget for such amenities as parks and roads.

As a region, the Indianapolis metro area ranks No. 9 in the nation for total life-sciences employment, beating out larger tech hubs such as San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C., according to a study by Battelle, a nonprofit think tank based in Columbus, Ohio.

But Carmel is notching up some big wins in the sector for company expansions and job creation. In recent months, two of the region's biggest jobs announcements were connected to health-services companies on North Meridian.

Last month, Zotec said it had completed a merger with a California company that will nearly triple its size, and will add jobs to about 100 it has in Carmel. Zotec, founded in 1998, does business with about 4,000 physicians in 42 states.

In March, Oxford BioSignals Medical, a maker of computer systems and software used to monitor patients' vital signs, said in March it would relocate its corporate headquarters from the United Kingdom to Carmel.

The move is expected to create 120 high-paying jobs in Carmel in the next five years. Oxford already employs seven people in Carmel.

Frank Cheng, Oxford's chief executive, said location and lifestyle factors are important when recruiting employees.

"You can show people great technology and great career opportunities, but at the end of the day, people want to live close to where they work, and Carmel is a wonderful place to live," he said.

Other health-related companies are gravitating to Carmel, from tech providers to medical-reimbursement firms.

Last month, a medical-technology company, Maaguzi, said it would consolidate its North American operations in Indiana and promised to bring 42 new jobs to Carmel, in addition to the 10 workers it already has here.
The company uses computer technology that allows patients to use the Internet instead of paper diaries to record their information during clinical drug trials.

"What we're all witnessing is the growing network of service providers that are popping up along that North Meridian corridor," said Todd Pedersen, director of life sciences for the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

Even major law firms have set up branch offices in Carmel in recent years to help the growing network of health providers deal with regulatory agencies, reimbursement claims, patent issues and business expansions.

Go back a year or two and the list gets even longer, with firms such as Marcadia Biotech, which started up in 2005 to develop a synthetic hormone for diabetics.

For some local officials, it's no surprise that health-technology and related service companies are springing up in Hamilton County. Health is one of the economy's fastest-growing sectors, and often requires employees highly skilled in information technology, life sciences and business management.
Hamilton County is ranked No. 1 in Indiana for the percentage of people over 25 who have a bachelor's degree or higher educational level. Hamilton County's median household income is $80,691, the sixth-highest among counties nationally.

"When it comes to technicians, researchers, analysts, those types of people with scientific talent, this part of the market is very strong," said Jeff Burt, president of the Hamilton County Alliance, an economic development group.

araman0

May 5th, 2007, 06:28 PM

All this Carmel developement is simply amazing. Last time I was there (over 2 years ago) it looked like the town was on the verge of blowing up. Maybe a photo tour is in order to update people like me (and people who have never seen this town before) of all the cool things going on there right now?

araman0

May 5th, 2007, 06:29 PM

Wow, some of the elements will be quite tall, at least taller than I expected. Wren Tower appears to be tallest -- at least 8 maybe 9 usable stories plus the steep roof.

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?NewTbl=1&Avis=BG&Dato=20070321&Kategori=LOCAL0101&Lopenr=704210802&Ref=PH&Item=6&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Q=60

Will this become the city's tallest when buit?

arenn

May 9th, 2007, 04:20 AM

FYI: Mayor Brainard won the Republican primary, though he appears to have lost some supporters on the city council.

araman, I'm not sure if that will be the tallest or not. In fact, I'm not even sure what the tallest building is there now. Is it one of the Meridian Mark towers at US 31/116th?

I've got quite a few Carmel photos, but am too lazy to get around to uploading them all, plus I don't have a good hosting site for them. I'll try to put a few out there as time permits.

arenn

May 10th, 2007, 06:46 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/BUSINESS/705100451

Capital Group expanding operations into Carmel
Investment management company will move some workers, hire 350

By Tom Spalding
tom.spalding@indystar.com

Hoosier economic leaders like it when out-of-state companies establish roots on Indiana soil. They love when those firms decide to spread out.

Spreading out: The Capital Group is expanding its operations into this building at 12911 N. Meridian St. The company already employs 1,000 people at its offices in Woodfield Crossing. Some of those workers will move to the new site, and hundreds more will be hired. - ALAN PETERSIME / The Star 2006 file photo

The Capital Group Cos.
• What: Privately held mutual fund firm that manages American Funds, the largest U.S. stock and mutual fund group.

• Headquarters: Los Angeles.

• History: Founded by Jonathan Bell Lovelace in 1931 as Capital Research and Management Co.

• President: Philip de Toledo.

• Employees: 8,000.

• Locations: 20 offices worldwide, including Indianapolis.

• Subsidiaries: Capital International, Capital Guardian, Capital Research and Management, Capital Bank & Trust, and American Funds.

• 2005 revenue: $9.2 billion.

Source: Capital Group

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070510&Kategori=BUSINESS&Lopenr=705100451&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

That's the situation with California-based The Capital Group Cos., which today is announcing a $32 million expansion, along with 350 new jobs, for Carmel and Indianapolis' Far Northside.

Central Indiana beat out six other regions for the rights to the international investment management company's expansion, which will generate accounting, investment and finance positions. Average annual wages will be more than $50,000.

"Nearly 70 percent of our competitive wins are with companies that have a presence in our state," said Commerce Secretary Nathan Feltman, president of Indiana Economic Development Corp. "Frankly, our best opportunities are with companies that are here."

Capital Group joins Maaguzi, Oxford BioSignals Medical and ACES Power Marketing as firms expanding their presence in the region.

"It's going to benefit Indianapolis and Carmel. The jobs will be in both areas," Feltman said.

The privately held Capital Group employs nearly 1,000 in its Woodfield Crossing/North Keystone corridor office, established in 1994.

It plans to move 300 retirement account record keepers and trustees in its Capital Bank & Trust Co. unit from Indy to a new three-story building at 12911 N. Meridian St., in Carmel, by the end of the year.

Capital reports it then will "backfill" in Indianapolis, using the space to hire for Capital's American Funds operations.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard and Feltman said the expansion brings diversity. North Meridian Street, in particular, once known as an insurance corridor when Conseco was one of Central Indiana's highest-profile companies, is gradually bulking up as a health-services corridor.

"It brings the types of professional opportunities that are perfectly suited to our well-educated workforce," Brainard said.

L.G. Edwards, general manager at the American Funds operation in Indianapolis, said the decision to expand here came down to the region's smart, ethical work force. Folks are loyal, he said, and that keeps attrition low.

"We think it's an ideal location," Edwards said.

He said the big reason to locate to Hamilton County is to draw on the rapid growth of Fishers, Noblesville and Carmel. "It puts us in the middle of that."
It continues a recent surge of new job growth in Carmel.

Already this year, Maaguzi announced its decision to add 42 new high-tech jobs for its health-care clinical-trial technology to the 10 it has in Carmel.
United Kingdom-based Oxford BioSignals Medical, which creates patient-monitoring technology, also said it would locate its global life-science headquarters in Carmel, bringing 120 new high-tech jobs to the seven it had there already.

And ACES Power Marketing, a nationally recognized wholesale energy risk management and transaction execution services firm, recently announced that it will expand its national headquarters here, adding 25 jobs to its 113-person staff.

unvrsty07

May 10th, 2007, 10:21 PM

I have to be honest, with all of carmels fantastic development news recently and continuing news, it is reallymaking me think twice about moving to dt indy and rather moveto dt carmel after law school. If there was rail transit I would move to dt carmel in a heart beat.

Unionstation13

May 10th, 2007, 10:24 PM

as neat and amazing as downtown Carmel is, downtown Indianapolis still has that gritty, old city feel. But downtown carmel is very attractive, I like their idea of new urbanism, rather than wendys galore and targets, they have made a sort of 19th century looking city, that resembles Indy, and Indiana towns alot.

arenn

May 25th, 2007, 05:30 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070524/LOCAL010103/705240329/1155/LOCAL010103

May 24, 2007

Art deco drugstore coming to WestClay

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

The nation's first -- and likely only -- art deco CVS is coming to the Village of WestClay.

Renderings of the planned CVS pharmacy for the Village of WestClay, featuring an art deco style of architecture, is the first CVS in the country to match WestClay's unique architectural standards. - Rendering provided by Brenwick Development Co.

The decision by the convenience store giant marks the first national chain to build in the new urbanism village known for its 19th- and early 20th-century architecture.

But to locate in WestClay, CVS had to design a one-of-a-kind building to match the high architectural standards held by Brenwick Development Co., which started developing the Village of WestClay in 2000.

"This is definitely one of a kind," said Tom Mariani, vice president of Gershman Brown & Associates, which selects and develops sites for CVS.

"This is not a trend for CVS. This was really a matter of fitting into the environment of the village. This is the first time we've done anything this unusual."

Construction on the store begins this week and is scheduled to wrap up by the end of the year.

Talks between CVS and Brenwick weren't always easy, though. It took two years to strike a deal.

"Like laws and sausage, you don't want to watch it being made, but we got there," said Brenwick president and chief executive officer George Sweet.
"Somehow they decided what we were smokin' was smokeable."

As originally planned, all of WestClay's commercial development was to be located in the village's center. Carmel's City Council capped the project's commercial development at 275,000 square feet.

Sweet said Brenwick's intent was to get local entrepreneurs to open small businesses to serve the village. But he said it became apparent the village would need businesses like banks and convenience stores that require drive-throughs, making it impossible to match 19th-century architecture that preceded the automobile.

The solution was to create the Village of WestClay Uptown, which has 15 parcels for commercial development, shifting 100,000 square feet of commercial development from the village's center to an area at the southwest corner of 131st Street and Towne Road.

All the businesses in that area are required to build with an art deco architectural style reminiscent of the early 1900s.

Sweet said it hasn't been an easy sell, though.

Many major chains, including a bank, have declined to divert from their usual cookie-cutter style buildings.

"They say, 'You must be out of your mind. We don't do that. That's not how we do it, this is how we do it.' " Sweet said. "We tell them if you don't want to change the architecture, then we don't need to talk anymore."

CVS' decision took a lot of persuasion from both Brenwick and Indianapolis-based Gershman Brown.

"It took a lot of convincing and selling with CVS," Mariani said. "We had to really take them around the village and show them everything that was going on and how they could fit in."

Still, the inside of the store will be similar to others CVS has built.

"The bones of the building are exactly like every new CVS we're doing," Mariani said. "It's the same size, has a drive-through, and it's going to lay out similar on the interior."

Mission accomplished.

"What I see is that this is a high-style art deco building with a great deal of very good detail. It's going to be a striking building," Sweet said.

cwilson758

May 25th, 2007, 07:14 PM

ya gotta post pics:

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070524&Kategori=LOCAL010103&Lopenr=705240329&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

This is a planner wet dream. I love the design.

Unionstation13

May 25th, 2007, 08:31 PM

"They say, 'You must be out of your mind. We don't do that. That's not how we do it, this is how we do it.' " Sweet said. "We tell them if you don't want to change the architecture, then we don't need to talk anymore."

WOW, I wish that the city council in Indianapolis was like that. =/

arenn

May 28th, 2007, 11:04 PM

Sorry, I was in a hurry when I posted that and didn't have time to put in pics.

I'd be willing to bet money this isn't the last one of those designs CVS puts in. I'm guessing that they'll replicate it in similar upscale locations across the country.

Again, Carmel looks to exploit its leverage as a desirable location to get a far above average development. I hope the rest of the metro area is taking notes.

cwilson758

May 31st, 2007, 06:52 PM

Downtown Carmel will look great when it is finished...here is another project that u/c:

http://216.37.14.55/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/the-shoppes-at-providence-at-old-meridian.jpg

The new residential-over-retail project is set to open soon with a Dattolo’s Italian Restaurant, When Eddie Met Salad and Brockway Irish Pub. The project, developed by Buckingham Cos., is northeast of Old Meridian and 126th streets, across the street from Meijer. Other tenants include Bekah’s Salon & Spa, a pilates studio and a sub shop.

arenn

June 2nd, 2007, 03:48 AM

The Old Meridian corridor is certainly primed for development, especially when the road project wraps up. Here's a pic I took of that same building a few months ago.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/48/394355552_665f66dcce_b.jpg

hoosier

June 2nd, 2007, 08:56 PM

It is a shame when a suburb of Indianapolis has higher standards for urban design than Indianapolis itself.

Good for Carmel. I hope Indy takes notice of what its suburb to the north is doing.

cityfan

June 5th, 2007, 05:24 AM

Man, this seems to be like daily news now in Carmel. The amount of new high-wage high-tech jobs coming into Carmel is incredible.

Carmel tech firm to add 100 workers

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

Banking software company Baker Hill of Carmel announced this afternoon it will add at least 100 jobs over the next four years.

The company chose to stay and expand its operations in Carmel over offers to relocate to Schaumburg, Ill. and California.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation will give Baker Hill up to $3 million in tax credits, based on the number of employees the company adds. The state also will chip in $133,500 in training grants for Baker Hill's new employees.

In addition, Carmel will pay the company $216,000 in personal property tax abatements over the next decade.

Baker Hill, a subsidiary of Dublin, Ireland-based Experian, currently employs 195 software engineers and financial professionals in an office building it leases near 131st and Meridian streets. The company plans to expand its operation in that building.

"Today, I'm really excited to announce we're expanding our headquarters here in Carmel," said Joe Kuntz, president of Baker Hill. "We're going to add more than 100 professional, highly-paid jobs here over the course of the next four years. These jobs will be filled be highly educaed and very talented individuals."

Kuntz said the average salary of the employees the company plans to add would be $74,000.

arenn

June 13th, 2007, 02:34 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070613/LOCAL0101/706130342/1155/LOCAL010103

Brainard will continue push for roundabouts

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

State officials have picked a firm to complete the detailed design work to make U.S. 31 a limited-access highway through Hamilton County.

Mayor Jim Brainard says the state's upgrade of Meridian Street in the county should use roundabout-like interchanges, like the one sketched (above) in a plan for 136th Street and Keystone Avenue. - Rich Miller / The Star

For years, the Indiana Department of Transportation has planned to eliminate traffic signals on the highway in Carmel and Westfield.

Last month, the state selected Indianapolis-based RW Armstrong to handle the design of the project.

INDOT already has federal approval to expand U.S. 31 through Kokomo and South Bend, the other two phases of the Indy-to-South Bend project.

Work on the highway through Hamilton County is the final segment of the U.S. 31 upgrades and is scheduled for groundbreaking in 2011 and completion in 2016.

As the design of the Hamilton County segment moves forward, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said he plans to lobby against constructing traditional highway interchanges.

But under original design plans, that's exactly what INDOT called for at Meridian Street's major intersections in Carmel and Westfield.

Carmel has fought those plans, saying the interchanges and their large, elevated ramps would hurt the value of corporate office buildings along the Meridian corridor, and the highway would serve as a wall, splitting Carmel in half.

So the city has offered an alternative.

Brainard has pitched using smaller, roundabout-style interchanges on U.S. 31, eliminating the need to acquire large parcels of land to build larger interchanges. The idea is similar to roundabout interchanges Brainard has envisioned for Keystone Avenue in Carmel.

"That's the advantage of those intersections -- you can retrofit them without acquiring a lot more land," he said. "We've shown the state a way of doing this on the existing U.S. 31 right of way.

"We also think, aesthetically, it would be much better for Carmel and Westfield."

Initially, state officials were lukewarm to the concept of using the European-style interchanges in Indiana, but Brainard has estimated using them could save taxpayers from $300 million to $400 million in land acquisition and business relocation costs.

Under an original plan to use traditional interchanges, INDOT would have to acquire 26 buildings in Westfield, many of them retail businesses just north of the 146th Street overpass. By using the smaller, roundabout-style interchanges, Brainard said only one building would have to be razed.

Andy Cook, president of the Westfield Town Council, has backed Brainard.
Officials for Carmel, Westfield and Hamilton County were asked to help choose among the three finalists for the design contract.

"This selection was made with a lot of local input," said INDOT spokesman Andy Dietrick.

Carmel's pitch for the unusual, roundabout-style interchanges had an effect on proposals from firms seeking to do the design work.

"We were specific about wanting to look at nontraditional ways of doing intersections," Dietrick said.

Because of the high cost of land in Hamilton County, Dietrick said INDOT is very interested in acquiring as little land as possible.

The project is even more complicated as it passes through Westfield. INDOT also has scheduled work to widen Ind. 32, which intersects with U.S. 31.

Westfield passed an ordinance Monday night requiring any proposed development near U.S. 31 to be approved by INDOT first. Carmel already has such an ordinance, Brainard said.

"The goal is to have an impact on this and tell them what we'd like to see," said Cook, who won the Republican primary for mayor in Westfield, which will become a city next year. "We'd really like to have some influence on what's done."

The public also will have that chance.

Dietrick said the design phase is expected to take two years. Federal guidelines require several public meetings before a final design is adopted, and federal officials must sign off on it.

Brainard, like Cook, plans to keep a close eye on the process.
"Absolutely, we're going to be closely involved with the design of this, because it impacts a huge portion of our tax base all the commercial buildings along Meridian," he said. "We intend to work hand-in-hand with INDOT."

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070613&Kategori=LOCAL0101&Lopenr=706130342&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

ragerunner1

June 13th, 2007, 04:55 PM

arenn

June 13th, 2007, 05:57 PM

I've driven through them in Europe before. I travel to Madrid a lot these and they've got a lot of roundabout interchanges. They look nice and do have limited affect on the neighborhood, but don't always function well. I'm not saying a conventional interchange would be better, but I've experienced backups in the past. Here's a pic I took with my cell phone from the back of a cab:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/472189026_ababa3a5a1.jpg

cwilson758

June 13th, 2007, 09:18 PM

That article almost made me cry. I am a huge supporter of roundabouts and seeing them potentially being used for interchanges is very exciting. Lets hope they can convience IDOT that this is a good idea.

good luck. INDOT is a selfish organization. They listen very little to suggestions and do things their own way, despite the fact that there may be a better way to get from A to Z. Here in Cumberland, with the proposed US 40 streetscape and widening project, I have learned first hand about the aweful bureaucratic maze that is INDOT.

ragerunner1

June 13th, 2007, 10:13 PM

Engineers + Government = Complexed Bureaucracy

arenn

June 16th, 2007, 08:31 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070616/LOCAL/706160312/1015/LOCAL01

Cover Story
'We're in good shape,' Brainard says of finances
Public safety entities don't need extra funding that badly, mayor insists

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

Mayor Jim Brainard does not plan to utilize new legislation passed this year that allows cities to raise local income taxes to help pay for public safety.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, in not asking for a tax increase, said it's important that he keep the city's tax rate steady.

Under House Enrolled Act 1478, communities have until Aug. 1 to raise the income tax by .5 percentage points to pay for public safety.

Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson has asked the City-County Council to take that step, but Brainard said he won't ask the Carmel City Council to do the same.

"This would just amount to additional taxation," Brainard said, "and there's no reason to do that in Carmel."

Without raising the income tax, Peterson has said Indianapolis would have difficulty balancing its budget and covering the costs for public safety.

Brainard said while additional revenue can always help, Carmel's public safety services do not need enough additional funding to warrant a tax increase.

"We're staffed at four firefighters per vehicle, unlike most cities in Indiana, and our police and fire pensions are funded, unlike many cities," Brainard said.

"We are in very good shape in comparison to almost anywhere else, and it's important to keep the tax rate steady."

Still, he said, it's a constant battle to keep tax rates level as the cost of providing city services continues to increase with inflation.

"For some communities, they may have to do this to provide the necessary services. When the tax rate stays steady and there's inflation, it's really a decrease in revenue for cities," Brainard said.

"We've been fortunate, through management and growth, to cover most of those increases. Some cities have not had the growth we've had, don't have the amount of assessed value we have, and as a result may have to use these tools."

arenn

June 20th, 2007, 03:25 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070620/LOCAL0101/706200330/1155/LOCAL010103

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070620&Kategori=LOCAL0101&Lopenr=706200330&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

June 20, 2007

Chase Bank adopts art deco style for branch in WestClay's Uptown
Site is next to CVS drugstore with similar 1900s look

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

Brenwick Development Co. has struck a deal to bring a second national chain to its Village of WestClay.

An artist's rendering shows the art deco style selected by Chase Bank for its new branch that will be built in the Uptown business section of the Village of WestClay. - Illustration provided by Brenwick Development Co.

Chase Bank has agreed to build an art deco bank in the new urbanism village, known for its 19th and early 20th-century architecture. The bank will be built in the Village's Uptown, a collection of businesses planned for the southwest corner of 131st Street and Towne Road.

The decision by Chase comes two weeks after drugstore giant CVS announced it would build an art deco store in the village.

In both cases, Brenwick had to do some convincing to entice the two national chains to design buildings with an art deco style to fit with WestClay's high architectural standards.

"I think the process was very similar to CVS," said George Sweet, Brenwick's president and chief executive officer.

"Eventually, Chase decided this was something they were interested in."
In the CVS announcement last month, Tom Mariani of Gershman Brown & Associates, which selects and develops sites for CVS, said the art deco pharmacy was not a trend for the national chain.

"This was really a matter of fitting into the environment of the village," Mariani said then. "This is the first time we've done anything this unusual."

The Chase Bank would front 131st Street and be built next to the CVS.
"This building definitely has art deco of the same architectural intensity or quality as CVS," Sweet said. "We're tickled to death."

The Village of WestClay Uptown has 15 parcels for commercial buildings.
In addition to CVS and Chase, Primrose School, a national company offering early education and child care, also has committed to build a facility on 131st Street in Uptown.

That leaves 12 available parcels in Uptown's interior. All businesses in the area are required to build with an art deco architectural style reminiscent of the early 1900s.

Sweet said CVS and Chase have found that building an art deco-style store is not much more expensive than other facilities they build across the country. He said both chains kept an eye on what the other was doing in the village.
"I think each had a mutual interest in what the other guy was doing along the way. Both obviously know markets and demographics," Sweet said.
"With a cornfield development, I think there's always interest in it if someone else is going to build there."

Sweet said at least two other banks have shown interest in building in Uptown.

The Village of WestClay, which was established in 2000, remains on target for completion in 2010, Sweet said. About 50 percent of the development's housing parcels have been built on, while another 20 percent have been sold or are under construction.

Sweet also expects the commercial parcels in Uptown, which includes a senior housing development that's under construction, to be built out by 2010.

"I think people know that these folks, Chase and CVS, know the demographics and the market," Sweet said. "We probably pushed these two as hard as we could, because we knew they're leaders."

hoosier

June 21st, 2007, 04:34 AM

I drove through Carmel this evening and was pleasantly surpised. I am glad the city is widening 116th Street from Meridian to Keystone. I would like to see 116th and 146th widened west of Spring Hill Road however.

There is a lot of development around the city.

arenn

June 21st, 2007, 10:12 AM

hoosier

June 22nd, 2007, 02:52 AM

146th St. is under the jurisdiction of the county, which has a design project underway to expand 146th St. west to the county line. The project would cost over $30 million, however, and is unfunded other than the design phase at present.

Too bad. It angers me that high growth areas cannot effectively collect sufficient tax revenue from that growth to accomodate it.

ragerunner1

June 22nd, 2007, 04:36 PM

Too bad. It angers me that high growth areas cannot effectively collect sufficient tax revenue from that growth to accomodate it.

The dirty secret of suburban sprawl. It can't pay for itself in the short term or long term, unless it has significant density. (Which most suburbanites don't want.)

I think Carmel has figured this out and is working on putting more density into may of its neighborhoods so that it is more financially sustainable over time.

cwilson758

June 22nd, 2007, 04:38 PM

Art Deco in West Clay!! Carmel is really starting to make Indy look bad! I may not crave their vernacular for their downtown, but at least they have the "balls" to strong-arm developers to get what they want!

arenn

June 23rd, 2007, 06:57 PM

Too bad. It angers me that high growth areas cannot effectively collect sufficient tax revenue from that growth to accomodate it.

I'm not certain what you are referring to here. The county has jurisdiction over the route because of an interlocal agreement signed between the county, Carmel, and Westfield. Otherwise this roadway would be the responsibility of Westfield alone because east-west roads that form a border in Indiana are the responsibility of the entity to the north.

I think what Hamilton County has done has been great. They have turned 146th St. (and Olio Rd, btw) into true county roadways through interlocal agreements. This not only simplified improvements because of the otherwise many jurisdictions these would fall into, but it has also enabled the county to push to main this as a real arterial. For example, the county forced Noblesville to limit the number of stoplights on 146th St. through the corporate campus development.

Much of the 146th St. widening to date was financed through bonds. I'm not too worried about the county finding a way to pay for the widening of the roadway when the time is right. The traffic volumes are not yet at a critical point.

The real 146th St. problem is in Boone County, whose highway budget is all but broke and has no plans to widen 146th St. any time soon.

hoosier

June 24th, 2007, 04:30 AM

I'm not certain what you are referring to here. The county has jurisdiction over the route because of an interlocal agreement signed between the county, Carmel, and Westfield. Otherwise this roadway would be the responsibility of Westfield alone because east-west roads that form a border in Indiana are the responsibility of the entity to the north.

I think what Hamilton County has done has been great. They have turned 146th St. (and Olio Rd, btw) into true county roadways through interlocal agreements. This not only simplified improvements because of the otherwise many jurisdictions these would fall into, but it has also enabled the county to push to main this as a real arterial. For example, the county forced Noblesville to limit the number of stoplights on 146th St. through the corporate campus development.

Much of the 146th St. widening to date was financed through bonds. I'm not too worried about the county finding a way to pay for the widening of the roadway when the time is right. The traffic volumes are not yet at a critical point.

The real 146th St. problem is in Boone County, whose highway budget is all but broke and has no plans to widen 146th St. any time soon.

I am referring in general to the numerous roads in suburban Indianapolis (Southport, County Line, Smith Valley, SR 267, 10th Street, Allisonville, SR 238, etc.) that are woefully insufficient given the amount of residential and commerical development around them.

arenn

June 24th, 2007, 04:16 PM

arenn

June 24th, 2007, 04:19 PM

This thing sounds more awesome by the day. I'd be seriously tempted by those condos.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070624/LOCAL0101/706240403

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1144/610829805_f423eca748_o.jpg

June 24, 2007

Center of attention
Carmel hopes the European feel of its $200M downtown will lure exclusive retailers, making City Center a destination

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

CARMEL, Ind. -- As the foundation of Carmel's $200 million downtown begins to take shape, the developer behind the project is recruiting top independent retailers from across the country.

Reeling in those high-end shops and restaurants could push the Carmel City Center into the ranks of the nation's most affluent shopping meccas. New renderings for the development are key to that effort, conveying the size, scope and architectural detail of the new downtown.

Pedcor Cos.' project is planned as a 15-acre collection of high-end dining, shopping, luxury condominiums, penthouses, apartments and prime office space at the center of affluent, fast-growing Carmel.

The fresh artist sketches reveal numerous details about the project: It will be designed to feel like an old European village, with courtyards, fountains, sculpture gardens and an outdoor amphitheater. Some of the buildings will rise seven and eight stories high.

Through a public-private partnership with Carmel, Pedcor's project will straddle a widened Monon Greenway.

In addition to Pedcor's $200 million investment, the city will spend at least $90 million to build a 1,600-seat concert hall and 500-seat community theater on the site.

"It's just world-class, and when we first saw these sketches, they were almost breathtaking," said Les Olds, who oversees the project as Carmel's redevelopment director.

"They were so unexpected, so different that everyone who saw them was immediately excited."

Today, the prime parcel at the southwest corner of Range Line Road and City Center Drive is a dusty construction site.

By fall 2010, though, Carmel leaders and Bruce Cordingley, Pedcor president and chief executive officer, hope the completed project will draw national attention and praise.

"In essence, our generation is planning and building this new downtown for Carmel that will be here for generations," said Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard, who pitched the vision of a new downtown when he was first elected 12 years ago.

"It's fun, but it's also a huge responsibility to build something that really serves the community for a very long time," said Brainard, a Republican who is running for his fourth term.

Serving many needs

The project includes a 102-room boutique hotel, 230,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 170,000 square feet of office space, 300 high-end condominiums and apartments and a large grassy mall called the Village Green.
Passing through it all will be an expanded Monon Greenway with additional bicycle lanes and a bike port with locker rooms.

The hotel will be connected to Carmel's concert hall, on which the city could spend as much as $140 million, depending on the success of a Brainard campaign to raise $50 million in private funds for the project. Across the Village Green, a 500-seat theater will be incorporated into a stretch of office buildings that will mask a parking structure.

Pedcor's project will include 2,400 parking spaces, 500 of them underground.
City Center will have three plazas. One, Fountain Plaza, is envisioned as a prime location for outdoor receptions, with three large fountain features. Another, Hanover Square, is envisioned as a great site for outdoor markets and includes a four-story obelisk.

"We tried to give each of the plazas their own feel, their own identity," said Melissa Averitt, the project's sales and marketing director. "They are designed to be great gathering spaces where people can interact."

The third plaza, dubbed Chandelier Court, will feature a large outdoor chandelier suspended in the air by steel cables. It also will have outdoor dining, a large fireplace and a life-size chessboard.

"I think the Chandelier Court is probably the most important piece they're doing over there, because it's going to be totally different," said Olds, an architect. "It's something people will talk about and want to visit, and that's what we want: features that will draw people in."

Seeking distinctive retailers

Pedcor has started an aggressive marketing campaign, aimed at attracting mostly independent retailers and restaurateurs. The developer's representatives say they've met with dozens of local shop and restaurant owners to gauge their interest in City Center.

They've also traveled to other cities -- St. Louis; Lexington, Ky.; Louisville, Ky.; Kansas City, Mo.; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati and Chicago -- in search of one-of-a-kind retailers.

"They don't want to compete with the Fashion Mall or Clay Terrace. We want something more unique, more interesting," Brainard said. "The idea of small shops will make for a much more interesting downtown than one filled with chain stores we see all over the country."

Pedcor likely will try to recruit a handful of top-notch national retailers, though.

"We may have a national retailer with a location in L.A. or San Francisco, New York and Miami, and we convince them Carmel would be a great location for them in between," Cordingley said. "We're not going to be the same as many of the very excellent shopping centers already in the area."

Some worry Carmel already has enough retailers.

Two candidates challenging Brainard in the Nov. 6 general election have platforms that include a call to reduce the amount of high-density development in Carmel's core.

They say City Center and nearby Gramercy, a $500 million project planned for the corner of 126th Street and Keystone Avenue, will create traffic nightmares and build too much space that won't be filled.

"That it's beautiful, that it's seemingly well-designed, that it's attractive is one thing," Marnin Spigelman, a Republican running as an independent, said of City Center. "But I think we're creating such a mass of additional retail, even if they're mom-and-pop type stores, that's just too much."

Henry Winckler, a Democrat running for mayor, agrees.

"A project of some sort is needed," he said. "But the scope and size of this is mistaken."

Brainard insists Carmel won't overbuild with retail and said the city should utilize "the opportunity to do something more than chains and big-box stores."

Some will call it home

Most of the buildings are designed with retail on the first floor and residential above. The tallest building, Wren Tower, will rise eight stories in the center of the development. A clock tower building on City Center's marquee corner on Range Line Road will rise seven stories.

The buildings will offer a total of 11 penthouses, each expected to sell for more than $1 million. Most of those already are spoken for, but another 300 condominiums and apartments also will be available.

With an opening not slated until fall 2010, price points and floor plans haven't been set yet. Cordingley said it's also too early to strike deals for retail and restaurant tenants.

That hasn't stalled the interest, though.

Averitt has a database of more than 1,500 retailers, restaurateurs and buyers interested in City Center.

The new drawings, illustrating the project's Georgian architecture and European feel, are expected to fuel more prospective buyers and tenants.
"The hope is that this is timeless architecture, and they want it to feel like you're stepping into a European town that's really different from anything else you'll find in Central Indiana or the Midwest," said Olds, the redevelopment director.

"As an architect, there are certain things you look at and say, 'My gosh, this is going to be beautiful.' This definitely is one of them."

Unionstation13

June 24th, 2007, 06:38 PM

I just hope when they build that city centre, they use the right materials as to make sure it does not look fake. So far Carmel has pulled off making the structures it builds actually look old.

hoosier

June 25th, 2007, 05:37 AM

The problem is that a lot of Hoosiers are backwards thinking anti-progress zealots. This mentality has held Indiana back for a long time.

hoosier

June 25th, 2007, 05:42 AM

It's true that there are a lot of overloaded roads. Still, I think most towns can keep up with the needs if they have the political will. Indiana residents hate taxes more than most, so aren't willing to pay the taxes it would take to fix these. It isn't a matter of the land not supporting the taxes, but of the lack of desire to pay them. People would rather pay the tax in the form of time lost in congestion, air pollution, and reduced quality of life. I must say, given the high taxes many of us pay already, much of them going to dubious projects, I can't blame people for not wanting to pay more. I sure don't.

What are some of these "dubious projects"?

LOS is a good investment in the cities future.

I drove through Hendricks County today and can say without hesitation that Hamilton County has a FAR superior road infrastructure.

Plainfield has a good road system but Avon and Brownsburgh SUCK. Take Raceway Road, a cowpath with residential development growing around it. Or 10th Street. Or SR 267. All of these roads are narrow country trails with no shoulders and haven't been paved in decades.

cwilson758

June 25th, 2007, 04:50 PM

This Carmel City Centre is going to be amazing! The public plazas, the expanded Monon, that outdoor chandelier, all of it is high class. I am becoming a Carmel supporter more and more each day!

Unionstation13

June 25th, 2007, 06:24 PM

its great to see more suburbs being more urban, i think in the next century, Indianapolis entire city will become quite urban, including suburbs.

ragerunner1

June 25th, 2007, 06:42 PM

The problem is that a lot of Hoosiers are backwards thinking anti-progress zealots. This mentality has held Indiana back for a long time.

I work in Ohio and have worked in Florida in the Planning and development fields and I can tell you most places have a certain amount of its leadership and population that thinks backwards, is fearful of changes and is clueless on progressive ideas. With that said, Central Indiana seems to be starting to really show some signs of embracing a more progress, smart growth agenda.

hoosier

June 26th, 2007, 01:53 AM

I work in Ohio and have worked in Florida in the Planning and development fields and I can tell you most places have a certain amount of its leadership and population that thinks backwards, is fearful of changes and is clueless on progressive ideas. With that said, Central Indiana seems to be starting to really show some signs of embracing a more progress, smart growth agenda.

I hope you are right. I would be THRILLED if City Center, Woodfield, and Riverplace all get built.

arenn

June 27th, 2007, 10:50 PM

Big news today. Carmel won the Southwest Clay annexation case:

http://www.ai.org/judiciary/opinions/pdf/06270701rts.pdf

arenn

June 28th, 2007, 04:22 PM

One interesting implication of this is that the annexation will not be effective in time to count for the 2010 Census.

I'm not sure where these people would appeal to. The US Supreme Court would never touch this case.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070628/LOCAL/706280481

June 28, 2007

Court: Carmel can annex Clay Township
Communities throughout state affected by ruling

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

In a decision expected to influence land battles across the state, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Carmel can move ahead with its controversial annexation of southwest Clay Township.

WHAT'S NEXT

Barring appeals, Carmel's annexation agreement with community group No Ordinance for Annexation, or NOAX, would become effective this fall.

Under that deal, Carmel's annexation of the 8.3 square miles in southwest Clay would be delayed for three years, becoming effective in 2010. After that, property owners would have their municipal tax rate phased in over the next three years.

In 2010, they'd pay 25 percent of the municipal rate, followed by 50 percent in 2011 and 75 percent in 2012. In 2013, property owners would pay the full municipal rate.

Within one year of the annexation's effective date in 2010, Carmel must provide city services to the area.

Southwest Clay already pays for fire service and parks through a joinder agreement between the city and township. But Carmel would assume control of the roads and, under the agreement, would have to make specific intersection upgrades to improve traffic.

The Carmel Police Department also would begin to patrol the area instead of the Hamilton County sheriff. In addition, if neighborhoods or subdivisions want turn over the control of private streets to the city, Carmel would have to accept those roads and pay for their upkeep.

AT A GLANCE

Carmel

• Size: 39.14 square miles.

• Population: 66,000.

• Assessed property value: $6.5 billion.

• Tax rate: $2.0920 per $100.

Southwest Clay Township

• Size: 8.3 square miles.

• Population: 9,800.

• Assessed property value: $1.6 billion.

• Tax rate: $1.7438 per $100.

Sources: Southwest Clay Community Association; Clay Township; city of Carmel; Hamilton County auditor's office

The court's 5-0 ruling eventually will affect the pocketbooks of some of Indiana's wealthiest residents while increasing the tax revenues of one of the state's most affluent cities.

But interest in the annexation case extended far beyond Carmel, as communities from South Bend to Jeffersonville looked to a Supreme Court ruling as guidance on how to conduct future annexations. The Carmel decision marked the first time the state's highest court has ruled on current annexation law.

"Everyone -- cities and towns all over Indiana -- have been waiting for the Supreme Court to interpret this annexation statute," Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said. "For that reason, this is a landmark case."

Unless opponents win an appeal, southwest Clay Township would become part of Carmel in 2010.

In a rare move, Carmel's case was expedited to the Supreme Court, skipping the Court of Appeals, because of the demand for direction from the Supreme Court from other communities and the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.

The 11-page opinion written by Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard promises to be well read by communities planning annexations and property owners preparing to fight them.

Fishers Town Council President Scott Faultless said the decision will be key in whether his town moves forward with plans to annex more than 2,000 properties in the wealthy waterfront community of Geist. Wednesday's ruling also likely will affect Carmel's annexation of Home Place, a case pending before the Indiana Court of Appeals.

But the most immediate effect will be felt in southwest Clay Township, where the nearly 10,000 residents who call some of Indiana's most exclusive neighborhoods home will soon become part of Carmel.

Jack Holton, a southwest Clay resident and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said an appeal to federal court is possible but not probable.

"I was just shocked," Holton, a stockbroker, said of the decision. "As the expression goes, you can't fight City Hall, and I guess that includes the Indiana Supreme Court."

Long, hard fight

Carmel's City Council first voted in 2004 to annex southwest Clay, an 8.3-square-mile area that includes more than 3,400 properties. Shortly after, a group called No Ordinance for Annexation, or NOAX, worked to challenge the annexation in court.

State law requires at least 65 percent of homeowners in an annexation area to sign a petition against the annexation to challenge it in court. NOAX collected 70 percent.

The group then entered negotiations with Brainard. Both sides struck a deal in late 2005 in which Carmel would delay its annexation for three years while offering homeowners the maximum property tax abatements allowed under state law. The city also promised specific road improvements and to study drainage problems.

NOAX then held a mail-in referendum, in which 36 percent of property owners cast a vote. About 58 percent of those votes were cast in favor of the deal, which was signed by NOAX and Carmel's City Council.

NOAX then dropped its court challenge, but a second group, Holton's Southwest Clay Community Association, picked up the fight. That association argued that NOAX didn't have authority to strike a deal on behalf of all homeowners.

In Hamilton Superior Court, Judge William Hughes agreed, throwing out the deal. The Indiana Supreme Court overruled that opinion Wednesday, granting Carmel the right to annex southwest Clay under the NOAX agreement.
"The organization leading the remonstrance negotiated favorable terms with the city and decided to settle," Shepard wrote in the opinion. "In a referendum among landowners, a majority voted in favor of settling. We conclude they were entitled to do so, and reverse the trial court's judgment which effectively held otherwise."

Michael Shaver, an annexation consultant who has done work for Carmel and several other cities and towns across the state, said the Supreme Court's ruling effectively sets the NOAX deal as an example for other communities and property owners to follow.

"I really think this is not just a victory for Carmel, but a victory for democracy," Shaver said. "Carmel went to a lot of trouble to deal with the NOAX folks in an honest way, came up with an offer that was substantially better and then held a referendum to make sure people agreed with it.
"That was the center of the Supreme Court's decision: When you go to that kind of effort, a judge just can't ignore it."

The ruling makes Carmel's deal with NOAX effective this fall. Since that agreement calls for a three-year annexation delay, southwest Clay residents would not officially become part of Carmel until 2010.

Even then, they won't pay the full municipal tax rate because of the tax-break deal NOAX negotiated. Homeowners wouldn't pay the full municipal rate until 2013.

Fred Yde, president of NOAX, was thrilled with the decision.

"This has finally been put to bed, and I think it's time for us to come together as a community and become part of the dynamic, growing city that Carmel is," Yde said. "Southwest Clay still will retain its character as part of Carmel."
Jane Funke, a 14-year southwest Clay Township resident, didn't seem surprised by the court's ruling, saying Carmel's push to annex the area was inevitable.

"This is not a rural area anymore. We're surrounded by Carmel and urban Indianapolis," Funke said.

She knows property taxes will increase, and it would be up to Carmel officials to prove whether residents would receive any benefit from improved services in the area.

Funke, who was not involved with the NOAX group, applauded its efforts as a grass-roots group trying to effect change.

"They really did step into a position where we don't have any elected representation, and they tried to negotiate fair terms," she said. "They put a lot of effort into it. . . . They saw annexation as inevitable, but at least residents could have a say in what happens. It sort of made sense to me."

Boost in Carmel's value

The high-end homes and top-notch property values in southwest Clay are expected to increase Carmel's assessed value by $1.6 billion. That would increase the city's current assessed value of $6.5 billion by nearly 25 percent.
The arguments in the southwest Clay dispute were reflective of many other annexation battles across the state.

Carmel maintained it was not fair for city residents to pay for street improvements and other public services that southwest Clay residents benefited from. Those who opposed annexation argued that the change to city services wasn't worth the tax increase they'd pay.

Under last year's tax bills, southwest Clay residents would pay a 21 percent increase if annexed into Carmel.

Similar arguments have been made in Home Place, now the lone area in Clay Township that Carmel has yet to annex. Homeowners in that neighborhood, centered at 106th Street and College Avenue, also have fought annexation.
Like southwest Clay, they won the initial decision in Hughes' Hamilton County court. Their case was on hold in the Indiana Court of Appeals, pending a decision in the southwest Clay case.

Matt Milam, who has led the fight against annexation in Home Place, said he's still optimistic they'll defeat Carmel.

"We're disappointed for southwest Clay, but our case is different and doesn't include a settlement agreement," Milam said. "We would have liked to see them win, but we're still optimistic."

So is Brainard.

"In this decision, the Supreme Court laid out what a city must do to complete an annexation," he said, "and I believe we've done that in the Home Place case."

Wednesday's ruling will affect annexations statewide, Shaver said.
"This is very significant," he said. "Now cities and towns know what they have to do to have the best opportunity to succeed."

That's why Fishers delayed all of its annexations until a decision in the Carmel case, including plans to annex around Geist Reservoir.

Faultless, the Town Council president, said the Fishers town attorney would review the decision before the town decides whether to move forward with that annexation. Rachel Quade, a Geist United Opposition board member, said she's confident Geist residents could still win an annexation case against Fishers.

"I don't read too much into this, because every annexation case is different," Quade said. "I'm very optimistic we'd win, because we'd never make the same mistake NOAX made. We'd never, ever strike a deal, no matter what."

But after reading the court's decision, Yde said he's confident the court would have allowed Carmel to annex southwest Clay with or without a settlement agreement. Holton, the plaintiff, also doesn't share Quade's optimism for future annexations.

"What the court ruled, as far as we're concerned, is that no individual or group ever stands the chance of stopping any land grab from any municipality," Holton said. "Not a chance."

cityfan

June 30th, 2007, 05:19 PM

Carmel to get cutting-edge art museum
Founders of the Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art seek national audience

By Tania E. Lopez
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com

CARMEL, Ind. -- Carmel's emerging Arts & Design District is about to become home to one of the biggest names of the Indianapolis-area art scene.

The Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art (MiCo) will occupy the second floor of the Lurie Building, 30 W. Main St. It's scheduled to be completed by September.

Jeremy Efroymson, a primary financial backer in the creation of the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art (iMOCA) and its former executive director, has agreed to lead Carmel's first contemporary art museum.

Exhibit space will measure about 7,300 square feet -- more than seven times the space of iMOCA, which has a little more than 1,000 square feet.
The Carmel museum will exhibit family-friendly art that includes a mix of media, from painting to sculpture and video installations.

As a nonprofit organization, MiCo's objective is not only to expose Carmel to the latest in contemporary art, but also to attract art connoisseurs from across the nation.

Efroymson will serve as the museum's executive director, and he's recruited former Nuvo art critic Mary Lee Pappas to be associate director.

"I'm pretty excited about what Carmel is doing with their new downtown district and that it's evolving," said Pappas. "I'm excited to have the opportunity to do museum work in Indiana."

Evan Lurie, director of Carmel's arts district and public art program, said he sought Efroymson's support based on his reputation for supporting local artists.

MiCo's first exhibit, curated by Scott Grow and titled "Backyard: A Look at Suburban Living," is scheduled to open Sept. 14. Works will include pieces from Indianapolis-based artists Emily Kennerk and Brian McCutcheon, a recent Efroymson Contemporary Arts Fellowship recipient.

Additional works scheduled to be on display include pieces by Los Angeles-based artist Macha Suzuki and New York-based photographer Meredith Allen.
Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said having a museum in the blossoming Arts & Design district would only enhance the city's push for cultural amenities.

"This museum will bring exhibits to Carmel that would otherwise not be in the Central Indiana area," said Brainard. "We see this as an investment."

Brainard said he's pushing to get the City Council to earmark $100,000 of the city's arts fund to support MiCo, but that funds to establish the museum will come primarily through the Efroymson Fund.

Like the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, the Carmel museum will not sell art but give exposure to artists who exhibit there.

Efroymson sees his role as someone who plants the seed of art. Once a museum is started, Efroymson said, it is up to art lovers to help support the endeavor.

"We're committed to giving initial support, but after that, the people have to support the arts, and I think Carmel has been very supportive of us," he said.

cwilson758

July 2nd, 2007, 04:36 PM

Those people who fought the annexation should be ASHAMED of themselves. For one, they probably just spent more money in legal fees than they will ever have to pay in higher taxes. Secondly, they have essentially been getting "all the benefits" of City life and services for free while people across the street in Carmel have been paying.

cwilson758

July 2nd, 2007, 04:39 PM

KM1410

July 3rd, 2007, 03:54 AM

A "family friendly" contemporary art museum? :lol: Isnt that an oxymoron?

hoosier

July 7th, 2007, 11:43 PM

I drove through central Carmel today after the forum meetup and was thoroughly impressed. The City Center will be AWESOME when it is finished.

I know the city has some ideas for upgrading Keystone Avenue/SR 431. Is there any likelihood that we will see some work done on this vital corridor? At the minimum, it needs to be widened to six lanes for its entire length.

arenn

July 8th, 2007, 04:24 PM

hoosier, go to Carmel's home page and listen/watch Mayor Brainard's last state of the city speech. He presents a proposal to turn Keystone into a limited access parkway with roundabout interchanges at major intersections. This would replace the state's plan to widen the road to six lanes. Carmel has reached an agreement in principle to take over the road from the state. What remains to be negotiated is the price. I suspect the state is waiting until the US 31 EIS is completed so that they know the final cost of that project before committing anything on Keystone.

hoosier

July 8th, 2007, 05:33 PM

arenn

July 8th, 2007, 06:59 PM

I honestly don't know. INDOT wants to widen Keystone to serve as an alternate during US 31 construction. The city of Carmel doesn't want them to. I would suspect that Carmel would love to accelerate construction on Keystone to speed it up prior to US 31 being done, because otherwise the state won't let them start construction until after US 31 is complete.

arenn

July 19th, 2007, 04:32 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070719/LOCAL0101/707190316

July 19, 2007

Carmel awards bid for underground parking
$2.8 million contract awarded for City Center spaces

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

Carmel's Redevelopment Commission has awarded a $2.8 million bid for work on underground parking in City Center.

The contract awarded Tuesday night to Signature Construction is only for a portion of the underground parking planned in Carmel's new downtown.
Pedcor Companies is developing the majority of the 15-acre City Center site, spending $200 million to build high-end condominiums, penthouses, apartments, a boutique hotel, offices and 230,000 square feet of shopping and dining.

The city, meanwhile, plans to spend at least $90 million on a concert hall and theater, a price tag that could rise to $140 million if Mayor Jim Brainard reaches a goal to raise $50 million in private donations for the hall.

Pedcor already has begun construction of underground parking under much of the development. Under a public-private agreement, Carmel also is responsible for building some underground parking because it will be used to support the concert hall and theater, facilities the city will build.

All underground parking in City Center will be on one level. Carmel is responsible for building the underground parking closest to the concert hall site, which would include about 125 spaces.

Between Pedcor and the city, 500 underground spaces will be in City Center once construction is completed. Pedcor plans to build surface parking and aboveground structures that would push the total number of spaces to 2,400.
Signature Construction was the only company to bid on the city's underground garage. That company also has contracted with Pedcor and currently is building its underground parking.

Les Olds, the city's director of redevelopment, said the commission initially didn't plan to start work on the city's portion of the underground parking until a year from now. The project was moved up, though, because of construction logistics on the site.

"We realized we had to get it moving before construction on the (concert hall) starts, otherwise it will be difficult to get construction equipment to that area," Olds said. "That moved this to the forefront."

The city is expected to break ground on the concert hall this fall, with opening set in fall 2010. Pedcor plans to wrap up City Center construction by then.

In the meantime, Olds said, it will be key to coordinate all the construction crews that will be handling multiple projects at the same time.

"We have to take a close look at everything we're doing with all the contractors," he said, "because this is such a tight site."

Construction crews this summer have continued work on Pedcor's site, making progress on the underground garage and the foundations of the planned seven- and eight-story buildings.

Olds said crews hired by Pedcor are wrapping up work this week on underground tunnels that will run utilities throughout the site. Once the tunnels are complete, the floors of Pedcor's underground garages can be poured.

Olds said work on Carmel's portion of the underground garage would be under way this summer, with a planned completion slated for the end of the year.

hoosier

July 20th, 2007, 02:36 AM

It is good to hear about progress being made at City Center. I was concerned that this project might not ever get fully built. I feel better about its prospects after reading that article.

cityfan

July 20th, 2007, 09:36 PM

Again, Carmel proves it knows how to plan developments. Underground parking instead of surface parking or even an ugly garage.

arenn

July 21st, 2007, 02:01 AM

I heard that they actually wanted to do two-levels of underground parking, but that the water table is too high to do so. Apparently the water table is very close to the ground in much of the area.

cwilson758

July 21st, 2007, 10:17 PM

hoosier

July 22nd, 2007, 04:18 AM

with all of the development in Carmel and Hamilton COunty coupled with the development in the City, is it very evident that Central Indiana's economy is very strong and that noone can deny Indy's place as a leader in the entrie region with regards to development!!

Damn straight. Plainfield, Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville are BOOMING. There is construction everywhere in the metro area. Exciting times indeed.

Unionstation13

July 22nd, 2007, 05:35 AM

Damn straight. Plainfield, Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville are BOOMING. There is construction everywhere in the metro area. Exciting times indeed.

Indianapolis is going to boom, explode with growthe, urbanism, etc
its no denieng it, its set up so well that its economically advanced.
Its boom going on downtown, is just a mere boom of whats going to happen to the whole city in the next century, a new mark of history will occur in Indianapolis.

hoosier

July 22nd, 2007, 06:08 AM

Indianapolis is going to boom, explode with growthe, urbanism, etc
its no denieng it, its set up so well that its economically advanced.
Its boom going on downtown, is just a mere boom of whats going to happen to the whole city in the next century, a new mark of history will occur in Indianapolis.

My mom is coming up to visit me from Bloomington tomorrow and I am going to drive her around Carmel to show her all the growth and development in the area.

The roads in metro Indy still have a ways to go but that will (hopefully) be taken care of in time.

Unionstation13

July 22nd, 2007, 06:22 AM

My mom is coming up to visit me from Bloomington tomorrow and I am going to drive her around Carmel to show her all the growth and development in the area.

The roads in metro Indy still have a ways to go but that will (hopefully) be taken care of in time.

some people can be pretty shocked at how much the indy metro has changed, when my father who worked here in the mid 80s came back after over a decade, he was shocked how much the city has changed, he said downtown is all clean, and the buildings are all kept up, and how nice it is downtown. He then told me how he remembered the city's downtown buildings covered in ash, pollution, and trash on the side of the cracked roads. it really has changed alot.

arenn

July 26th, 2007, 07:10 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/LOCAL/707260331/1155/LOCAL010103

Groundbreaking could come in the spring
Mayoral candidates disagree on project's size

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

It's been nearly a year since the Carmel City Council approved the controversial Gramercy redevelopment project, but little has happened with the plan in the public eye since.

The Gramercy development is planned to have a central plaza, multistory buildings for businesses and housing, parks and urban-style streets (seen in sketch). - Submitted artist sketch

The 116-acre parcel at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue is still home to the Mohawk Hills golf course and apartment complex. Developer Buckingham Cos. has yet to file any specific building plans with the city.

But behind the scenes, there's been plenty of activity.

As currently planned, the $500 million Gramercy would have street access to 126th to the north and Auman Drive to the west. Under an agreement struck with neighbors, Buckingham can only develop 50 percent of the Gramercy site without obtaining access to either Keystone to the east or Carmel Drive to the south.

For that reason, Mayor Jim Brainard said Buckingham has been working to obtain three parcels of land south of Gramercy to gain access to Carmel Drive.

Brainard said Buckingham has acquired two strip centers in that area and is in negotiations with the Fountains, a banquet facility located along Carmel Drive.
"Buckingham has purchased two of the three buildings in that area, and it's my understanding that there are negotiations going on with the Fountains building itself," he said. "Those negotiations will take time."

Clyde Lee, a spokesman for the developer, declined to detail any land acquisition or negotiations the company has been involved in.

While Buckingham has been negotiating for land to the south, Brainard has been negotiating with the state to gain control of Keystone. Under any deal in which the city were to gain control of Keystone, or Ind. 431, the state would have to pay Carmel.

If the city controlled the road instead of the state, it could approve an access point out of Gramercy. Prospects of such approval happening while the state controls Keystone aren't as good.

"We're attempting to negotiate an arrangement where the city would take over Keystone and would be able to allow that curb cut for Gramercy," Brainard said. "We believe we're making progress with INDOT (Indiana Department of Transporation) on that issue."

Henry Winckler, a Democrat running for mayor, is skeptical.

"We've been hearing, either by rumor or by the City Council, that the city will be getting control of Keystone. None of it's true, and I think it's a long shot," Winckler said. "I've been hearing this is a done deal for a long time, and I don't believe much of it anymore."

Even if Carmel gains control of Keystone, a curb cut for Gramercy wouldn't make sense because Brainard has plans to build roundabout interchanges on the roadway, said Marnin Spigelman, an independent running for mayor.

"How they could have an entryway into Gramercy on Keystone seems to be rather dubious if in fact (Brainard's) going to get his way about the Keystone roundabouts," Spigelman said. "If there's any possibility of another entry, I'd say it would have to be on Carmel Drive, if they can pull that off."

If Buckingham's negotiations for access to Carmel Drive fail, the only other option for southern access would be for the city to use eminent domain to obtain the land. When asked whether that's a possibility, Brainard responded, "Not at this time."

Lee, the developer's spokesman, said Buckingham is continuing design work and won't break ground until at least spring. Carmel also is working on conceptual designs for an expansion of 126th, a portion of which would be funded by tax revenue generated by Gramercy.

"Over the next year, we're going to get neighbors involved and look at a lot of different options," Brainard said of 126th. "We want to make sure that the character of the neighborhood doesn't change, and we're going to be very careful with the way we build that road to make sure that happens."

Brainard said the city hasn't decided whether the road would be upgraded from Range Line Road to Keystone or just between Auman and Keystone.
Critics of the project, like Winckler and Spigelman, continue to worry about Gramercy's density and the traffic it will generate. More than 600 people signed a petition against the project before it was approved last year.
Plans call for housing on the site in addition to a hotel, offices and retail shops.

Buckingham had planned 2,200 homes, but it later reduced the height of buildings in the projects and has not offered a new estimate of housing units since.

Spigelman called the project's density "totally out of line."

"When you add the City Center into the equation with Gramercy," Spigelman said, "I frankly think it's going to become a traffic nightmare on 126th."
Brainard said if Gramercy has access to Keystone and Carmel Drive, he thinks traffic on 126th could decrease.

"I'm an optimist," he said. "I believe we can provide good funding to help fix Keystone, to help make Carmel Drive and this whole area work better. The end result will be better traffic flow and fewer backups than we have today."
Winckler doesn't share Brainard's optimism.

"The bottom line is that there is no way we can build the kind of infrastructure to handle this kind of traffic," he said. "It's just impossible."

arenn

August 3rd, 2007, 04:21 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/LOCAL0101/708030355/1155/LOCAL010103

August 3, 2007

Mayor wants $700,000 to support arts in city
Balking council members say any amount is too much

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

City officials have begun to scrutinize the proposed budget for 2008, and perhaps no other subject will be caught in the cross hairs of debate more than funding for the arts.

Roughly 1 percent of city expenditures has been dedicated to a Support for the Arts fund since 2004. A seven-member Arts Advisory Committee appointed by Mayor Jim Brainard makes recommendations each year on where that money should be spent, but the final decisions rest with the mayor.
Since the fund's inception, more than $1.5 million has been contributed to local arts organizations. Brainard said the fund is necessary to help maintain Carmel's quality of life and to help drive economic development.

But in an eight-hour budget workshop earlier this week, some City Council members called for an end to the arts fund.

"I don't think the city should take taxpayers' money and give it to charitable organizations," council member Eric Seidensticker said. "I do support the arts. I think the arts are wonderful, but people in this city are adults and can decide where they want to put their money."

Brainard quickly countered that the money amounts to less than $1 per Carmel household per month.

"It's a principle issue," Seidensticker responded. "You could say it's a penny and it wouldn't make a difference."

So far this year, the city has spent more than $487,000 to fund arts organizations. The total amount budgeted for this year is $675,000.

Brainard is asking for $700,000 for the 2008 budget, roughly 1 percent of the total of Carmel's $56 million general fund budget, the $10.2 million anticipated in motor vehicle highway funding and other city funds.

In addition to Seidensticker, council member Mark Rattermann also said he opposes the arts fund. He voted against this year's budget for that reason.
Council member Rick Sharp, a member of the Arts Advisory Committee, told Brainard he believed the fund should be capped at this year's level of $675,000 instead of increasing with each budget. Council President Joe Griffiths agreed.

"If we're going to support the arts," Griffiths said, "we should cap that out."
But Brainard said he is going to insist on the $700,000.

"I'm going to advocate for the number we put in the budget. It's the same number we had last year with an inflationary increase," Brainard said. "We are talking about one penny on the dollar. It's a very small amount, and it's very important to economic development that we have art and cultural life in the city."

Council member Ron Carter backed Brainard.

"I'm not principally or philosophically opposed to supporting the arts. It's something we've done for quite some time," Carter said. "Supporting the arts makes for a much more attractive community. It's something that's appropriate for the city to do, and it's something communities across the country do all the time."

Henry Winckler, a Democrat running against Brainard in the November election, said the fund should be eliminated.

"I love the arts, and I think we should promote them, but I don't think I should have to pay for them with my tax dollars," Winckler said. "I'm willing to write a check, but I don't think the citizens should be forced to pay for it with their tax dollars."

Marnin Spigelman, a Republican running for mayor as an independent, said he supports funding the arts. Spigelman, though, said a closer eye should be kept on how the money is being spent, making sure it doesn't go to organizations not based in Carmel.

"I can see some support for spending money for Carmel organizations. Whether it has to be $700,000, I'm not quite sure," Spigelman said. "I'm not going to call it excessive, but I just think it needs to be monitored into appropriate entities within the city of Carmel.

"If that takes $700,000, then fine, so be it."

The Carmel Symphony Orchestra has benefited the most from the fund since 2004. The organization has received $585,000 or 37 percent of the total money spent. The Carmel Community Players has received the next largest sum -- $275,000 or roughly 18 percent of all the disbursements.

Another $244,250 has been spent on The Sculpture Foundation, which has helped pay for various J. Seward Johnson, Jr. sculptures that have been placed in Carmel's Arts & Design District.

Other organizations that have received contributions include CarmelFest, the city's annual Fourth of July celebration, the Carmel Fountain Square Committee, which puts on summer concerts at City Hall's gazebo and the Carmel International Arts Festival.

Alan Davis, executive director of the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, said the money is well spent and is a key source of funding for organizations. Davis said he wasn't certain exactly how much of the orchestra's annual budget the city's contributions account for.

"This is an extremely important component of the orchestra's budget," Davis said. "This allows us to do many things we wouldn't otherwise be able to do."
He cited a concert for fifth-graders and the hiring of professional consultants to ramp up the orchestra's fundraising and visibility as endeavors that have been funded by the city's contributions. Davis said cutting the funding would have a minor effect on the city's budget, while keeping the funds would have a major impact on Carmel's arts scene.

"This is a very small portion of the city budget," Davis said. "Just like libraries, schools and parks, the arts funding helps support things people want in this community."

Rattermann said he gives money to the orchestra, the Community Players and the international arts festival, but doesn't think it's government's job to do so.
"I'm not against funding these groups," he said, "but I don't think it's appropriate for government to take money away from taxpayers and then give it to their chosen charities."

Brainard said the money has "very little impact on the taxpayer and a tremendous impact on the city's economic development."

Davis said he's hopeful the council won't push to eliminate the fund.
"It all boils down to whether or not we are willing to sacrifice those things that make us a quality society," he said. "It's my hope we're not willing to make those sacrifices."

arenn

September 1st, 2007, 06:18 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070901/LOCAL/709010372/1155/LOCAL010103

Limestone facade to up cost by nearly $2 million

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1392/1294469247_1ee6604975.jpg

September 1, 2007

Limestone facade to up cost by nearly $2 million
Pedcor to donate architectural work on the nearby theater

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

Mayor Jim Brainard has raised enough in private donations to build the facade of Carmel's planned concert hall with limestone instead of stucco.

This is the latest rendering of the concert hall planned to open in 2010 in Carmel. Its ultimate price tag could range from $80 million to $130 million, depending on private donations raised for upgrades. - Rendering provided by the city of Carmel

Brainard has collected more than $2 million in contributions, and city officials have released a fresh architect's rendering of the concert hall, reflecting the decision to build the structure with limestone.

The city has borrowed $80 million for the hall, which under original plans also included a 500-seat theater. City officials have since decided it would be more cost-effective to build the concert hall and theater separately in Carmel's new downtown City Center.

In addition to the $80 million, Brainard has said the city is counting on another $10 million in interest to drive the public investment for the concert hall and theater to $90 million. About $10 million of that money would be spent on the theater, Brainard said, leaving the price tag for the concert hall alone roughly at $80 million.

While $80 million would pay for the construction of the concert hall, Brainard has set a private fundraising goal of $50 million to help pay for upgrades to the facility. If successful, that could push the project's price tag to $130 million.

The decision to wrap the hall's facade with limestone instead of stucco marks the first upgrade to the building funded by private donations.

"It's exciting that the community has stepped up to support this," Brainard said. "It's going to be a wonderful thing to have in Carmel, and it's going to pay dividends for residents and businesses for generations to come."

Using limestone instead of stucco for the hall will cost an extra $1.9 million. The city expects to pay a total of $8.5 million to build the hall with limestone versus the $6.6 million it would cost to use stucco.

Brainard said the city received a $1 million in-kind contribution from Pedcor Cos., the largest private developer behind Carmel's new City Center downtown.

Pedcor has agreed to do the architectural work for the smaller, 500-seat theater. That donation freed up $1 million the city planned to spend to design the theater, which now will be shifted to help build the concert hall.

In addition, Brainard said he has received a pair of $500,000 pledges for the hall, one from an individual who wishes to remain anonymous and a second from a business that plans to announce its donation in the coming weeks.
The city, Brainard said, also has received a handful of smaller contributions, ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.

News of the fundraising will allow Carmel's Redevelopment Commission to solicit bids for the limestone next month. Les Olds, executive director of the commission, said it typically takes a year to receive limestone and by accepting bids the city could secure its place in line.

Brainard said the city still plans to break ground on the concert hall by the end of the year and is still calling for a completion date in the fall of 2010.
Marnin Spigelman, an independent running against Brainard in the November election, criticized the mayor's decision to use limestone for the concert hall. He has advocated for a convention center instead of the world-class concert hall Brainard has touted.

"The mayor's fuzzy math to reconcile limestone for the misguided building of the concert hall is yet another example of fiscal mismanagement," Spigelman said. "What the city needs is a convention center to draw in business and not a legacy monument for the mayor."

Spigelman also questioned Brainard's ability to raise private contributions for the hall.

"The mayor has been attempting to get donations for the embellishment of the concert hall up to the tune of an additional $40 million or $50 million, and he's been working on that for the last year," Spigelman said. "The fact that he's only gotten two anonymous pledges (totaling) $1 million sort of tells the tale to what Carmel citizens think about the concert hall, think about the expenditure and think about its necessity for the city.

"If everybody was rallying around the flag for the concert hall, you'd see multiple millions of dollars in donations and contributions, but that hasn't happened."

Brainard said securing multimillion-dollar contributions is a lengthy process and contributions will continue to pick up, especially during the three-year period the hall is under construction.

"This a new job for me, but I've been amazed at how generous people are with their time, how willing they are to sit down and listen and the tremendous interest they have in the community and making it better," Brainard said. "I think it's always to easier to raise money and to get excited when construction is going on. That's when people can start to see how the end product will look."

Brainard said it would be another eight to 12 months before the city will have to make any more decisions on upgrades for the facility. Most of those decisions will involve what kind of interior finishes are used in the concert hall.
For example, the current funding for the hall would allow for carpet or tile in the hall's lobby, but if Brainard raises enough money that could be upgraded to terrazzo or marble. Similar decisions would have to be made on the hall's interior walls and the quality of its 1,800 seats.

Other decisions -- like whether to add a $6 million concert organ, a glass canopy or a first-level restaurant -- could be made later in the construction process or even after the hall opens, Brainard said.

Henry Winckler, a Democrat running against Brainard, said none of the decisions to make upgrades to the concert hall should be made until Brainard has raised most of the $50 million in private donations. He said Brainard is timing announcements about the concert hall to help his bid for re-election.

"The decision should be delayed until most of the money is in for the extra niceties, including the limestone front the mayor wants to put on the building," Winckler said. "It also should be delayed until after the election, because a new, more creative team with building and development will move into office."

Brainard said the construction timetable for the concert hall required the decision on the building's facade to be made now. The fate of the hall does not rest on his fundraising effort, Brainard said, adding that only extra additions and upgrades would be backed by private donations.

"We can build the building for ($80 million), and our budget allows us to do that," Brainard said. "The key is that we want to make it as nice as possible for the community, which is why we are doing the fundraising."

Unionstation13

September 2nd, 2007, 06:48 AM

wow, the theater is defianitly going for a look that makes it seriously seem as if though it was really built in the era in which its style was popular. :)

cwilson758

September 2nd, 2007, 09:39 PM

such a gorgeous facility

arenn

September 2nd, 2007, 10:40 PM

This building was designed by the same architect who did the Schermerhorn Center in Nashville (a symphony hall). Here's a photo of that facility:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/518871636_f3e5ee4b01.jpg

Nashville took some heat in some quarters for a "backwards looking" classic structure instead of some starchitect designed building. See this review, for example:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20060924/ai_n16748005

Mayor Brainard certainly won't lose any sleep over criticism like that. He's on record as saying he wants "timeless" structures, and that means for him very conservative, traditional architecture.

Unionstation13

September 3rd, 2007, 03:33 AM

wow, that looks old, Indy should hire that architect for a new courts building haha.
Who said timeless architecture has to be old?(and yes I am fully aware I have said that 58345834958340 times)

hoosier

September 3rd, 2007, 03:45 AM

That is a kick-ass structure. I sure hope it gets built.

I have a feeling though that a lot of Brainard's plans for Carmel is just smoke being blown up the public's ass.

Break ground on this and Gramercy, and get more than just part of a parking garage completed for City Center, and I will start to believe Brainard more.

Unionstation13

September 3rd, 2007, 05:58 AM

ablerock

September 5th, 2007, 10:59 PM

^^
yeah, it seems kinda unbelivable.
And whats going to happen to carmel in the future? What if it dies like many suburbs have, and just have extended suburbs farther?
All these grand structures will sit empty and in despair. :(

That's my feeling about Venu and Carmel and other NS developments. I fear the denser they become the farther out people keeping moving to "escape" the city. It would be nice if downtown Indy would actually be seen as the dense area (no pun intended!) by developers and let the suburbs have some breathing room, as that's what seems to attract people in the first place. Poor zoning or enforcement, I suppose. Or people keep thinking they can build their white suburban meccas without attracting the same problems that come with any location of high population. I really don't understand the suburban mindset. Downtown is already there, why build more that will just scare the people you're trying to please away? Oh well, that's why I love fountain-tucky!

Unionstation13

September 5th, 2007, 11:25 PM

That's my feeling about Venu and Carmel and other NS developments. I fear the denser they become the farther out people keeping moving to "escape" the city. It would be nice if downtown Indy would actually be seen as the dense area (no pun intended!) by developers and let the suburbs have some breathing room, as that's what seems to attract people in the first place. Poor zoning or enforcement, I suppose. Or people keep thinking they can build their white suburban meccas without attracting the same problems that come with any location of high population. I really don't understand the suburban mindset. Downtown is already there, why build more that will just scare the people you're trying to please away? Oh well, that's why I love fountain-tucky!

I like the whole urban thinking, but the people that have moved to these cities arent looking for that.
I mean, living in Cottage Home, I like the fact that I'm living next door to people that purposely moved here for the reason of living in an urban environment. Downtown Carmel, if they arent careful, could end up being a bunch of beautiful buildings boarded up and rundown, and carmel becoming a sort of ghetto.

hoosier

September 6th, 2007, 03:51 AM

I don't know if Carmel wil become a ghetto. It has a great school system and the city has invested heavily in parks, trails, and roads.

I really want to see Gramercy, City Center, the PAC, and Venu come online.

Fishers is moving ahead with a plan to build a new DT and most residents are behind it. The old guard of people who lived in these suburbs when they were just a few leafy subdivisions in the middle of nowehere don't like the changes, but I think most Northsiders see them as progress.

arenn

September 6th, 2007, 05:51 AM

Central Carmel was already struggling before these developments came online. This is suburban redevelopment instead of just building new on the fringe, and it is a good thing.

hoosier

September 6th, 2007, 07:27 PM

So the city of Carmel will be taking over SR 431/Keystone Avenue from the state and in return will receive $90 million from INDOT.

Hopefully the conversion of Keystone to a limited access freeway from 96th to 146th Streets will start soon and be completed before work on US 31 begins in 2011.

The interchange with I-465 should also be rebuilt to improve traffic flow and handle increased congestion.

cityfan

September 7th, 2007, 06:13 AM

arenn

September 7th, 2007, 07:03 AM

Keystone is already limited access in that there is not direct driveway access. The six interchanges will be the only cross-streets. I suspect the other minor streets with direct Keystone access (there aren't many) will be converted to right-in/right-out only with exit/merge ramps.

arenn

September 7th, 2007, 06:48 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/LOCAL0101/709070435/1195/LOCAL18

Carmel gets Keystone Ave., $90M
State pays city to take control of busy corridor; mayor envisions 6 roundabout-style interchanges

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

CARMEL, Ind. -- One of the metro area's most congested traffic arteries will undergo major surgery starting in the spring, but not without controversy.

Joint announcement: Gov. Mitch Daniels (left) and Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard shake on the deal, which puts Carmel in charge of maintenance, snow removal and mowing for Keystone Avenue within the city. - Charlie Nye / The Star

WHAT'S NEXT?

Mayor Jim Brainard said he expects to sign a formal contract with the Indiana Department of Transportation within the next week. Within five days after the agreement is signed, Carmel is to receive $50 million from the state's Major Moves fund.

Under the deal, the state would pay two more $20 million installments to Carmel in 2009 and 2010.

Brainard said the city immediately would begin engineering work for the six roundabout interchanges planned for Keystone. The city plans to complete the project in phases, breaking ground in the spring and planning to finish in 2010.

The mayor said city officials plan meetings this winter to discuss the projects with nearby neighborhoods and businesses that would be affected by the construction. Brainard said he doesn't expect that any businesses or homes would have to be razed, although the city might need to acquire some land.

Did you know?

Indianapolis may be the Circle City, but Carmel is giving it a run for the nickname.

In Brainard's 12-year tenure, the city has built or has plans for more than 50 roundabouts. The six elevated roundabout-style interchanges with access ramps planned for Keystone, which would be lowered at those intersections, would be a first for the city, however.

Gov. Mitch Daniels announced Thursday that the state will pay Carmel $90 million to take control of the roadway, paving the way for Mayor Jim Brainard's vision of building six roundabout-style interchanges on Keystone Avenue north of 96th Street.

Political foes of Brainard and Daniels criticized the deal, but the governor and mayor called the pact a win-win that will bring an innovative solution to one of the area's most severe traffic headaches.

"This allows us to do something that will be wonderful for our citizens, and do it in a way that will bring some notice to Carmel," Brainard said. "This is a tried-and-true solution in many other places in the world and answers a lot of the needs we have for traffic along this roadway."

Indiana's Department of Transportation has controlled Keystone, also known as Ind. 431, and had planned to spend $39.4 million in 2008 to widen the road to three lanes in each direction through Carmel.

But Brainard and other city leaders opposed that move, saying it wouldn't control the swelling traffic. As a result, Brainard said he has pushed for more than a decade to gain control of Keystone.

On Thursday, he got his wish.

"This step, which Mayor Jim and I have agreed on, has been a long time coming," Daniels said. "It's going to make a major, major difference in safety, in the free flow of traffic and the quality of life, not just in Carmel and Hamilton County, but for miles to the north and south."

Democrats slammed Daniels' decision to pay Carmel $90 million for Keystone, $50 million of which would come from Major Moves, Daniels' 10-year plan for statewide road projects funded in large part by the $3.8 billion lease of the Indiana Toll Road.

"Mitch Daniels has proven that the Major Moves money is nothing more than his personal slush fund," said Dan Parker, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party. "It's election time, he's in trouble, and so he has to go pay off his political base."

Department of Transportation Commissioner Karl Browning said the $50 million in Major Moves funding represents how much the state would have spent to widen Keystone once engineering and land acquisition costs were added.

Under a tentative agreement, that first $50 million would be paid to Carmel this year, and two $20 million installments would be paid in 2009 and 2010. Those two payments would come from other state revenue sources.

Browning said that paying $90 million to Carmel was a deal for the state, because he had estimated INDOT would spend more than $150 million to widen Keystone in 2008 and add interchanges later.

INDOT, however, had not previously mentioned interchanges as part of its future project. Browning said that need became apparent in recent months after he surveyed independent engineers.

"That's the thing that absolutely clinched this," Browning said. "That's when I knew what we had planned was just a Band-Aid and wouldn't solve the ultimate problem."

Parker said the state shouldn't decide to spend an extra $50 million on a project without conducting a formal, independent study and placing the project and its cost in INDOT's statewide transportation plan.

"We were committed to $40 million, and with all the state's other priorities, particularly property tax relief, we've managed to find an extra $50 million so Carmel can build more roundabouts?" Parker said. "This is typical Daniels administration. Let's cut some corners so we can make a political payoff."

Gary Abell, a spokesman for Daniels, said there was "absolutely no political motivation" for Thursday's announcement.

Daniels wasn't the only one who was hit with criticism over the Keystone deal.

Brainard faces a pair of challengers in his quest for a fourth term this fall, and both have portrayed themselves as more fiscally conservative than the mayor. The pair have criticized Brainard's support of pricy projects like an $80 million-plus concert hall, the city's $55 million Central Park and even a $20,000 expenditure last month to paint portraits of the city's former mayors.

"Governor Daniels must be congratulated for his coup in laying off Keystone on the Carmel taxpayers to forevermore expend for its repair, renovation and maintenance," said Marnin Spigelman, an independent candidate for mayor. "It appears that Mayor Brainard's legacy vision to indebt and roundabout Carmel is taking us dangerously close to fiscal instability."

Brainard dismissed the criticism as political rhetoric and said the city wouldn't borrow money to complete the Keystone project, only using the $90 million from the state. He said the city hopes to fund later upgrades to the intersection of 96th Street and Keystone with federal funding.

In addition, Brainard said INDOT has spent $100,000 or less per year to maintain Keystone. He said Carmel already helps pay for mowing along the road.

Brainard's plans for Keystone, which he first pitched in a State of the City address last year, are unlike any other project that has been built in the state.

Instead of widening the road, Brainard's solution is to eliminate stoplights by lowering Keystone at major intersections and building elevated roundabouts and access ramps that would allow traffic to move over the roadway without stopping.

The circular interchanges have never been built in Indiana but are being used increasingly in other states, Brainard said.

Brainard said Keystone would be revamped in phases, with construction beginning in the spring and wrapping up in 2010.

Henry Winckler, a Democrat running for mayor, said the plans are too elaborate.

Winckler said he has worked to prevent the widening of Keystone and said simply lowering the road, building earth berms or using bridges would be more realistic approaches.

"The sheer grandiosity of my opponent's plans for Keystone alone beg for a new mayor and council to reintroduce the reasonable and responsible test to city projects," Winckler said.

Brainard said no homes would be razed as part of his plan and the project would improve Keystone's safety and move traffic faster. According to INDOT statistics, about 50,000 vehicles travel on Keystone each day, and Carmel police recorded 219 traffic accidents on the highway in 2006.

Once the road is under city control, Brainard said, the City Council could ban large trucks and plant trees along the roadway.

Daniels, who is building a new home in Clay Township, is a fan.

"Great cities don't just happen by accident. They don't just spring up like dandelions out of the ground," Daniels said, just after a string quartet welcomed the crowd gathered at Carmel City Hall on Thursday morning.
"It takes careful leadership and foresight. All of that is on display in this plan, which now finally will become real."

hoosier

September 7th, 2007, 10:10 PM

Will it really be a limited access freeway? The articles I've read made it sound like they were just going to replace six intersections with roundabouts.

The roundabouts will be at a separate grade. N/S traffic on Keystone will flow unhindered. The roundabouts will replace stoplights where the exit/entrance ramps meet the cross streets.

Something needs to be done about the I-465/Keystone interchange to remove the stoplights there.

The traffic backups will be horrendous if you have a limited access freeway coming to a full stop at that interchange.

cityfan

September 9th, 2007, 08:24 PM

Roundabouts floated for U.S. 31
Plans for Keystone give the concept a boost

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070909/LOCAL/709090441

CARMEL, Ind. -- A planned expansion of U.S. 31 through Hamilton County could include roundabout-style interchanges similar to the design that Gov. Mitch Daniels and other top state officials endorsed for Keystone Avenue last week.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has planned to spend about $400 million to eliminate stoplights on U.S. 31 through Carmel and Westfield, turning the road into a limited-access highway by 2016.

Original state blueprints have called for traditional interchanges on the highway, a move that would require the acquisition of large sections of land and wipe out more than two dozen businesses along the route in Westfield.

But Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard and Westfield Town Council President Andy Cook instead have backed using roundabout interchanges, which they say would require much less land, preserve virtually all of the nearby businesses and protect their communities from overpasses and exit ramps that would become barriers through their suburban communities.

At one time that pitch was considered unlikely, with state transportation officials known for their resistance to nontraditional road designs.

The push for roundabout interchanges, however, gained steam last week after Daniels announced the state would pay Carmel $90 million to take control of a section of Keystone Avenue. That move paved the way for Brainard's plan to build six roundabout interchanges on Keystone, a concept Daniels said he hopes will change the way INDOT approaches some road projects.

Traffic on Keystone would travel under the elevated roundabouts, which would handle traffic exiting from ramps and crossing over the roadway.
"I think our own people have seen some very eye-opening ideas from the mayor and his team," Daniels said. "I hope we can transport those and replicate them elsewhere."
On U.S. 31?

"Well, maybe," Daniels said. "I'm not a highway engineer, but this sort of design brings safety, brings a freer flow of traffic, is aesthetically nicer and is an idea I hope communities all over Indiana will take a look at."

RW Armstrong, the engineering firm INDOT has hired to design U.S. 31 in Hamilton County, is carefully studying the concept, said Dennis Faulkenberg, executive director of the U.S. 31 Coalition. INDOT is expected to submit its design plan for federal approval by June, he said.

"Our board of directors is very pleased with the roundabout plan and has endorsed it," said Faulkenberg, whose group includes residents, companies and elected officials who back improvements to U.S. 31.

"Assuming they can make it work to manage the traffic flow, we love the idea, and the engineers are studying that right now."

Rick Conner, an engineer with Indianapolis-based American Structurepoint, says roundabout interchanges easily could handle the 70,000 vehicles estimated to travel that stretch of U.S. 31 daily.

Conner, who has done preliminary design work for Carmel on the Keystone project, points to roundabout-style interchanges on larger roadways such as I-70 in Vail, Colo., I-80 in California, and the Medford Interchange near Minneapolis.

"Those are all hogs, big interchanges," said Conner, whose firm has studied roundabout feasibility on U.S. 31 in Carmel's effort to persuade INDOT to build them.

"If these are handling the volume on I-70 and I-80 interchanges, they certainly can handle it on U.S. 31."

INDOT Commissioner Karl Browning praised the roundabout interchanges planned for Keystone as visionary. Browning said he's issued a challenge to engineers within INDOT to find projects to utilize the safety benefits of roundabouts, which studies show have fewer serious accidents than stoplight intersections.

When asked about the possibility of the roundabout interchanges on U.S. 31, Browning replied: "We'll take a look at it, absolutely."
Westfield might have the most to gain if the state chooses to use the circular interchanges.

Cook, the Town Council president, said Westfield stands to lose 10 percent of its commercial tax base in the more than two dozen businesses that would be razed under INDOT's current plans for U.S. 31. He also backs Brainard's interchange plan if the roundabouts are found capable of handling U.S. 31's traffic.

"We feel quite assured that this roundabout design cannot only save money in land acquisition, but save businesses," Cook said. "We're very excited INDOT is taking a more local and interested approach to this."
Not everyone in Carmel is excited.

Marnin Spigelman, an independent running for mayor, said Carmel residents are "dizzy enough" from the more than 50 roundabouts that have been built or are planned for the city. Spigelman said roundabouts on U.S. 31 would only add to traffic congestion.

But Faulkenberg said that if state-hired engineers determined that they wouldn't add to congestion, the chances of INDOT building roundabout interchanges on U.S. 31 are good -- even if it takes Hoosiers a while to embrace them.

"My first impression about roundabouts on U.S. 31, a freeway, was that they will never work," Faulkenberg said. "But when you find out all the facts, and realize there's a separation between the roundabout and the freeway, it makes perfect sense.

"It's very innovative, and certainly other folks are using them around the world, so why not take a look at them here?"

http://cmsimg.indystar.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070909&Kategori=LOCAL&Lopenr=709090441&Ref=AR&Q=80&MaxW=500&MaxH=400&Site=BG&Q=80&Border=0&Title=0

cityfan

September 9th, 2007, 08:42 PM

Spigelman has no idea what he's talking about. Instead of giving alternatives or valid criticisms, all he can say is "Carmel residents are dizzy enough".

arenn

September 10th, 2007, 04:09 AM

I don't believe there is a freeway anywhere in America that is all roundabout interchanges with the freeway below grade. Assuming this call comes to pass with Meridian and Keystone, Indy would have two of them. These projects are totally unique and Mayor Brainard is showing incredible leadership here by pressing for them.

Unionstation13

September 10th, 2007, 09:07 PM

^^ dont alot of roundabout interchanges also prevent alot of car acciedents?

hoosier

September 11th, 2007, 03:29 AM

I say do it. Too bad it won't be done for 10 years.

arenn

September 20th, 2007, 06:14 AM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070919/LOCAL0101/709190441/1155/LOCAL010103

September 19, 2007

Appeals court hears Home Place case
Residents try to stave off annexation by Carmel

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

The fate of Home Place, and the pocketbooks of those who live there, could hinge on whether affluent Carmel needed to convince a court it could afford to annex the blue-collar neighborhood.

WHAT'S NEXT
Both sides in the annexation case said they were optimistic about their chances after the Indiana Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday.

Timetable: The court is expected to make a decision in the case in a few months.

Appeal: Each side says it will appeal the case to the state Supreme Court if the Court of Appeals rules against it.

The Indiana Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Tuesday in Carmel's controversial attempt to incorporate Home Place, a 1.6-square-mile area centered at 106th Street and College Avenue that encompasses more than 2,200 property owners.

About 70 percent of those landowners signed a remonstrance against the annexation and the higher taxes it would bring. Under last year's tax rate, Home Place residents would pay 21 percent more if annexed into Carmel.

More than two dozen homeowners attended Tuesday's hourlong hearing at the Statehouse. Many of them contributed to the $60,000 in legal fees raised through potluck dinners and raffles to help Home Place's cause get its day in court.

They watched as their lawyer, Stephen Buschmann, argued against Carmel's legal team, led by Bryan Babb.

Many of the questions from the three justices presiding over the case centered on whether state law required Carmel to prove it could afford to annex Home Place.

In a 2005 decision, Hamilton County Judge William Hughes ruled Carmel did not prove it could afford to provide services to Home Place once the area was annexed into the city.

Carmel's fiscal plan showed the city would lose $3.4 million in the first three years of the annexation because the added tax revenue from Home Place would not cover the initial cost of expanding city services to the area.

Hughes determined the city's statement that the annexation would be funded by "other available net revenues" was not sufficient.

Carmel argued Hughes overstepped his judicial authority.

"That fiscal plan met the requirements of the statute, and it doesn't really matter whether Judge Hughes believed Carmel could fund the annexation," Babb said.

arenn

October 6th, 2007, 09:30 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/LOCAL/710050377/1155/LOCAL010103

October 5, 2007

136th Street enhancement officially opens today
Next stretch, from Spring Mill to Ditch, wraps up next month

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

Another leg of an east-west thoroughfare opens this afternoon, marking a step in the city's ongoing effort to improve traffic flow with additional roadways.

The stretch of 136th Street between Illinois Street/Oak Ridge Road and Spring Mill Road is complete after more than six months of reconstruction. The rest of the two-mile project -- to reconstruct 136th from Spring Mill to Ditch roads -- will wrap up in mid-November, said City Engineer Mike McBride.
That project is one in a series to increase the number of corridors across town.

Last week, the portion of Illinois between 131st and 136th streets opened to the public. That completes the new Illinois/Oak Ridge corridor from south of 116th to 146th, a road flanked by office complexes to the east and residences to the west.

In the next few years, the thoroughfare will provide an alternative route to Meridian Street starting at the intersection of 106th Street and Spring Mill Road.

"Roads flanking U.S. 31 are critical to regional mobility," McBride said. "The traffic will finally have an opportunity to spread out."

Old county roads such as 136th are being widened and revamped with amenities such as boulevards and storm sewers as part of a $70 million project.

The city is funding the reconstruction with a bond. Residents in the northwest part of Carmel, west of U.S. 31 and north of 116th Street, who were annexed into the city in 2003, will help pay that bond.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said the project will pay off for future generations of residents in the area by making the roads safer.

"The roads really suffered from underinvestment," Brainard said. "Now the infrastructure will be in place. The roads should last another 100 years with repaving.

But Rebecca Hubbard, who lives on the strip of 136th that's opening, isn't as enthusiastic about the new road.

She said she appreciates the benefit of the sidewalk that will connect her house with the neighborhood behind it.

But she has reservations about the boulevard in the center of the road, which will hamper her from turning left out of her driveway.

She's also concerned that there will be an increase in traffic.

"I didn't ask for the new road," said Hubbard, who has lived in her house since 1994. "We didn't really plan to live on an interstate."

arenn

October 10th, 2007, 10:50 PM

Clay Township as a whole has about 80,000 people, so that is where Carmel will land when it completes the annexation of the remainder of the township. The Southwest Clay annexation will be completed in 2010, and the jury is still out on Home Place.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/LOCAL0101/71010047

Carmel's population rises to 68,653

Carmel’s population has climbed to 68,653, according to preliminary results from a special census the city paid to conduct this summer.

Carmel Chamber President Mo Merhoff shared the news during Wednesday’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon, indicating that the final count was higher than the city’s own estimate that its population would rise to about 65,000.
This is welcome news to city officials and taxpayers alike, as Carmel will reap about $3.5 million in additional state funds because of it. With a cost of about $1 million to conduct the special census, the city’s net gain will be about $2.5 million, said Mayor James Brainard. Without the special census, the city would have had to wait until late 2011 or early 2012 to reap fair-share results from the next regular census, the mayor said.

When the special census began on July 26, the city said additional monies from the state could be used for road projects, education, senior citizens programs and other important services for the community. With taxpayer funds distributed back to communities based on population, Brainard added: “We just want to get our share back.”

Carmel’s population in the 2000 Census was 37,733, but that increased to about 50,800 following annexation of property north of 116th Street and west of Meridian Street, Brainard said. Once the city’s special census total is certified, it would reflect a population growth of 35 percent since the annexed area was added.

Certification of the preliminary count is expected from the Census Bureau before year’s end, said Nancy Heck, the city’s director of community relations.

The City of Carmel’s population edged over 1,000 in 1950, and saw gradual increases over the next two decades. By 1970, the city’s population rose to 6,691. Its population nearly tripled to 18,272 by 1980 as it became the first community just north of Indianapolis to experience significant growth. By 1990, the city’s population increased to 25,380.

Carmel was Hamilton County’s largest community until the 2000 Census, when it was edged by the Town of Fishers, which is conducting its own special census to gain additional state funds.

hoosier

October 11th, 2007, 12:05 AM

Carmel just keeps on growing!

How soon until it reaches 100,000 people?

unvrsty07

October 11th, 2007, 12:48 AM

^^^ 2011.. With all the high tech job announcements (like todays) I give it just a year or so after the 2010 census. I guess it just depends on how much they are able to annex in the next 2-3 years... Amazing growth, and fantastic news!!!

Unionstation13

October 11th, 2007, 01:35 AM

:lol:
Soon Indy and Carmel will be like SP and MPLS! :lol:

NaptownBoy

October 11th, 2007, 02:26 AM

I can honestly say that I would not be surprised if Carmel hit 100,000 (or close to) in the 2010 Census, annexations and all.

cityfan

October 11th, 2007, 05:05 AM

Fishers isn't far behind

arenn

October 11th, 2007, 06:29 AM

I think Carmel is a ways off from hitting 100K. First off, annexations will only take it to 80K, so it would need to grow another 25% on top of that. That's a heckuva lot of growth, even for Hamilton County. The pace of development acxtually seems to be slowing in Carmel as the city gets built out and the mayor focuses on quality over quantity. Carmel may never actually hit 100K, though I would say that seems likely at some point. I wouldn't predict by 2011 however.

hoosier

October 11th, 2007, 06:34 AM

arenn

October 12th, 2007, 03:47 PM

Fishers has a bit over 75,000 people. I'm not sure how many people are in the Geist area, but there's a good chance annexation, even if it succeeded, would not be official until after the Census due to the lengthy court battles in progress. The town projects full buildout at about 125,000 residents, but that is probably around 2025 or so I believe they are saying. So I don't expect Fishers to top 100K at the Census, but believe they'll be bigger than Carmel.

These numbers sound big, but other cities have lots of suburbs that size or bigger. Arlington, Texas (Dallas) has almost 370,000, more than Hamilton + Hendricks Counties combined.

hoosier

October 12th, 2007, 09:53 PM

These numbers sound big, but other cities have lots of suburbs that size or bigger. Arlington, Texas (Dallas) has almost 370,000, more than Hamilton + Hendricks Counties combined.

True, but Arlington is much larger in geographic area than Carmel or Fishers.

I thought Hamilton and Hendricks Counties had a combined population of 380,000 (250K + 130 K)?

unvrsty07

October 13th, 2007, 05:52 PM

^^^ They do

arenn

October 13th, 2007, 07:58 PM

Ok, hoosier, you got me on that one.

arenn

October 17th, 2007, 09:28 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071017/LOCAL0101/710170512

Court rules Carmel can annex Home Place

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled today that Carmel can annex Home Place.

The decision could mean the more than 2,200 residents of the mainly blue-collar area, concentrated in 1.6 square miles at 106th Street and College Avenue, would become part of Carmel and pay higher tax rates.

Based on last year's tax rate, Home Place residents would pay 21 percent more if annexed into Carmel.

The appeals court's decision reverses Hamilton Superior Court 3 Judge William Hughes' 2005 ruling that the city did not provide substantial explanation of its ability to pay for the annexation.

The appeals court ruled the city could pay based on the testimony that Carmel has enough money in its operating balance to cover the initial deficit that would follow the annexation.

The appeals court used the guidance from a June ruling in the Indiana Supreme Court allowing Carmel to annex another portion of the township, Southwest Clay.

"Despite the difficulties in comparing the facts in Southwest Clay to the facts in this case, we conclude that, like the Southwest Clay fiscal plan, the fiscal plan here satisfies all ... purposes assigned to it," Judge Nancy Vaidik wrote in the decision.

arenn

October 18th, 2007, 01:36 AM

Statement from Mayor Jim Brainard

"We are pleased, of course, with the ruling but understand that this is the Court of Appeals and not the final decision of the Supreme Court. This decision will be good for Carmel taxpayers. The economies of scale will save millions of dollars over time. Home Place residents will also benefit from officially becoming part of Carmel because we have the ability to improve the infrastructure and provide first rate services.

"This area is already part of the Carmel school district and the library district. If this decision is upheld, Carmel’s school boundaries will be the same, for the first time in history, as the city boundaries.

"The city council passed a resolution several years ago indicating that all of Clay Township should be included in the Carmel city limits. If and when this decision is upheld, it will represent the 56th successful and last annexation to accomplish that goal."

arenn

October 23rd, 2007, 09:03 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/LOCAL/710230345/1155/LOCAL010103

Ban on heavy trucks sought on Keystone

The Carmel City Council on Monday called a special Wednesday meeting at which members plan to introduce and pass a ban on most heavy-truck traffic on the formerly state-controlled Keystone Avenue.

It's the same road that Mayor Jim Brainard hopes can be reconfigured for roundabouts at existing intersections.

Unveiled Monday by the city clerk's office, the proposed ordinance would ban any vehicle weighing more than 16,000 pounds on five roads. They are Keystone Avenue, from 96th Street to U.S. 31; Gray and River roads between 131st and 146th streets; Rohrer Road from 136th Street to 146th Street; and Carey Road from Smokey Row Road to 146th Street. Violators would be fined up to $500.

The meeting will be 3 p.m. at City Hall, 1 Civic Square.

The state agreed in early September to give control of Ind. 431 to Carmel, along with $90 million.

arenn

October 28th, 2007, 05:11 PM

What amazes me about this article is that the Star will run a lengthy Sunday cover story on one comparatively small deal up in Carmel while saying almost nothing about the gigantic amounts of funds that have flowed into sweetheart deals in downtown Indy. Over the years there has certainly been hundreds of millions if not over a billion in city subsidies to various private entities, all with far less scrutiny by the Star.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/LOCAL/710280424

October 28, 2007

Should Carmel taxpayers pay for a private gallery?

City gambles millions of dollars on gallery owner's ability to invigorate its arts district

By Bill Ruthhart
bill.ruthhart@indystar.com

CARMEL, Ind. -- High-priced paintings and sculptures fill Evan Lurie's new gallery on Main Street, and his name graces the facade of the recently opened four-story building.

A prediction: Years from now, Evan Lurie says, Carmel residents won't remember how his gallery was built; they'll just appreciate all the other galleries he has attracted to Carmel. He showed works by Ilona Zaremba to Cherie Palma (center) and decorator Tonya Ballew this month. - Kelly Wilkinson / The Star

THE $4.1M GALLERY DEAL

The total price of The Evan Lurie Fine Art Gallery building is $4.1 million.

Carmel's investments
$1.2 million cash.
$2.9 million loan to the developer. If the developer were to default on the loan, the city would be responsible.

Lurie's investment
Evan Lurie has paid $1.3 million for his space on the first two floors; the city has applied that toward paying down the loan.

Getting its money back
The city is counting on getting its money back when the developer sells four condominiums in the building. One has sold for $807,000. The city won't recoup an additional $323,000 it spent on site preparation and design.

Sources: Carmel Redevelopment Commission documents, city expenditure reports

THE CONSULTING CONTRACT
A breakdown of how much Carmel has paid Evan Lurie, at a rate of $100 an hour, to recruit galleries and businesses to the Carmel Arts & Design District. Lurie's contract limits him to $50,000 per year.

2005
January ..... $7,250.
February ..... $5,400.
March ..... $7,600.
Total ..... $20,250.

2006
May ..... $7,200.
June ..... $7,850.
July ..... $7,400.
August ..... $12,900.
September ..... $7,150.
October ..... $9,400.
Total ..... $51,900.

2007
January ..... $6,400.
February ..... $3,950.
March ..... $6,100.
April ..... $6,350.
May ..... $1,950.
June ..... $4,550.
Through June ..... $29,300.

Travel expenses
• May 2006 to Chicago ..... $229.65.
• November 2006 to Chicago ..... $450.08.
• April 2007 to Chicago ..... $571.78.
Total ..... $1,251.51.

OVERALL TOTAL ..... $102,701.51.

Sources: Carmel Redevelopment Commission, Carmel clerk-treasurer's office

ABOUT EVAN LURIE

Born: 1966, New York City.

Childhood: The son of a salesman, Lurie grew up in Europe, including Stresa and Positano, Italy; Zurich, Switzerland; London; and Madrid, Spain. He moved back to the United States at age 17.

Education: Boca Raton (Fla.) High School, 1984. Attended New York University's film school.

Family: Wife, Jennifer; children Ben, 7, and Rose, 4.

Career: After success as a martial-arts champion, Lurie was a stuntman and actor, working with Jackie Chan, Jean-Claude Van Damme and others. In 1997, he left acting and opened his first gallery, The Glass Garage Fine Art Gallery, in West Hollywood, Calif., with a partner.

Galleries: In 2003, he opened Lurie Galleries in Boca Raton, Fla., with brother Bruce. In 2004, Lurie sold his interest in the West Hollywood gallery. In 2005, the two brothers opened Lurie Galleries in Miami. Earlier this year, they closed the Boca Raton gallery. Brothers Craig and Scott Lurie own a Lurie Galleries in Los Angeles. The Evan Lurie Gallery of Fine Art opened in Carmel last month.

Favorite artist: Goya.

Best advice about buying art: "Buy from the heart."

OTHER DISTRICTS

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard points to other cities that have been successful in using redevelopment funds to drive arts districts. Among them:

West Hollywood, Calif.,

where a blighted area between Beverly Hills and Hollywood was redeveloped into the Avenue of Arts and Design.

Alexandria, Va.,

where an old seafront and warehouse district were revitalized into an arts destination.

Miami

where Brainard said Mayor Manny Diaz told him the arts districts have been the largest source of redevelopment near the city's core.

What isn't etched into the $4.1 million building are the lengths to which city leaders have gone -- and the taxpayer dollars they've invested -- to lure Lurie and help him establish his business in town.

Carmel has either paid cash or backed loans covering more than two-thirds of the building's cost, according to city records.

The city also persuaded Lurie -- a former Hollywood stuntman and actor who co-owns a Miami gallery -- to move to Carmel by offering him a consulting contract, paying him $100 an hour to recruit other businesses to its new Arts & Design District.

Much of this has happened with little public awareness.

The arrangement has drawn criticism from municipal government experts, as well as political foes of Mayor Jim Brainard, who are upset about the use of public dollars to help a privately owned gallery filled with more than $1 million worth of artwork.

"There are all kinds of red flags here," said City Councilman Mark Rattermann. "This is absolutely inappropriate."

Supporters say communities across the country are increasingly taking the same approach as they compete to develop hip, trendy neighborhoods that will attract shoppers and diners while enhancing quality of life.

Brainard offers no apologies, touting The Evan Lurie Gallery of Fine Art as the crown jewel of Carmel's redevelopment effort in the city's oldest area.

"The opening of the Lurie galley is a watershed moment for our arts district," Brainard said earlier this month. "This gallery will attract more galleries, more restaurants, and is a big step in the revitalization of Old Town Carmel."

Brainard, a Republican, also argues the city stands to recover much of its investment through the sale of condominiums on the building's top two floors.
However, at least one leading redevelopment expert who has studied Carmel's plan said city leaders' optimism may be misplaced, given the high prices they've asked for the condos.

"It's one thing to stretch things in the name of redevelopment to bring in a nice art gallery, but the question is: 'Are you stretching in a smart way?' " said John McIlwain, a senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

"They clearly were committed to bringing in this gallery, but the city's plan makes no sense."

Luring Evan Lurie

Brainard met Lurie while the gallery owner was living in Los Angeles. Introduced by Lurie's in-laws, who live in Carmel, the mayor made two trips to the West Coast before offering him a consulting contract.

Lurie, who wanted to raise his two children in the Midwest, sold his interest in a gallery he co-owned on West Hollywood's Avenue of Arts and Design and left a position on that district's board.

His consulting contract, which charged him with attracting other out-of-state galleries, would help cover living expenses in Carmel. "I couldn't just come here for nothing," Lurie said. "I gave up income I had in California."

He began his work for Carmel in January 2005 and, at the same time, launched into plans to build his gallery.

City officials wanted the gallery in a landmark building that they hoped would inspire other developers to build in the area. But Lurie couldn't afford to go it alone. "I could have built a two-story block building," he said, "but that's not what the city wanted."

The solution: Carmel helped finance the project.

In March 2006, the city's five-member Redevelopment Commission approved a deal that required Lurie to pay $1.3 million for his space on the building's first two floors. Carmel would be left on the hook for the remaining $2.8 million, either through cash it invested in the project or developer loans it helped back.

Unlike the City Council, the commission is not required by state law to hold public hearings before making decisions on projects such as the Lurie gallery, and its agendas do not list specific items up for a vote. As a result, the deal drew little public attention.

Mayoral candidate Marnin Spigelman is especially critical of the deal.
"For Mr. Lurie to get this consulting contract, only pay for 30 percent of the building, get the prime two floors and have his name plastered across the top of the building is an unbelievable sweetheart deal," said Spigelman, a Republican running as an independent against Brainard.

"It's a sweetheart deal that doesn't smell sweet."

Lurie said he doesn't understand the criticism, given that he spent $1.3 million on the gallery space and another $200,000 to finish it.

"What sweetheart deal? I have $1.5 million of my own money in this," Lurie said. "I don't understand what they think I've been given. I'm leveraged up to my eyeballs on this."

Brainard and Les Olds, the city's director of redevelopment, respond to the criticism by noting the Lurie site had been a city parking lot and that state law gives cities the power to help redevelop blighted areas.

That power, critics counter, was intended for depressed areas. "That's not downtown Carmel," Rattermann said.

Brainard disagrees.

"Anybody who suggests this area was doing just fine on its own is forgetting that there hadn't been a building built there since the 1970s," he said. "Do you have to wait for an area to become really, really blighted to start redevelopment?"

Now, Brainard said, the land is home to one of the city's most striking buildings -- one he estimates will generate an additional $75,000 in property taxes a year. He also points out that the money spent by the city on the project came from tax revenue generated by new Carmel businesses -- not homeowners.

"We provided economic incentives to this project just like Indiana provided economic incentives to get the Honda plant" opening next year near Greensburg, Brainard said.

As part of the deal, the city spent $1.2 million in cash, while Carmel Arts LLC, an arm of Indianapolis-based Stenz Construction, borrowed $2.9 million for the building.

Carmel Arts received the loan only after Carmel agreed to back it, city officials said. If Stenz were to default on the loan, the city would take control of the building and have to pay off the debt.

With Lurie's $1.3 million payment already in hand, the city and Carmel Arts hope to make up the remaining $2.8 million invested in the project by selling four high-end condominiums on the building's top two floors.

With prices ranging from $665,000 to more than $800,000, the condos could net up to $2.952 million, enough to cover the project's cost and earn Carmel Arts a profit.

One condo has sold, for $807,000, while the three others remain on the market.

"The belief is that in the Carmel area, there are three more people who will want to be a part of this," said Olds, the redevelopment director.

A profit for the city isn't critical, he said. "We'd love to be able to walk away even. That's the goal."

Carmel won't walk away even on an additional $323,000 the city spent on preparing the Lurie site for construction and designing the building. That investment is separate from what the city would recover from the sale of the condos.

McIlwain, the housing redevelopment expert, said the idea of selling condos at such high prices -- when neighboring homes sell for half as much or less -- sounds far-fetched. No condos in Carmel ever have sold for as much.

"They're going to have to sell these units for substantially below what they are asking for -- $300,000 to $400,000, if they're lucky," McIlwain predicted. "Even though they've sold one condo, I think they're looking at a building that is going to be dark upstairs for quite some time."

Henry Winckler, a Democrat running for mayor, also is skeptical.

"The housing market has tanked, and we're betting city money on selling $700,000 and $800,000 condos?" Winckler said. "Money-wise, this is crazy as hell. Brainard is a riverboat gambler, and he's going to lose big on this."

Leo Stenz, the project's developer, said he's optimistic that the condos, complete with individual elevators, will sell.

"It's at the front end of the cycle, but I think five years from now, people will be talking differently about real estate values on that strip," Stenz said. "I think we will get the prices."

The record

The Carmel Redevelopment Commission and Evan Lurie signed their contract in May 2006. Here is a copy of that deal and invoices submitted by Lurie since.
Lurie's contract

Invoices
Jan. 4-28, 2005
March 1-31, 2005
May 8-31, 2006
June 1-Sept. 30, 2006
Oct. 1-31, 2006
January-June 2007

Drawing power

Brainard said Lurie's No. 1 goal is to attract galleries from outside Indiana. In exchange for his efforts, Carmel has paid Lurie more than $102,000 in consulting fees since 2005.

A review of his invoices shows he has traveled to Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and Ann Arbor, Mich. But so far, none of the dozens of out-of-state galleries listed on Lurie's invoices has moved to Carmel.

"Unfortunately, when you do this sort of work," Brainard said, "you have to knock on literally hundreds of doors to get a few galleries to relocate."
Lurie said now that his Carmel gallery is open, he expects other nationally recognized galleries to follow.

"I'm out there in all these cities talking about Carmel, but to these other galleries, it didn't mean anything until I got my doors open and could say, 'Yes, I think this is going to work,' " Lurie said. "No one wants to take that first leap of faith."

Spigelman contends the city is paying Lurie for what gallery owners do anyway.

"He's basically had a free ride since 2005 to visit galleries. That's what art dealers do."

But Brainard and others credit Lurie with the relocation of six local galleries to the arts district and say his experience in marketing the West Hollywood arts district has been valuable.

Wes Dwyer, owner of the Art & Soul Gallery, said Lurie's reputation persuaded him to relocate his gallery from Geist to Carmel.

"Evan has been very instrumental," Dwyer said. "He's a huge force for this district."

Lurie said election-year politics have fed the criticism of his gallery and consulting contract.

Years from now, he said, Carmel residents won't be thinking about how his gallery was built or his consulting contract.

Instead, he said, they'll come to recognize the building that bears his name, the dynamic artwork inside and the other galleries his gallery attracted to Carmel.

"I think people just want something to talk about," Lurie said of the naysayers. "Sometimes I think people try to find fault in things where sometimes there isn't any."

IndyTampaTom

October 29th, 2007, 06:30 PM

Good for Carmel and Mayor Brainerd. Two or three years ago - no one would have ever thought about Carmel having much of an arts culture - but that is quickly changing. It seems apparent to me that Mr. McIlvane from the Urban Land Institute doesn't know much about Carmel. His quotes in the article make it seem like he has no idea what is going on in Carmel. In a few more years, the entire north central area of Indianapolis through Carmel will be even hotter than it is today - with Venu, Keystone @ the Crossing, Grammercy, Carmel City Center, Carmel Arts District and all the businesses and top residential areas in the area between US 31, Keystone Ave, 136th Street and 79th Street.

jobecob

October 30th, 2007, 12:48 AM

Well my friend will display on of her work this weekend I think

arenn

November 7th, 2007, 10:27 AM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/LOCAL19/311070008

Brainard wins in Carmel; GOP mayor in Westfield

2:49 AM November 7, 2007

Hamilton County
Brainard wins in Carmel; GOP mayor in Westfield
Carmel mayor to keep pushing redevelopment

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

Carmel re-elected the sitting mayor and Westfield residents elected a Republican as their first mayor Tuesday, suggesting both communities will push ahead with plans for growth and redevelopment.

With all precincts reporting in Carmel, Republican Jim Brainard had 66.48 percent of the vote to win his fourth term.

Independent challenger Marnin Spigelman had 18.53 percent, and Democrat Henry Winckler had 14.98 percent.

With 83 percent of votes counted about 8 p.m., Brainard made a victory speech, touting the success of his seven fellow Republican City Council candidates who also won election.

"We can officially declare victory for the entire Republican team," Brainard said.

Brainard's campaign focused on completing his plans for a city in the midst of change. During his 12 years in office, he has pushed to create an urbanized downtown district for Carmel with millions of dollars invested in development projects, including a multimillion-dollar performance venue.

Redevelopment projects such as the $500 million Gramercy and the $200 million City Center forecast a downtown shaped by high-end retail, residences, and office and commercial space.

On Tuesday, Brainard said he hoped to push forward with those plans.
"We're going to have a great four years," he said. "We're going to finish City Center and work hard on our bike and trail system. Most of all, we're going to keep our tax rates low, as we've done for a long time."
Brainard's challengers said they weren't disheartened.

Winckler said this election was the launching pad for the emergence of a Democratic Party in a city historically dominated by Republicans.

"Our objective was to get Democrats on the ballot full-slate, and we did that," Winckler said. "Things don't happen instantaneously in this realm, but we'll keep working at it. I suspect there's going to be some change in the political landscape in coming years."

Independent challenger Spigelman said he's happy to return to his private life but disappointed in Carmel voters' choice.

"I feel for Carmel," Spigelman said. "People completely disassociated from the reality of the risks over the next four years by re-electing the mayor. Apparently, they decided the shiny buildings and wild plans are what's best for Carmel.

"We'll see what happens in the next four years when the bills start rolling in and the money doesn't."

In Westfield, residents elected the current Town Council president, Republican Andy Cook, to be the first mayor when it becomes a city Jan. 1. Cook had 86 percent of the votes, beating out Rick Day, an independent who made his first run in politics with 14 percent of the votes.

Cook has said he hopes to develop the downtown with entertainment and local shops anchored by waterways and trails.

He also will push to attract much-needed commercial development to add to the city's tax base.

Developers have approval to build more than 11,000 housing units in Westfield on more than 4,000 acres. About 4 million square feet of commercial space also is in the works.

"We've got a great team here that's ready to go to work and take this town to the next level," Cook said. "We're ready to go."

Day said he wasn't disappointed about his loss but thought he could have campaigned harder.

He said he was short on funds for campaigning and made little effort to walk the streets and knock on doors.

"I have to say I'll learn from my mistakes and life goes on," Day said. "I did something toward making a difference."

arenn

November 15th, 2007, 05:20 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/LOCAL/711150526/1015/LOCAL01

November 15, 2007

Carmel art museum plan scrapped

By Tania E. Lopez
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com

Local arts philanthropist Jeremy Efroymson has canceled plans to open a contemporary art museum in Carmel.

After negotiations to house the Midwest Museum of Contemporary Art (MiCo) at the Lurie Building fell through, Efroymson said he failed to find another suitable location in Carmel. Also, funding he sought from the Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau did not pan out.

"It didn't turn out like we had planned," Efroymson said Wednesday. "I don't need to do this for myself. I do it for the community, and the community has to support it and embrace it, and I guess we have some of that in Carmel but not enough to support it or make it work."

MiCo had been scheduled to open in September on the second floor of the Lurie Building at 30 W. Main St., but Efroymson said in August that he couldn't "make the numbers work" with owner Evan Lurie.

The city's Arts Advisory Committee had set aside $100,000 from its Support for the Arts Fund to help finance MiCo.

Efroymson said Lurie, a consultant hired by the city to recruit businesses to its Arts & Design District, also helped facilitate talks between MiCo and the visitors bureau for special-projects funding.

Brenda Myers, the visitors bureau executive director, said MiCo applied for about $200,000 a year for two years to help with planning and revitalization. The request was denied because staff and board members thought more planning needed to be done.

"It's unfortunate because it's really a great product, and we would have wanted to invest in it," Myers said.

Lurie said Wednesday he didn't know Efroymson's museum would not be coming to Carmel.

"The museum was going to be another nice feature to the district," he said. "That's not going to stop us from getting a museum here in the distant future."

arenn

November 21st, 2007, 07:45 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/LOCAL0101/711210365/1006/LOCAL

November 21, 2007

Extreme makeover is possible for bank
By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

A key portion of Carmel's Arts & Design District could get a major makeover in coming months as National City Bank considers plans for a new building similar to others in the district.

The Old Town Shops at Range Line Road and Main Street represent the building style favored for the Arts & Design District. National City Bank is considering rebuilding its branch across Main in a similar fashion. - Steve Healey / The Star

The two-story bank sits back from the northeast intersection of Range Line Road and Main Street in the heart of an area the city has worked to redevelop in recent years.

Across the street from the bank are Old Town Shops, three-story buildings designed for retail shops on the ground level and a mix of residential, retail and office above.

City leaders and National City representatives say they want to bring the bank up to speed with the rest of the area's redevelopment.
They began discussions about replacing the 30-year-old facility about a year ago. Those conversations have intensified in recent months as both sides prepare for the bank to send out requests for proposals to developers.

The property is among 55 parcels in the Arts & Design District that were expected to be rezoned by the City Council this week. The properties would be rezoned from business and industrial to a category that allows for mixed use.

Les Olds, director of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission, said the city presented a potential design of a three-story building similar in style to others in the area. The design called for parking behind the building and a bank drive-through.

The city's concept also shows the corner of Range Line and Main preserved as a public plaza.

National City representatives said they're receptive to the city's ideas, but it's early in the planning stage.

Michael Joyce, a retail market executive for National City, said the bank has discussed options that include a three-story building with additional retail, residential and possibly office space, but the bank is still considering several designs.

Joyce said a new building could provide a more suitably sized facility and help align the bank's image with surrounding buildings.

The desire to rebuild also comes "as part of being a good corporate citizen within Carmel," Joyce said. "We realize how the community wants to look, and we want to be part of that."

For the city, the new bank design would bring the redevelopment efforts in the Arts & Design District to near-completion, Olds said.

The redevelopment commission is working with utilities to find out what amenities might need to be replaced or relocated so the bank can include that information in its requests for proposals.

Meanwhile, National City is surveying land in the area to prepare its requests.
Joyce said the bank aims to send them to developers within the first quarter of next year.

arenn

November 30th, 2007, 05:14 AM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071128/LOCAL0101/711280333/1006/LOCAL

November 28, 2007

Monon Greenway upgrade proposed for City Center

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

A section of the Monon Greenway that runs through the City Center development could become a widened thoroughfare that separates three lanes of bike and pedestrian traffic.

Members of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission are reviewing early-stage designs for the section of the Monon that would replace a 12-foot-wide asphalt path from City Center Drive south to Monon Green Drive.

The widened thoroughfare would include barriers of elevated plant boxes and trees in some places, according to the Redevelopment Commission's conceptual trail designs.

Commission President Ron Carter said the design is subject to change. Plans were released so the commissioners could weigh in on them at next month's meeting. With the commission's approval, the group could formulate hard-line designs and cost estimates.

Les Olds, the city's director of redevelopment, said the trail design is important to the overall atmosphere in City Center, a 15-acre mixed-use project of luxury apartments, condos, penthouses and high-end retail shops south of the city's Old Town Arts & Design District.

Discussion of the concept for the trail, released at a meeting last week, also sparked conversations about whether City Center should be subject to planning standards for buildings surrounding the Monon and Plan Commission jurisdiction.

Commissioners said last week that City Center should be exempted from the Monon Overlay Zone, which sets guidelines for buildings surrounding the trail. The city's planning staff writes the overlay zone, which is approved by the Plan Commission and the City Council. The Plan Commission forwarded it to the City Council last week.

The overlay does not dictate the design of the trail itself. In a separate project, the city's planning department is drafting a concept of what the revamped Monon will look like. Planning Administrator Adrienne Keeling said that concept is similar to what the Redevelopment Commission has drafted for City Center's trail.

The overlay zone, which currently includes City Center, could go before the City Council at the Dec. 17 meeting.

Carter and Rick Sharp, members of the Redevelopment Commission and City Council, said they'd push to exempt City Center from the overlay zone.

The Redevelopment Commission is the public body with jurisdiction over City Center, and commissioners say it wouldn't make sense to add another layer of oversight after the project is under construction. If City Center were subject to the overlay zone, variances would have to be approved by the Plan Commission.

Some members of the Plan Commission disagree.

Eric Seidensticker, who also sits on the City Council, said the extra standards would benefit the project.

"The whole concept of an overlay is to give some control over an area," Seidensticker said. "We have 68,000 people in Carmel, but five people (on the Redevelopment Commission) are determining everything for these areas."
Seidensticker said if City Center were exempt from the overlay, some potential concerns would be the height of the buildings in City Center and the wind tunnels and excessive shade they could create.

Keeling said City Center's zoning allows for taller buildings than other areas affected by the overlay.

Some members of the Plan Commission requested to see plans for the buildings surrounding the Monon in City Center, Seidensticker said. That would give them a better idea of how the structures would fit in with the overlay zone.

Carter said available designs have been presented to the public, but specific plans for those buildings have not been given to the Plan Commission.

arenn

December 8th, 2007, 06:20 PM

This is sure to be very controversial.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071208/LOCAL/712080324/1155/LOCAL010103

December 8, 2007

'Creative' economic development use
Tax increment district for Village of WestClay's commercial area questioned

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

A Carmel Plan Commission committee is reviewing an economic development plan for a retail and commercial area that would serve a section of the Village of WestClay, a new urbanism development in western Carmel.

The plan is designed to create a tax increment financing district in the area.

Through that, the city intends to capture tax revenue generated in the district to help repay the $80 million bond for the Performing Arts Center in Carmel's new downtown.

The economic development plan includes 100,000 square feet of commercial and retail space with the Stratford at WestClay retirement community and retailers such as CVS Pharmacy.

The commercial and retail outlets in the area called Uptown, located at the southwest intersection of 131st Street and Towne Road, are designed to serve nearby residents.

After the committee reviews the proposal, it will go to the full Plan Commission to determine if it complies with the city's comprehensive plan. Pending the commission's approval, it would proceed to the City Council.
Some residents and public officials question why the revenues generated in the area would be used to pay for improvements in another.

Eric Seidensticker, a City Council member and plan commissioner, said that approach raises red flags about how the city plans to pay off its bonds.
"I can't say it's illegal, but it certainly doesn't seem to be consistent with the spirit of tax increment financing, which is to redevelop an area so it can regain its economic value," Seidensticker said.

By strict interpretation, money from a tax increment financing district benefits the area where taxes are generated.

In the WestClay plan, between $1 million and $3 million could go toward City Center improvements.

Other revenue also could benefit infrastructure improvements in WestClay, if needed.

Michael Shaver, a planning consultant for Carmel, said the plan could be classified as a "creative" use of tax increment financing.

He said Carmel's prerogative is to revitalize its downtown core and prevent buildup of outer areas, noting that in many communities, the reverse occurs.

Keeping Carmel's downtown viable, he said, benefits all Carmel residents.
"WestClay's residents will benefit from having the Performing Arts Center, the art galleries, or whatever else is downtown," Shaver said.

George Sweet, president of Brenwick Development Co., which is developing the Village of WestClay, estimates the area, most of which is known as Uptown, will be worth at least $100 million in commercial value.
At 100,000 square feet, Uptown is about 25 percent occupied. Primrose School, a national company offering early education and child care, opened this fall, and a Chase Bank opens next week.

Sweet said he envisions other businesses for the art deco buildings to include service stations and hardware and grocery stores. He expects it to fill out over the next three years.

"We want to get the right mix," Sweet said. "We're not taking the first thing in the door."

arenn

January 1st, 2008, 05:34 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071229/LOCAL/712290306/1155/LOCAL010103

Design proposals sought for block
Section is one of few not yet revamped in Carmel's Arts & Design District

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

One of the few blocks yet to be redeveloped in Carmel's Old Town Arts & Design District is on its way to renovation.

Next month, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission will ask developers to submit design proposals for a block of buildings between Main Street and First Street Northwest.

That block borders the Monon Greenway and includes Carmel's VFW Post 10003 and two vacant storefronts, said Les Olds, Carmel's redevelopment director.
A women's clothing store, which tenants lease month-to-month, also is in that block.

The properties are owned by Hearthview Old Town, a subset of Hearthview Residential. The redevelopment commission co-owns one of the vacant storefronts.

Last month, the City Council rezoned the block along with about 60 other parcels to a category called C2, which allows for mixed use. Plans to redevelop properties in that category are subject to review by the Carmel Redevelopment Commission, but not the Plan Commission or City Council. Olds said the commission has a conceptual design for the block that would include mixed-use retail, office and residential space similar to the surrounding buildings.

The commission also hopes to incorporate a parking garage, which would be in the middle of the building to conceal the garage as much as possible. He said these ideas are basic guidelines.

"We leave the door wide open for the developer to come back with a unique concept altogether," Olds said.

About five developers have shown interest in the project, Olds said. Once the request for proposals is sent out, developers have three months to submit a proposal for the area to be reviewed by the redevelopment commission.

Olds said the retailers likely would be restaurants or arts-related shops such as galleries. Offices could attract design professionals such as architects or interior designers to tie in with the theme of the area, Olds said.

The revamping of this block will nearly complete redevelopment in Old Town's core area.

National City Bank at the intersection of Range Line Road and Main is preparing to send out a request for proposals to redevelop its 30-year-old building.
Olds said he's also had discussions with the owner of property on the southwest corner of Main Street and the Monon, which includes a vacant parcel and an old house.

Part of the deal with the current project hinges on the VFW's desires for its building, where the 400-member group has had headquarters since 1966.
Tom Blandford, a VFW quartermaster, said the city approached the group to discuss a redevelopment project about a year ago. If the block were redeveloped, the VFW building would get a makeover, but the post would remain at its location on First Avenue Northwest.

Blandford said the group generally supports a new development, but members have conditions they want to negotiate. He wouldn't elaborate on those, pending official negotiations with the redevelopment commission.

He said the ultimate decision would be up to the members.

"We're pretty comfortable here," Blandford said. "It would have to be a big improvement to make a change."

Olds said it's important for the VFW to be completely on board before redevelopment proceeds. If the VFW decides against it, he said the buildings around it could be redeveloped.

"We want to make sure they are totally comfortable with the deal," Olds said.

arenn

January 2nd, 2008, 04:19 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/LOCAL0101/801020359/1006/LOCAL

January 2, 2008

Carmel, Brainard get OK to continue growth

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

2007 was a landmark year for Carmel in more ways than one.

Voters elected Mayor Jim Brainard as the city's first four-term mayor. The state's highest court ruled in an annexation case expected to influence similar decisions statewide.

Amidst the city's acquisition of Keystone Avenue and its progress on an $80 million concert hall, banker HSBC announced its closing -- one of the single largest job losses in Carmel's history.

Southwest Clay annexation

The Indiana Supreme Court in June ruled that Carmel could annex 8.3 square miles in southwest Clay Township in a decision expected to influence land battles statewide.

The annexation added $1.6 billion to Carmel's assessed value and increased the city's population by about 10,000 residents, who will become part of Carmel in 2010.

It also helped pave the way for the Indiana Court of Appeals to side with Carmel in a two-year battle over Home Place, a 1.6-square-mile area of homes and small businesses north of Indianapolis' border.

Home Place residents haven't given up the fight. In November, they voted to send their case for review by the Indiana Supreme Court. They'll find out in coming months whether the court accepts it.

Fourth term for Brainard

Brainard became the city's first four-term mayor in November when he defeated a Democrat and an independent challenger with about 67 percent of the vote.

During his 12 years in office, Brainard has pushed to create an urbanized downtown district with millions of dollars invested in redevelopment projects. He has said that in his fourth term he'll push forward with those plans by completing work in the city's Old Town Arts & Design District and cap off the $200 million City Center.

He also will push to redevelop the space between the two districts with a pedestrian-friendly corridor.

Carmel controls Keystone

A deal struck between Carmel and the state in August gave the city $90 million to take control of the 4.2-mile stretch of Keystone Avenue that runs north of 96th Street through the city.

City Engineer Mike McBride said designs are under way for the project, which is to break ground in the spring and finish by 2010. The first intersections to be tackled will be at 106th and 126th streets.

Plans are to follow through with Brainard's vision of building six roundabout-style interchanges.

In the meantime, the City Council will revisit the issue of banning heavy trucks on the roadway this month.

Concert hall gets under way

Carmel broke ground this fall on a 1,600-seat concert hall in the redeveloped downtown. The project will cost at least $80 million, funded on a bond to be paid off with tax revenue generated in the downtown area. It also includes a 500-seat theater.

The public project has generated some controversy, including Brainard's effort to raise about $50 million through private channels for extra amenities. As of September, he'd raised $2 million, enough to cover the hall in limestone instead of stucco.

HSBC closes doors in Carmel

A decline in the mortgage industry will cause a loss of 600 jobs by June after London-based banking giant HSBC in August announced plans to shut down its Carmel office.

A cut of so many jobs at once is rare for the city, officials said.

Employees will be given the chance to apply for other jobs within the company or received a severance package.

arenn

January 2nd, 2008, 04:27 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080102/LOCAL0101/801020320/1006/LOCAL

January 2, 2008

White-tablecloth eatery opens this winter in district

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

The newest addition to Carmel's Main Street will feature something the city's redevelopment commission has long pined for -- white tablecloths.

Bistro de Paris, an upscale French establishment, will open its doors in the Old Town Arts & Design District this winter, adding high-end dining to an area that includes a collection of more casual restaurants, retailers and art galleries.

The restaurant will be west of the intersection of Range Line Road and Main Street, in a building formerly occupied by Pizza King. The venue's renovations should be complete by mid-January, in time for a Valentine's Day debut.
City leaders are hoping the restaurant will fill a much-needed niche in the district.

"Art is bought, in many cases, before or after a wonderful dining experience," said Ron Carter, the Redevelopment Commission's president, who added that many restaurant patrons will frequent the galleries while waiting for a table. "The more art galleries we have, the more restaurants we need."

The arts district helped draw owners Michael Conn and Kamafily Sissoko to Carmel.

The international business partners began seriously discussing opening a restaurant about eight months ago. When they learned about the growth in the Arts & Design district and the mix of educated, upper-income patrons it draws, they thought it would be a perfect fit.

Their restaurant will feature entrees such as a veal-and-lobster combination and filet mignon ranging from $20 to $30.

"(Carmel) was a great fit for our vision," said Conn, a Fishers resident who also works in the insurance business. "Not only with what's happening there now, but what's going to happen in the future."

Sissoko, a Mali native who studied cooking in France before opening a pair of restaurants in Philadelphia, said the food will be French with hints of American and African traditions.

For instance, the menu will feature a crab cake embedded with "loco," a sweet African dish similar to plantains.

"The kind of food we're going to sell -- nobody has it," said Sissoko, New Palestine. "And even if they do have it, it's not going to look or taste the same."

The restaurant's dining room will have a "modern but comfortable feel," owners said, and space enough to seat about 65 patrons. An adjacent wine bar will feature offerings from wine-producing regions around the world.

Conn and Sissoko also are hoping to open the rooftop for summertime dining and feature live jazz music on weekends.

Bistro de Paris will join the ranks of 19 Indianapolis-area restaurants listed in the $25-and-up price range, according to Indy.com. Those include Carmel's Glass Chimney Restaurant and Downtown steakhouses such as St. Elmo's.
Carter said there's more room for upscale restaurants in the Arts & Design district.

The restaurant's owners say their addition will bring something completely unique -- and they have no fear of competition.

"We don't only serve one thing," Sissoko said. "We're a wine bar, a French restaurant. If you want American food or seafood, you can get it. That's what people look for -- they want something different."

hoosier

January 9th, 2008, 05:19 AM

So does anyone know when the city is planning to start work on Keystone Ave?

I know it's sometime in the spring.

IndyTampaTom

January 10th, 2008, 01:41 AM

What a strange comment about the new restaurant in Carmel - that it joins the ranks of "19" other Indianapolis area restaurants in the $25 and up price range. There are probably about that many just in a few blocks of downtown - all of the steak houses, sea food places, Palamino, Capital Grill, 14 West, Elements, etc. Then you start counting Keystone/Castleton, NW Indy, Zionsville, Geist, Broad Ripple, Carmel, Johnson Co ..... I guess Indy.com just needs a serious updating or something. btw - that will be a wonderful improvement for that building in carmel. Previously it was a little building that looked like its windows and the entire outside had been covered with bad paneling. The roof top dining with live music sounds excellent. (Couldn't they have come up with a name a little more unique than "Bistro de Paris" though? It sounds like a place Pepe Le-Pew would go with Bugs Bunny!)

ddeichma

January 20th, 2008, 07:08 PM

Driving past the new Italian site i first thought it was going to be a mexican restaurant, its all stucco and looks poorly assembled, the building it is in has to be over 50 years old and the make-over seems very rushed, it would have been nice to see the site torn down and something new in its place. I have serious doubts about the place being successful in that area with just some band-aids placed over the structures wounds.

arenn

February 1st, 2008, 03:27 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/LOCAL/802010475/1006

February 1, 2008

$500M development in Carmel postponed

By Tania E. Lopez and Francesca Jarosz
tania.e.lopez@indystar.com

CARMEL, Ind. -- The national housing slump and plans to build more roundabouts have put the future on hold for one of the Indianapolis metro area's largest and most expensive real estate projects.

The $500 million Gramercy development, set to start in the spring, now has no timetable, according to Indianapolis-based developer Buckingham Cos. The project calls for single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, apartments, offices, retail shops, a parking garage and a hotel to be built over a decade.

The delay comes after two consecutive years of declining home sales in the metro area, with some builders making cutbacks or leaving town. Average home prices have fallen since 2005, and the local mortgage industry has cut hundreds of jobs.

Fears of the country being on the eve of a recession or slipping into one led the Federal Reserve on Wednesday to cut its key interest rate for the second time in nine days.

"While the market is down, it's not bad timing for us," Matt Griffin, Buckingham's development manager, said Thursday. "Before, the stance was that we had to first build single-family units. Now, with the market, we are not opposed to looking at other options" and putting the retail and commercial portions ahead of the home construction.

Griffin said Carmel's plans to put roundabouts on Keystone Avenue also affected the decision to delay the development. He said the 126th Street roundabout, which could take 12 to 18 months, would need to be done before Gramercy construction begins.

Carmel has more than 40 roundabouts. The city announced plans to put six on Keystone after the state agreed in September to give Carmel control of the busy thoroughfare, along with $90 million to maintain it. Contractors could be selected by April to build the first two roundabouts, at 106th and 126th streets.

New strategy has support

Steve Lains, chief executive officer of the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis, said Buckingham is wise to shift Gramercy's start-up from residential to commercial and retail while the Indianapolis housing market corrects itself.

"I don't think there is anyone in the industry who would look at this as a bad thing," said Lains. "They are reacting to that decreased demand (for housing) so that we don't oversupply the market."

A year ago, then-Buckingham Vice President David Leazenby said Gramercy would begin on about 10 to 15 acres of the Mohawk Hills golf course and apartment site at 126th Street and Keystone Avenue. The first phase was to include about 150 to 200 homes.

Leazenby said Thursday he left the company Dec. 31 to pursue other real estate opportunities but declined to give more details.

In mid-January, Buckingham announced it had purchased The Fountains Banquet & Conference Center and the surrounding retail center on Carmel Drive. The transaction had not been filed by Thursday with the Hamilton County assessor's office, and the sale price was not available.

Griffin said acquiring the site south of Mohawk Hills' 116 acres will allow a new traffic throughway from the intersection of AAA Way and Carmel Drive to 126th Street.

The 548-unit Mohawk Hills apartments remain open. Thirteen additional units remain vacant following a fire in July, Buckingham reported.

The City Council approved Gramercy's plans in August 2006. Two months later, the council approved 5-2 a controversial tax increment finance district that could raise as much as $20 million to build city projects such as streets, sewers and the parking garage.

Mayor Jim Brainard said Thursday that the financing bonds would not be issued until Gramercy has a more concrete timetable.

Brainard had not heard the project was delayed, but he said he's not concerned.

"You see downturns every several years, and then you see the economy get strong again," he said. "We're hoping this is one of the minor downturns."

arenn

February 2nd, 2008, 04:27 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080202/LOCAL/802020324/1155/LOCAL010103

February 2, 2008

Design Center price tag rises to $20 million
Upgraded decorating complex is set to open in spring 2009 in city's Arts & Design District

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

The inner workings of the Indiana Design Center are coming into focus as construction crews began this week to put up steel on the $20 million project.

The center, an 82,000-square-foot complex in Carmel's redeveloping downtown, will be a two-story compilation of home goods supplier showrooms and offices for design professionals who will consult with patrons on home decorating projects.

The center, which sits on the south end of Carmel's Old Town Arts & Design District at Range Line Road and First Street Southwest, is scheduled to open in spring 2009.

"The benefit of designers in this area is that they help the clients make good decisions," said Melissa Averitt, vice president and director of sales and marketing for Pedcor, the project's developer.

The design center initially was projected to cost $14 million. Pedcor President Bruce Cordingley said improvements in building materials and design contributed to the price increase.

"Our goal has always been to create an elegant building that will provide a home for the professional design community," Cordingley said. "As we have proceeded from concept through design development, we have improved the building materials and design in ways that, we feel, enhance the Indiana Design Center, making it a true destination and a source of pride for Carmel."

Averitt said Pedcor is in the process of securing two or three anchor tenants to occupy about 30,000 square feet of the building. After that, they will open the space to other occupants.

Meanwhile, the concrete foundation for the 110-space underground parking garage has been laid while crews continue to erect the steel frame.

The building exterior will be brick, and the interior will feature upscale wood and stone finishes.

Customers will consult with designers, who will guide them through their design projects using the showrooms' materials such as fabrics, lighting, tile and plumbing.

About 5,000 square feet will be used as office space for design professionals. Another 5,000 will hold a design library, featuring books and magazines with home design concepts.

The building also will play a key role in the massive redevelopment of Carmel's downtown.

The city's Redevelopment Commission spent about $2.1 million to acquire the property and another $300,000 to demolish and clean the site, which included a gas station, bakery and liquor store. The commission sold Pedcor the site for $2.4 million.

Mayor Jim Brainard said the center was inspired by a similar project in West Hollywood, Calif.

The concept of a one-stop shop for home design, which city development leaders have discussed for about five years, is unique to Indiana, he said.

Brainard hopes the center will enhance the design component of the Arts & Design District and attract visitors to Carmel.

"It's going to help draw people to the area, help the restaurants, help the galleries," the mayor said.

arenn

February 16th, 2008, 07:27 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080216/LOCAL/802160454

U.S. 31 could be getting roundabouts
INDOT considers the traffic structures for 3 interchanges in Hamilton County

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

CARMEL, Ind. -- Three U.S. 31 interchanges to be built in Hamilton County could be among the first state-controlled roads with roundabouts.

The Indiana Department of Transportation and RW Armstrong, the engineering firm hired to turn the road north of Indianapolis into a limited-access highway, on Friday unveiled the first designs for interchanges at 131st Street in Carmel and at 161st and 191st swtreets in Westfield.

INDOT proposed traditional diamond interchanges or roundabout interchanges at all three crossings. It also offered a diamond interchange alternative, with only one stoplight, at 131st Street.

"I'm glad to see different types of interchanges being discussed," Westfield Mayor Andy Cook said. "We're trying to break out of the mold of 'this is what you're going to get.' "

INDOT plans to spend about $400 million to eliminate traffic signals on U.S. 31 through Carmel and Westfield, turning the road into a limited-access highway by 2016.

Jennifer Dzwonar, a spokeswoman for the project, said discussions are in the early stages, and other types of interchanges could be considered. "But these are the ones that are under serious look right now," she said.

The state has proposed using roundabouts for other road projects in the past few years, but these proposed on U.S. 31 would be among the first ones built on Indiana roads if INDOT chooses to use them.

Carmel has about 40 roundabouts. This spring, Carmel will find a contractor and begin lowering the city's stretch of Keystone Avenue and building elevated roundabouts to carry cross-traffic.

The concept on U.S. 31 would be similar. Instead of traditional interchanges with stoplights, roundabouts would handle traffic exiting from ramps and crossing the cross-road's overpass.

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard has pushed for roundabouts on U.S. 31, saying they would accommodate traffic flow with other roundabouts throughout the city.

In Westfield, roundabouts could help save some of the city's much-needed commercial tax base.

The traditional interchanges called for under the original state blueprints would have required the acquisition of large sections of land and wiped out more than two dozen businesses along the route in Westfield.

The Westfield mayor said preliminary research suggests roundabouts would limit the impact on homes and businesses.

Both types of interchanges at 161st and 191st streets would displace 22 homes and a commercial property on 191st Street. INDOT does not have figures for the number of displacements at all intersections along the highway.
Some Carmel residents are enthusiastic about the idea of roundabouts on U.S. 31.

But Charles Sampson, who lives near the soon-to-be-renovated Keystone Avenue, said that based on his experience using roundabouts during rush hour, he's skeptical of their ability to handle high-volume traffic.

"It's like you're stopped at a stoplight that's constantly red," Sampson said.
Engineers say roundabouts have worked successfully on state roadways outside Indiana.

Jay Vorisek, vice president of Beech Grove-based Crossroad Engineers, which has designed roundabouts for Carmel and other Central Indiana communities, said roundabouts are the interchanges of preference in some states.

But he said their cost and the amount of land purchases they require vary depending on the intersection.

Dzwonar said those and other factors, such as their safety and ability to handle traffic flow, will have to be evaluated before INDOT submits its final design for the project this fall.

"(Roundabouts) have their place, but not at every place," Dzwonar said. "Will they work on 31? That's the question that has yet to be answered."

arenn

February 20th, 2008, 08:17 PM

Carmel has released new renderings of the proposed roundabout interchanges at their Keystone project web site.

http://www.keystonecarmel.com/index.htm

The FAQ has also been updated.

http://www.keystonecarmel.com/faq/faq.htm

106th St.

http://www.keystonecarmel.com/images/106ne_b.jpg

126th St.

http://www.keystonecarmel.com/images/126sw_b.jpg

hoosier

February 20th, 2008, 08:19 PM

Wow, those are pretty funky designs. Not your traditional roundabout interchange.

arenn

February 23rd, 2008, 05:11 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080223/LOCAL0101/802230329/1006/LOCAL

February 23, 2008

Legacy project touts a lifestyle, not just homes

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

Steve Pittman's idea for The Legacy project in Carmel's far northeast corner is to bring together residents of all ages and income levels to live in a pedestrian-focused, urban environment.

The Pittman Partners developer pictures generations of families living in the various housing types and walking to meet up for dinner at the village center.

"The concept is a fully mixed-use development that's also multigenerational," Pittman said. "You always hear people say, 'live, work and play.' We're saying, 'live, work, play and stay.'"

The 413-acre site along 146th Street from east of Cherry Tree Road to River Road is one of Carmel's largest and more prominent pieces of undeveloped land.

The city approved the project about a year ago. It will be built over the next decade, starting with home construction this fall.

Developers Pittman Partners and Platinum Properties also hope to maintain an adjacent 95 acres as recreational field space.

The property was formerly the subject of a legal battle between Earlham College and the Conner Prairie living-history museum. The developers bought it last summer from Earlham College, with 95 acres on the southeast corner of 146th and River Road remaining under Conner Prairie's ownership but subject to the developer's zoning.

Plans for the site call for about 1,300 homes -- a mix of apartments, retirement living, custom houses and smaller bungalows and row houses.

About 30 acres of retail and office space will stretch along 146th Street, and back into the project's core, a plaza-like village center with small shops and restaurants.

The idea of bringing an urban lifestyle to the suburbs is one that's spreading throughout Carmel, in areas from the city's redeveloping downtown to Brenwick's WestClay development.

Pittman said his project will fill a needed housing demand on the city's eastside and provide affordable options, with home prices starting in the high $100,000s.

Houses will be built in 10 to 15 different architectural styles, ranging from Cape Cod to European Romantic. Developers will emphasize landscaping, allowing buyers to select among three different options, including flowers that naturally grow in the area.

About 40 percent of The Legacy will include open space, and seven miles of trails will run throughout the project.

Part of the goal, Pittman said, is to provide a place for residents who desire the feel of an urban lifestyle and want to reduce their carbon footprint and downsize their homes. Despite the slumping housing market, Pittman said there are demands for that style of living.

"We think the consumer that wants to live here is more the creative class -- people who are interested in quality of life, the environment," Pittman said. "It's not about the house. We're trying to create this great community."

Silas Johnson, a senior vice president with F.C. Tucker Realtors and manager at the group's Carmel office, said he's seen evidence of that need.

"The idea of being able to walk out the door and to the grocery store or to Starbucks, both generations are looking for that," Johnson said.

The project's construction begins with about 160 custom homes, ranging from $750,000 to $1.2 million, this fall. Pittman said families likely will begin moving in starting in 2009.

arenn

February 27th, 2008, 04:51 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/LOCAL/802270335/1155/LOCAL010103

February 27, 2008

Concert hall amenities decision looms

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

Carmel's Redevelopment Commission soon will decide whether to include extra amenities in the city's Performing Arts Center, choices that could be contingent on private fundraising efforts.

The city will build the 1,600-seat concert hall using an $80 million bond to be paid off with tax increment financing revenue mainly generated from new development in the downtown area. The city is counting on an additional $10 million to $12 million in interest for the project, which includes a separate 500-seat theater.

The concert hall is scheduled to be completed in summer 2010 and would open for the first concert that fall.

Mayor Jim Brainard hopes to raise an additional $50 million for additions such as marble floors, wood paneling and a skylight-enclosed oculus similar to the Pantheon's ceiling in Rome.

By early April, the commission will have to decide whether to invest $2.7 million in additions to the exterior of the building.

Those include installing the oculus, covering the facade of the building in limestone instead of stucco, and making upgrades to the doors, windows and roof.

Brainard said this week that the fundraising has been encouraging but would not offer specifics about donations received.

He said the fundraising effort is continuing, with a push toward finding a donor for the $25 million naming gift, as well as smaller donations.

"We want to see both private capital as well as (tax increment financing) funds be used to build the hall," Brainard said.

As of September, the mayor said he had raised $2 million, enough to cover the hall in limestone instead of stucco.

The ultimate decision on the material for the facade lies with the Redevelopment Commission. Redevelopment Director Les Olds said the choices about the exterior amenities to be made in April would be based largely on the project's budget.

The $29.2 million awarded in construction contracts so far have come in under budget. If bids for the next big package, budgeted around $35 million, also come in low, the commission could consider using money in the budget for the exterior amenities.

Olds said fundraising dollars are intended more for interior additions, such as marble floors.

Commissioner Rick Sharp said his decision about the added features would be based on fundraising as well as budgetary projections for the entire project, including the small theater.

Willem Brans, a New York-based consultant the city hired to assist in the fundraising effort, said the overall fundraising campaign is on track and should escalate as construction on the hall progresses.

"People can see what the project ultimately is going to be," he said.

arenn

February 29th, 2008, 03:35 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/LOCAL/802290319/1304/LOCAL

http://www.indystar.com/assets/pdf/BG101421228.PDF

February 29, 2008

City plans to boost bike routes

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

Bicyclists in Carmel soon will find signs and pavement markings directing them through about 100 miles of loops and routes across the city.

A task force unveiled plans Wednesday night to designate five bike loops and eight cross-city bike routes. Task force members rode the pathways last month to test their feasibility.

The plans utilize existing multiuse paths and bike lanes for the routes, which run along many neighborhood streets.

The loops are spaced across the city and connect in places with six routes that run from north to south and two that run east to west.

They're designed to make the city's bike system more user-friendly and encourage more Carmel residents to ride their bikes to places such as work or the grocery store.

"You're seeing more and more people riding in the community," said Nick Kestner, a task force member who operated Carmel Schwinn on Range Line Road and City Center Drive for 26 years.

"If you promote (biking), people will use it, and once you use it, it's a great way to get around."

Carmel has been promoting biking in recent years, said David Littlejohn, the city's alternative transportation director. His position was created about five years ago, and in 2006 the League of American Bicyclists named Carmel a bicycle-friendly community.

Signs and markings for the new routes will start to show up in May, pending approval from the city's Plan Commission, which summoned the task force last month.

Kevin Heber, a Plan Commission member and avid cyclist, used many of his well-traveled routes as templates for the loops and routes. Those were tested last month by other task force members, who gave their input to form the ultimate plan.

Heber, who has cycled on routes across the U.S. and in Europe, said this system is unlike others he's seen in the country.

He said the routes and loops provide safety for less-experienced riders and the ability to get places efficiently for the seasoned cyclists. In most systems, he said, it's a tradeoff between the two.

"It's conducive for any age," Heber said. "It's not too rinky dink, and it's not too dicey in terms of being out there in traffic."

Heber, who has been known to carry a week's worth of groceries behind his bike and has ridden 36 miles to Kokomo for work, said he hopes the loops and routes will encourage people to try biking for everyday activities.

"It's good exercise, and it's a lot easier to do than people think," he said. "Once you get into a habit of (biking), it's an addiction."

arenn

March 6th, 2008, 06:46 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080305/LOCAL/803050319/1155/LOCAL010103

March 5, 2008

City studying plan to expand water service
$85 million bond issue would make improvements to utility, increase capacity

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

A project to expand Carmel's water utility to serve the entire township could increase many customers' rates by about 20 percent -- their first increase since 1993.
WATER RATES IN OTHER CITIES

While some Carmel Utilities customers could see a rate increase, the city's rates would remain lower than several other local areas.*

>> Existing Carmel customers (pre-increase): $20.30

>> Existing Carmel customers (post-increase): $24.36

>> Carmel customers bought from Indianapolis Water (will not see increase) $24.32

>> Westfield: $35.15

>> Indianapolis: $33.35

>> Fishers: $33.35

>> Zionsville: $33.35

>> Noblesville: $49.36

*All monthly rates are based on household usage of 10,000 gallons.

Source: City of Carmel

City Council members Monday reviewed a proposal to issue an $85 million bond to help cover improvements such as adding water mains, wells and treatment plant improvements that would ultimately increase the city's capacity from 22 million gallons per day to 34 million.

About $50 million of the bond would go toward the new improvements, while $35 million would pay off previous improvements, such as water treatment facility expansions, wells and a water tower.

"It's getting us very close to the end of the water expansions that are needed in a 12-year plan to convert and provide water in all of Clay Township," said Carmel Utilities Director John Duffy.

The bond would be paid over 20 years with user fees.

About two-thirds of the city's 26,800 customers would see their current rates of $20.30 per month increase to $24.36. That's based on an average household use of 10,000 gallons per month.

Those include the utility's original customers, roughly those living east of Guilford Road and north of 106th Street, although some areas close to Carmel's downtown lie outside of the coverage zone.

It also includes customers which the city purchased from Hamilton Western Utilities in 2002.

The city also purchased 10,100 Indianapolis Water customers within Clay Township boundaries in 2006.

Those customers will remain under their current rate of $24.32 per month. Under an agreement the city made with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission upon purchase, Carmel is not allowed to adjust those customers' rates until 2011.

Duffy said most of the improvements will go toward building capacity to provide water to customers bought from Indianapolis Water. Most of those customers pay Carmel to receive services, such as billing and repairs, but get water from Indianapolis. Carmel hopes to get all of those customers on its water system in about three years.

The rate increase has not yet been proposed, but Duffy told the council this week it would be needed to cover the expenses.

Before the department proposes the increase, it must ask for the council's approval to leave the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, which regulates Carmel Utilities and must give final approval before rate increases can occur.

Duffy said he hopes to bring that proposal before the council in May or June. If approved, the council then would have final say over a rate increase.

The new bond would raise Carmel's existing water utility debt from the current $81 million to about $131 million. All of those funds are paid from user fees.

arenn

March 6th, 2008, 06:49 PM

We'll see what happens here. The wheels of justice grind slowly. Judge Hughes has shown tremendous hostility to Carmel in his over the top annexation rulings. Maybe repeatedly getting unanimously overturned on appeal will teach him some humility, however.

I don't understand why Home Place residents don't do what SW Clay did and negotiate an agreement.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080306/NEWS0501/803060331/1155/LOCAL010103

March 6, 2008

Court's denial doesn't end Home Place battle
Annexation foes will try to prove self-sufficiency

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

Lawyers for Home Place residents say the Indiana Supreme Court's denying to review their fight against annexation by Carmel means the city has won half the battle.

The residents hope to win the war by returning the case to Hamilton Superior Court 3 to seek a ruling by Judge William Hughes on whether the community is self-sufficient.

In October, the Indiana Court of Appeals overturned the judge's ruling that Carmel had not shown it could afford to annex Home Place.

Home Place residents, who have raised money through events such as potluck dinners to help continue their legal fight, voted in November to ask the Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court's decision.

The Supreme Court notified Carmel and Home Place representatives this week that it would not review the case.

But Stephen Buschmann, Home Place's lawyer, said his side has another shot.

While Carmel's ability to afford to annex Home Place has been upheld, he said the city cannot annex Home Place if the area can prove several criteria, including its ability to get services such as fire and police without the city, and that the annexation would have a negative financial impact.

In 1999, the state legislature changed the law, allowing remonstrators to stop annexation by proving their ability to survive without city services. Even if a city's fiscal plan is upheld, it cannot annex an area involuntarily for four years if remonstrators successfully make that case.

Judge Hughes will make those determinations in Home Place using facts presented at the original trial in 2005.

Buschmann said he's optimistic about the outcome based on Hughes' evaluation of those criteria in Carmel's efforts to annex 8.3 square miles in southwest Clay Township.

Hughes ruled in favor of the Southwest Clay residents who opposed annexation, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in Carmel's favor.

"There were a number of elements where the evidence presented in Southwest Clay and Home Place were the same," said Buschmann, who added that Home Place had stronger evidence in some cases.

Bryan Babb, Carmel's lawyer in the case, would not comment on the next steps in the process, but he said Carmel also would continue its fight.

"The legal issues involved in this annexation process are complex, but Carmel will continue to push this issue forward because it is in the best interest of Carmel taxpayers," Babb said.

Some legal experts say the Supreme Court's denial in the Home Place case isn't surprising, because the appeals court's decision used guidance from the high court's ruling in Southwest Clay.

Matt Milam, president of the Home Place opposition group, said he's also not surprised, but he said the justices' refusal to deal with the issues indicates a bias in favor of municipalities.

"They're basically saying we're going to protect (cities') ability to annex property," Milam said

arenn

March 6th, 2008, 06:52 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080301/LOCAL/803010328/1155/LOCAL010103

March 1, 2008

Interest in Home Place likely to continue
Residents find its location near interstate makes it a desirable spot for development

By Francesca Jarosz
francesca.jarosz@indystar.com

George Chapman moved to Home Place when it was surrounded by vacant farmland.

That was in 1972. Today, the 1.6-square-mile area, centered at 106th Street and College Avenue, lies near a bustling stretch of office complexes along the U.S. 31 corridor and a few miles from Carmel's redeveloping downtown.
Some residents say those areas are previews of what will replace their homes in coming years, leaving them in limbo about the future of what was once a residential enclave.

"It's getting more commercialized," Chapman said. "We had no idea when we moved here that being close to the interstate was so important."

Real estate and planning experts say demand for the land is high as developers clamor for valuable ground near I-465 and U.S. 31.

Earlier this winter, Lauth Property Group made an offer to buy about 60 homes, including Chapman's, to expand its corporate office park, which lies east of U.S. 31.

Tag Birge, the company's first vice president and Midwest market officer, said the company has placed more homes under contract than expected by this time and intends to keep working with residents to move forward.

Some residents recognize this offer won't be the last.

"If the Lauth deal doesn't go through, probably someone else will take a run at . . . some other part of the neighborhood," said Mark Oehler, an 8-year Home Place resident who received a Lauth offer to buy. "If I'm looking at wanting to stay somewhere 20 years, this is probably not the right place."

David Reed, managing director for the Indianapolis office of CB Richard Ellis, agrees that commercial development is inevitable in the area north of I-465, which he said is one of the most popular suburban office locations in the metro area.

He said the commercial development there has been built to buffer residential areas.

Lauth has said the company won't go forward with its plan until all neighbors agree to sell. Governments, not private companies, have the power to take land for projects.

But some worry that's what will happen if Carmel's three-year battle to annex the area is successful.

Opponents of annexation are awaiting the Indiana Supreme Court decision on whether it will hear their bid to overturn a Court of Appeals ruling that would allow Carmel to annex.

Matt Milam, president of the opposition group, said he worries that if the city annexes Home Place, homes will be taken to make way for mixed-use development projects, similar to those in the city's downtown.

Mike Hollibaugh, director of Carmel's Department of Community Services, said the city's current comprehensive plan calls for keeping the area primarily residential.

He said some redevelopment would be appropriate in areas such as 106th Street and College Avenue, currently a mix of existing businesses and some abandoned buildings.

Hollibaugh acknowledged the area is "very valuable ground" but said the change would be driven by private investment, not the government.
"A lot of (residents') worst fears are based on what they see happening," Hollibaugh said. "That's not the city. That's the private market speaking."

arenn

April 2nd, 2008, 03:50 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/LOCAL0101/804020340/1015/LOCAL01

Soft market slows the pace of Carmel's City Center development
Mix of retail, residential, office and restaurant space is a hard sell in an uncertain economy

By Francesca Jarosz
Posted: April 2, 2008

Developers of Carmel's City Center are proceeding with caution on the $200 million development in light of the slow economy.

Stephen Sturtz, president and a senior principal designer with Pedcor, said the company is committed to building the project, but the sagging housing market and economy has encouraged them to build at a slower pace.
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The upscale mix of retail, residential, office and restaurant space is designed to create a European feel for Carmel's new downtown.

"We have to keep it at the pace the market can absorb it," Sturtz said. "It doesn't make sense to throw the whole thing out there and let it sit for two years."

The project's first phase at the corner of Range Line Road and City Center Drive includes 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space with 118 residential units and 16,800 square feet of office space. It's scheduled to be complete in late 2009 and open in spring 2010.

Sturtz declined to release the tentative completion date for the overall project, which encompasses 230,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 170,000 square feet of office space and 300 residential units. He said the date could change, based on upturns in the economy.

Much of the infrastructure work has been done on the project, and structural steel is being erected for the first phase.

Meanwhile, marketers are in the process of seeking retail and residential tenants.

Melissa Averitt, vice president and director of sales and marketing for Pedcor, said that process largely has not been affected by an economic slowdown.

There's been high interest in City Center's residential units, she said. About 200 people are on a waiting list to receive more information about residences, and three people have made refundable deposits on penthouses. One of the condominium units also has been reserved, but Averitt said the current market is tough for that type of product.

"Right now is not the time to be selling condos," Averitt said. "Hopefully, the market will turn."

Securing retail in the site could prove challenging, some experts say.

Mark Perlstein, a partner with Indianapolis-based Sitehawk Retail Real Estate, said a downturn in the retail market typically follows a housing slump.

"The next year to 18 months that we're in is going to affect everybody in the industry," Perlstein said. "Retailers in general are being careful about where they're going."

Sturtz said the unique nature of the City Center project adds to the difficulty when it comes to pre-selling and pre-leasing spaces because there are no precedents potential tenants can view as models.

He said once the first phase opens, it will serve as an example of how that type of mixed-use project can work successfully.

Averitt said her team has a database of more than 2,000 potential retail and restaurant tenants for the overall project and are in discussions with about 30 for the project's first phase.

Those include retailers ranging from children's toy stores to bridal shops, with a focus on independent-owned businesses.

"What's really important is getting the right collection of great businesses," Averitt said. "We'll be really selective in choosing not only from our area, but other cities throughout the Midwest."

arenn

May 9th, 2008, 10:13 PM

Better late than never posting this I suppose:

Date: April 25, 2008
Contact: Nancy Heck (317) 571-2494
Release: Immediate

Carmel Awards Keystone Construction Contract

Carmel, IN - At a special Board of Public Works meeting on Friday, April 25, the contract was awarded for construction of the Keystone Avenue interchanges at 106th and 126th Streets.

Three contractors submitted bids on April 9, 2008 for the project’s first phase. City Engineer, Mike McBride, said, “We are extremely pleased that all of the bids came in less than projected. This is great news for the citizens of Carmel.” Milestone Contractors, LP was the low bidder for both of the interchanges at a combined price of approximately $29 million.

The bids were fully reviewed by Carmel’s Engineering Department and by American Structurepoint, the project’s design engineer. Clearing work has begun at 106th Street and Utility Relocations are expected to begin within the next week. Large scale construction activities are expected to begin on the two interchanges in mid May, with substantial completion by the end of this year.

The 106th and 126th Streets interchanges are part of the first phase of a three-year project to lower the grade of Keystone Avenue under five major interchanges along the five-mile stretch. When completed, the north-south traffic on Keystone Avenue will be free-flowing with no traffic lights between 96th Street and 146th Street, and tear-drop shaped roundabouts will manage the east-west traffic flow.

Nancy S. Heck
Director of Community Relations
One Civic Square
Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 571-2494

arenn

May 10th, 2008, 04:19 PM

http://www.ibj.com/html/detail_page_Full.asp?content=14621

Simons poised to give estate to IU
Gift could create think tank; couple plans move to WestClay
Sat. May 10 - 2008
Cory Schouten - cschouten@ibj.com
IBJ staff

Billionaire philanthropists Mel and Bren Simon are laying the groundwork to donate Asherwood—their extravagant Carmel estate and golf course—to the Indiana University Foundation, potentially to house a new think tank.

The couple plans to downsize into a home just outside the town square in the nearby Village of WestClay. The two paid about $2.5 million for a three-story, Beaux Arts-style home featured in this year’s Indianapolis Monthly Dream Home tour. They also own homes outside of Indiana, including in California and Florida.

The home at Asherwood, along Ditch Road near West 106th Street, is something of a white elephant, weighing in at more than 43,000 square feet. That’s twice as large as the Carmel palace built nearby by former Conseco executive Stephen Hilbert—a property listed for $20 million in 2005 that still hasn’t sold.

Observers believe the Simon estate is worth at least $50 million, although the home itself appraises for tax purposes at $10.6 million. Part of the value is the potential for residential development on the more than 100-acre property; the estate is surrounded by luxury single-family-home communities such as Deerfield, Windemere and Coppergate.

If the Simons give Asherwood to the IU Foundation, a cash gift likely would accompany the real estate since upkeep alone is in the range of $1 million per year, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told IBJ.

One idea for the property is to create a Simon-Clinton Institute in partnership with IU and its Department of Political Science, the source said. The institute would promote liberal ideas.

The Simons, Bren in particular, have championed and funded Democratic causes and candidates for years. The couple counts Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and Birch and Evan Bayh as friends. Over the years, they have held dozens of social events at Asherwood—ranging from the Black and White Ball, an Indianapolis 500 staple, to political fund-raisers and charity events.

Mel Simon and his late wife, Bess, bought the Asherwood property in 1973. In 1994, they won approval to build a 10-green golf course with what Esquire magazine described as “crisscrossing fairways so that a total of 27 different holes can be played.”

Mel and Bren expanded the original home after it burned in 1999, embarking on a behemoth estate that features a 2,700-square-foot spa, a 1,300-square-foot library, and a 30-foot-by-50-foot outdoor pool, according to a 1999 story in the Indianapolis Star.

A spokeswoman for the Simons would not discuss Asherwood or the couple’s new home in WestClay, saying only that the couple is working on routine estate planning. A spokeswoman for the IU Foundation also declined to discuss the matter.

The Simon family has given to IU for years, including a $50 million gift in 2006 that led the university to rename the IU Cancer Center the Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center. Family members also have given to the Bess Meshulam Simon Music Library and Recital Center; the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center; and Simon Hall, a new multidisciplinary science building on the Bloomington campus.

Mel Simon, 81, ranked 446th on this year’s Forbes magazine list of billionaires, with net worth of $2.6 billion. He founded locally based Simon Property Group Inc. with his brother Herb, 73, who ranks 897th on the Forbes list, with net worth of $1.3 billion. The pair also owns the Indiana Pacers.

Mel’s and Bren’s home in the Village of WestClay was built by locally based Paul E. Estridge Homes. It is one of a handful of “city homes” offered in the project by locally based Brenwick Development.

One of the development’s unique draws is the wide range of residents living there, a departure from projects that feature a narrow price range, said Jeff Kontor, Brenwick’s vice president of sales.

“We have $90,000 condos and $3 million homes and anything in between,” he said.

Kontor said company officials do not discuss specific residents who live in the project, but he did say buyers of homes in WestClay include Indianapolis Colts players and Indy Racing League drivers.

The Simons bought a four-bed, four-bath home on Rhettsbury Street just around the corner from Chappie’s, a café and coffee bar.

The owner of Chappie’s, Chad Blackwelder, has been hearing a lot of talk about WestClay’s new residents. He hopes to sell them on a new selection of wines and his specialty, a southwest chicken wrap.

“It’s a real social and neighborly community,” Blackwelder said. “You can get to everything you need in a stone’s throw.” •

arenn

May 15th, 2008, 04:23 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/LOCAL0101/805150324/1015/LOCAL01

City moves to be bike-friendly
New plan will have 100 miles of trails and lanes in city
By Francesca Jarosz
Posted: May 15, 2008

Freezing rain is about the only impediment that keeps Carmel High School English teacher Dale Yessak from biking the 20-mile round trip from his house in Broad Ripple to work every day.

The former Army paratrooper began his routine about two years ago after biking every day during a vacation in Florida.

"It just sort of popped into my head, 'Why wouldn't I ride to work?' " said Yessak, 54. "It's a wonderful way to bike ride and get to work."

On Friday, city leaders and cycling enthusiasts will encourage more residents to try Yessak's form of commuting by celebrating national Bike to Work Day.

During a breakfast for participants at the Monon Center, the city will showcase the Carmel Access Bikeway, or CAB, a plan of about 100 miles of loops and routes across the city that was approved last month by the City Council.

David Littlejohn, Carmel's alternative transportation coordinator, said the city also will unveil the Web site and logo that will be used to promote the bikeway, and street signs and markings for the loops and routes, Friday.

"(Biking to work) is not as hard as you think," Littlejohn said. "There's a lot of ways to work around the obstacles. You just have to look for them."

Yessak, for instance, showers each morning at home and towels off or uses baby wipes once he gets to school. He often delivers work clothes to his classroom on the weekends and carries a messenger bag to transport papers he's graded at home and a mug for his morning coffee, which he drinks once he gets to school.

More people are starting to embrace routines like Yessak's, experts say.

Chris Hancock is executive director of the Indiana Bike Coalition, which plans Indianapolis' Bike to Work Day and provides promotional materials for events. He said his office received more calls this year from bike commuters asking for help in mapping routes.

More communities, such as Carmel, are drafting alternative transportation plans to encourage people to get around by bike, he said.

"A lot of cities right now are really looking into that," Hancock said. "Part of it is health and the environment, and high gas prices don't hurt, either."

Carmel ranks high when it comes to bike accessibility, Hancock said, and is among two cities statewide to be designated a bike-friendly community -- a distinction based on factors such as the city's engineering for bike accessibility and educational efforts.

The city's latest endeavor includes five bike loops and eight cross-city bike routes, which utilize existing multiuse paths and bike lanes that run along many neighborhood streets.

Littlejohn said he hopes infrastructure such as this will help encourage more commuters to bike. Last year, attendance at Bike to Work Day in Carmel almost doubled to about 80 people from more than 40 the previous year.

Yessak admits there are times when it's harder to motivate himself to bike to work, but he keeps in mind he's doing it to enjoy the ride.

"It's something I look forward to every day and put the bike away regretfully when I get home at night," Yessak said. "If you don't ride, you don't get to smell the honeysuckle."

arenn

May 15th, 2008, 04:28 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/LOCAL0101/805150508/1015/LOCAL01

Carmel OKs $900,000 upgrade of Performing Arts Center
$80M project's exterior and roof materials to be upgraded
By Francesca Jarosz
Posted: May 15, 2008

CARMEL, Ind. -- Carmel's redevelopment leaders voted Wednesday to spend more than $900,000 to upgrade the city's $80 million Performing Arts Center with more durable materials.

The price tag to put limestone on the exterior is $753,000. An additional $155,000 will be spent to put cast stone in the base of the domed roof.

Those upgrades are the first in what could be a series of improvements to the facility, depending on funding available through the project's budget and Mayor Jim Brainard's effort to raise $50 million in private money to upgrade the facility.

The arts center, designed to anchor Carmel's new downtown, is funded from taxes generated through new development in the area.

Since he began his private fundraising effort three years ago, Brainard has said he's raised a little more than $2 million but has not given an update on his progress since September.

On Wednesday, he said he had no update.

Funding options for the upgrades approved Wednesday include using money from the Carmel Redevelopment Commission's general fund. The five-member appointed body leading the Performing Arts Center effort operates with tax dollars generated from new development in designated areas of the city and money from land it sells.

Contingency funds built into the project's budget also could be used. That fund stands at less than $3 million, Redevelopment Director Les Olds said.

Commissioners voted on the first two upgrades to keep the project on track for a 2010 opening.

Mike Anderson, the project's construction manager with Shiel Sexton, said it had to secure materials needed for the upgrade to ensure they could be installed in time to avoid future delays.

He said putting off the choices past June 1 also could have raised the project's price tag.

"If we prolong the decision, there could be significant cost increases," Anderson said.

Redevelopment Commissioner Rick Sharp said he approved the limestone upgrade because he knew it could be funded with about $700,000 saved in the project budget -- a savings that occurred because the Redevelopment Commission paid for parking and work space on the site out of its own general fund.

But he voted against the roof upgrade.

"I wasn't being presented with a rationale (for the upgrade) or a source of funding," said Sharp, who is also the City Council president. "My inclination, then, is to be conservative and say no."

Olds said he is meeting with contractors to see how long he could delay the Redevelopment Commission's decisions on another $2 million in potential upgrades to the facility until funding is identified. Those include a skylight in the ceiling's dome and clay tile on the roof.

arenn

June 4th, 2008, 02:29 PM

http://www.ci.carmel.in.us/government/newsrelease/06-03-08.htm

News Release

Date: June 3, 2008
Contact: Nancy Heck (317) 571-2494
Release: Immediate

Feinstein Foundation to Locate its Headquarters in Regional Performing Arts Center

Carmel, IN - Internationally known pianist and vocalist Michael Feinstein and Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard announced today that the Feinstein Foundation for the Education and Preservation of The Great American Songbook would locate its headquarters in the Regional Performing Arts Center in Carmel, Indiana. Feinstein and Mayor Brainard were joined by Mickey Maurer, Chairman of the Board, The National Bank of Indianapolis, in making this important economic development announcement for the region.

The Foundation’s museum-quality collections were begun by Feinstein while he served as assistant to Ira Gershwin. The collection has been greatly expanded since that time and is currently located in Los Angeles. The Feinstein Foundation is “dedicated singularly to the mission of preserving and increasing appreciation of the Great American Songbook for present and future generations.” Among its activities are to create and execute educational curricula for schools, educational events, performances, and historical presentations to students of all ages, that helps cultivate an appreciation of this genre of music; to obtain, protect, preserve, document, catalog and archive musical scores, sheet music, records, valuable manuscripts, memoirs, biographies, stories and all other significant historical material related to The Great American Songbook.

The 1,600-seat Music Hall in the Performing Arts Center will serve as national headquarters for the Feinstein Foundation, serving as exhibit, office and facility space for the collection, curating, conservation, study, and exhibition of the Feinstein Collection and materials related to the Great American Songbook. Collection materials will be available to scholars, and on a more limited basis to students and the general public.

The Michael Feinstein Foundation and the Carmel Performing Arts Foundation will collaborate to develop local, regional, and national programming related to the Great American Songbook. These events will include educational programming for schoolchildren and adults, and master classes with leading interpreters of the Great American Songbook serving as master teachers and mentors to new generations of singers. In addition, periodic competitions and showcases for young singers of the Great American Songbook will be held in the Music Hall along with an annual Great American Songbook Festival featuring celebrity performers.

“People in the entire Indianapolis region should be pleased and proud that the Feinstein Foundation chose to relocate its collections and programs to the Indianapolis area, after also considering moving to Las Vegas and other major cities,” said Mayor Brainard. “Locating the collections and programs of the Great American Songbook here makes a profound and lasting contribution to the cultural resources already located in Indianapolis, helping to attract new tourist and visitor dollars to the region,” Mayor Brainard added.

As the birthplace of Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael and many other notable composers and musicians, Indiana has a strong claim to being a center of American popular music. In addition to the musical programming planned for the Performing Arts Center, changing exhibitions and displays of the Indianapolis arts studies have shown that more than $300 million a year is generated by the arts community. Adding another cultural draw like the Feinstein Collection in the Regional Performing Arts Center in Carmel contributes another significant attraction to bring those outside tourist and visitor dollars to Indianapolis.

The Music Hall is expected to be complete in the fall of 2010. The Feinstein Foundation and Great American Songbook collection will be located on the third floor of the facility in previously unprogrammed space. It will include more than 6,000 square feet of space. In addition, there will be some exhibits in other public spaces in the building for the enjoyment of the general public.

GarfieldPark

June 5th, 2008, 07:08 AM

That is excellent news for Carmel and greater Indianapolis. I truly believe that could become a big thing - to have that collection in Carmel with an annual major national (international?) event related to performing music of the classic American Songbook. I don't know what all is in the collection, but if its got plenty of Gershwin - and they could add some Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael music items, you've got an excellent start. If they could start bringing in some big time performers - it could be quite a draw. With all the television channels now - you would think it might be able to be picked up by some cable channel and shown around the country to bring a little more attention to this center. Sounds like a good thing for Carmel.

hoosier

June 6th, 2008, 04:35 AM

^^True. Carmel has a better arts scene than Indy, which is a shame.

It is good to see Carmel picking up the slack from the rest of central Indiana.

GarfieldPark

June 6th, 2008, 08:09 AM

^^^ Well - I definitely disagree whole heartedly with that statement - but it is nice to see that Carmel is getting its new downtown fine arts auditorium and this special "American Songbook" collection is coming along with it. I'm sure (I hope) you were just trying to be a little facetious in making that statement. Besides a few art galleries and this new auditorium - what else do they have in Carmel? Here's just a few of the arts venues in Indy that pop into mind quickly - in case you were actually half way serious: Circle Theater, Walker Theater, Murat Theater, Clowes Hall, Phoenix Theater, Theater on the Square, Ind. Repertory Theater, Indy Fringe Festival, Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis International Film Festival, Indianapolis Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Footlite Musicals, American Cabaret Theater, Pike Performing Arts Center, Crystal DeHaan Performing Arts Center at UIndy, Warren Performing Arts Center, Egyptian Room at the Murat, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indpls Museum of Contemporary Art, Eiteljorg Museum of American Indian and Western Art, Indianapolis Arts Center, Dance Kaleidoscope, Indianapolis Opera, Indianapolis Children's Choir, The Vogue, Birdy's, Music Mill, The Melody Inn, the Chatterbox, the Slippery Noodle, Beef and Boards Dinner Theater ... ok I'll stop. --- I think Carmel has a little ways further to go before I would consider them to have "a better arts scene than Indy"!

GarfieldPark

June 6th, 2008, 08:16 AM

Oh yeah, there's the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra too! sorry to have temporarily forgotten. anyway - I think I probably made my point. The reality is though -- we're all part of central Indiana - and the greater Indianapolis region. Arts improvements in Carmel just make all of Central Indiana better as well. Of course there is the good old Verizon Wireless Music Center in Fishers (or Noblesville?) too. (Oh yeah, and the Lawn at White River State Park.... and the Herron School of Art....concerts on the canal ... music at the Arts Garden ....... OK that's enough.

ddeichma

June 11th, 2008, 12:13 AM

I think the above comments are a bit much, and has nothing to do with development, someone has too much time on their hands hah^^

ablerock

June 11th, 2008, 01:32 AM

^^True. Carmel has a better arts scene than Indy, which is a shame.

Sorry Hoosier, but that's a joke. :ohno:

hoosier

June 12th, 2008, 11:31 PM

Sorry Hoosier, but that's a joke. :ohno:

Well, it is clear that Carmel is actively trying to improve its arts scene and is taking the lead in attracting new artists and galleries.

arenn

June 21st, 2008, 03:59 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080621/LOCAL0101/806210454/1268/ARCHIVE

Developer gets OK for Main Street project
Posted: June 21, 2008

Carmel » Keystone Construction won approval this week to develop one block on Main Street into a new residential and commercial area.

The developer was one of two that presented plans for the old Tuesday Morning store building on the north side of Main Street between First Avenue Northwest and Second Avenue Northwest.

"The goal is for it to be a mixed-use development that carries on our desire to have residences and retail, including dining, galleries, et cetera, located along Main Street," said Ron Carter, president of the Carmel Redevelopment Commission.

"It is also our desire to have an increase in public parking in the Old Town area to relieve the perception that there is not enough parking."

The top three floors of the four-story building will include 150 luxury apartments.

The bottom floor will be used for shops, restaurants and outdoor seating.

The project will cost $45 million and take about 18 months to complete, said Keystone Construction President Ersal Ozdemir.

hoosier

June 23rd, 2008, 08:42 AM

^^More good news for Carmel.:cheers:

arenn

July 9th, 2008, 06:21 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/BUSINESS/80709030

Tech firm to expand in Carmel, add 250 jobs
By Laura Olson
Posted: July 9, 2008

Technology developer and supplier Telamon Corp. today said it plans to expand its international headquarters in Carmel and double in size.

At a news conference, executives with the 259-employee company said they will hire 250 workers by 2012.
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The company provides of products and services ranging from the development of wireless information technology systems to integrated supply chain management and high-tech assembly services.

The company will invest more than $3 million to upgrade its technical support, engineering and logistics operations at the company's suburban Indianapolis corporate complex.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Telamon up to $1.25 million in performance-based tax credits and up to $230,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans.

Carmel will consider property tax abatement at the request of the Hamilton County Alliance and the Indy Partnership.

"This is not a free gift. We still have to work hard," said Albert Chen, the chief executive officer who founded the company in 1985.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard attended the news conference.

"We understand when we work with companies that there are choices" as far as where they choose to locate, Brainard said. "That's our competition, the rest of the world."

hoosier

July 10th, 2008, 05:55 AM

More good news for Carmel.

arenn

September 24th, 2008, 05:47 AM

http://www.indianaeconomicdigest.net/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=135&ArticleID=43375

American Funds parent may add 500 workers in Carmel

Indianapolis Business Journal

By Norm Heikens, The IBJ

nheikens@ibj.com

Capital Group Cos., the Los Angeles-based parent of mutual fund giant American Funds, said today that it plans to add enough space at its 24-acre campus in Carmel to support an additional 500 employees.

If the privately held company were to fill the new buildings, total employment would come to 1,500 - a 50-percent boost.

A Capital Group spokeswoman downplayed the $50 million announcement, saying the workers would be hired gradually after January 2010, when the buildings are scheduled to be occupied.

Still, the expansion would amount to a large swell in the back-office operation.

American Funds currently operates from a 106,000-square-foot building at 12911 N. Meridian St. that it acquired last year from Opus North Corp., a Minneapolis developer, and another site at Keystone Crossing.

Capital Group said the $50 million expansion would allow it to move the Keystone workers to Carmel and create capacity for the additional workers.

The company plans to build a five-story, 175,000-square-foot office building and a one-story mail-processing center with 32,000 square feet. Both will be connected to the existing building.

arenn

October 16th, 2008, 03:23 PM

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081016/LOCAL0101/810160509/-1/ARCHIVE

Cost overruns hit Carmel projects
Arts center gets $45M more; Keystone upgrades need an extra $50M
By Melanie D. Hayes
Posted: October 16, 2008

They are two major public projects, both designed to improve the quality of life in what is already one of the area's most desirable cities.

But now Carmel's state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center and its ambitious and innovative Keystone Avenue reconstruction have something else in common: Each project appears poised to cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars more than they were told -- up to $95 million extra.

Mayor Jim Brainard received unanimous approval Wednesday night from the city's redevelopment commission to allocate another $45 million to finish work on the Performing Arts Center. He also confirmed that he would ask the City Council to approve an additional $50 million bond to complete the Keystone project.

Brainard promised during last year's re-election campaign that the city would not exceed the $90 million Carmel received from the state to improve Keystone Avenue. But he now acknowledges the project has become much more expensive than anticipated, primarily because of increased construction costs.

The Keystone project eliminates traffic lights at six intersections along the important commuter artery into Indianapolis, a way to improve safety and traffic.

Brainard was expected to make his pitch at a future council meeting. He insisted the city had enough bonding capacity to avoid increasing tax payments.

Brainard asked the redevelopment commission Wednesday night for the extra $45 million for what was an $80 million Performing Arts Center. It will include a 1,600-seat concert hall and a 500-seat theater.

Brainard said that increased construction costs were again a driving factor, and he acknowledged that he is proposing $8.5 million in enhancements to the theater.

The mayor hopes, however, that community fundraising will offset some of the added cost to the Performing Arts Center.

The news was not a shock to council members and commissioners, who said they had heard that both projects needed infusions of cash.

"I have been told for a fact, that at this point in time, the mayor is unable to complete the project because there are not enough funds available," said Carmel City Council President Rick Sharp. "It's very troubling. It's very troubling that we have these two major projects that end up being such a wide miss of the mark."

Last year, the Indiana Department of Transportation paid Carmel $90 million to take control of Keystone from 96th Street to north of 136th Street. Brainard decided to use the entire amount to replace six intersections with roundabout-style interchanges.

"Our goal was to keep it there (at $90 million), but costs and the economy have made that impossible," Brainard said Monday.

"Costs have gone up tremendously," the mayor said. "Gasoline costs are an example of that. A lot of asphalt is petroleum-based. Dirt moving is done with fuel-powered big trucks. We've had huge changes in costs that were not anticipated."

The state gave Carmel $50 million in 2007 as a first installment. Of that, about $22.1 million has been spent and another $23.7 million was committed for contractual work as of Monday, according to documents provided by the clerk-treasurer's office. About $4.1 million, plus interest, is still available.

The state is scheduled to give the city another $20 million in February 2009 and again in 2010.

The city is working on the intersections at 106th and 126th streets, which are costing about $20 million each, Brainard said.

The bidding process started Wednesday for parts of the 116th Street, Carmel Drive and 136th Street intersections.

Councilman Eric Seidensticker asked the mayor at the Oct. 6 City Council meeting to explain the project's financial status at a future meeting.

"We need to understand how it is possible that we can be so far off from the original estimate," he said.

"When you miss a project by 50 percent," Seidensticker said, "that's big."

The mayor points to the project's uniqueness as another factor in the underestimated budget.

"No one's done a project quite like this in the United States," Brainard said. "There are a lot of unknowns when doing something for the first time."

Sharp said it was clear in May that there were insufficient funds to complete the project.

"He (Brainard) approached me with a number that is about half of what seems to be the number today. I told him at the time I would have a difficult time supporting that."

Linda Wesolowski, 60, Carmel, believes it's "par for the course" for any public project in any city to go over budget, but she still wonders how the bid could have been missed by 50 percent.

Still, she wouldn't mind paying higher taxes to get the Keystone project done.

"Carmel has got the lowest tax rate in the nine-county area," she said. "Something had to be done about Keystone. . . . Even with the work on just two intersections, it is speeding up traffic (flow)."

When Brainard approached him about funding the road construction with $90 million, Sharp said, he asked the mayor whether that was going to be enough.

"His straight answer -- 'Yes, I think so.' I can give him wiggle room to 'think.' If someone was coming back now needing $10 million, that's 10 or 11 percent. Anybody can be off by 10 percent. . . . But we are talking 50 percent or more. That's reckless. Someone was reckless along the way, and I don't know who."

Sharp thinks construction on some of the interchanges could possibly be delayed until the money is available, even if it takes several years.

"The thing I've said consistently is, it's a great vision. . . . but if we don't have the money to do it, maybe it's a vision that needs to be scaled back."

One option Sharp proposed to the mayor was to eliminate the plans to reconstruct the intersections at 116th Street and Carmel Drive.

There are other financial challenges facing the city that are more imminent than Keystone, Sharp said.

"I don't want him to take us down a path, like with the concert hall, where we have very few options except to go for additional funds," he said.

Sharp believes the commission's hands were tied with the Performing Arts Center because construction has already begun, whereas parts of the Keystone project could be pushed back.

"Sometimes the only solution is to find additional funding, and in this case (the arts center), I'm convinced of that," he said. "I'm not convinced of that with Keystone."

arenn

November 7th, 2008, 04:48 AM

http://www.indystar.com/article/20081106/LOCAL0101/811060312/1150/LOCAL0101

Skepticism persists over Keystone
By Heather Gillers
Posted: November 6, 2008

Carmel City Council members are taking their time to decide whether to bail the mayor out of a $50 million budget gap, after dozens of vocal constituents weighed in on the issue this week.

About 100 residents showed up to criticize, support or simply listen Monday to Mayor Jim Brainard's plan to spend up to $50 million on Keystone Avenue, a road project originally slated to cost the city nothing. City Council members say dozens of other residents have stopped them in the street to express their views or weighed in by e-mail.
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The mayor, who originally promised he could rebuild Keystone with the $90 million the state is paying Carmel to take over the road, detailed the history of the project at Monday's meeting.

The mayor had hoped council members would use the meeting to pledge the additional funding. But that measure did not have the support of enough council members to be added to the meeting agenda at the last minute. Its sponsor, council member Ron Carter, said he had no immediate plans to reintroduce it.

Council President Rick Sharp said hearing the mayor's presentation underlined the importance of careful consideration.

"We're in the position that we are due to hasty action with incomplete information," he said.

Brainard argued that public safety and quality-of-life improvements are worth using city money to plug the funding gap.

"It's not simply spending money," Brainard said. "It's wisely investing to avoid future problems."

Feelings about the project, which would replace six Keystone intersections with roundabout-style interchanges, varied widely. About two dozen residents and business owners were split between concern over reckless spending, and cautious approval for an infusion of cash into the Keystone project.

"I think it's a good project," resident Ian Smith told the council. "But I think old-fashioned ideas of not spending more money than you have should come into play."

The mayor insisted the additional money could be found without affecting taxes. He promised that his current cost estimate is based on firmer data than the original guess. He said delaying the project would aggravate traffic during the state's planned work on U.S. 31 and would disrupt access to businesses during the 2009 holiday shopping season.

Of the $50 million the state has so far allocated to Carmel for work on Keystone, about $44.6 million had been committed to the reconstruction project as of the end of September, according to records from the clerk-treasurer's office. Brainard now predicts the project will cost between $130 million and $142 million. But the next installment of state funding is not expected to arrive until next year.

Resident Tom Kendall compared the added expense to costly and unexpected automobile repairs: unfortunate, but not worth abandoning the car.

"Keystone Avenue was a good project a couple years ago," he said, "and it's a good project now."

The cost overrun was harder to overlook for resident Bill Styring, who saw it as part of a pattern. Only a few weeks ago, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission agreed to give Brainard up to $45 million extra to finish a partly constructed Performing Arts Center. That project was originally supposed to cost the city $80 million.

"What bothers me is we seem to be getting into these bait-and-switches," Styring said. "We get these projects started, and then we almost have to finish them."

arenn

November 14th, 2008, 04:31 PM

http://www.indystar.com/article/20081114/LOCAL0101/811140320/1150/LOCAL0101

A pedestrian-friendly Carmel?
Mayor would like to see city more interconnected
By Melanie D. Hayes
Posted: November 14, 2008

Strong infrastructure, walking areas, public transportation and a community unified with its downtown is how Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard envisions the future.

Speaking to the largest crowd ever gathered for a State of the City address, Brainard outlined the city's outlook for 312 people during a Carmel Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday at the Ritz Charles.

"Instead of dwelling on what happened in the last decade . . . I want to look ahead. It is especially important in this time of economic uncertainty to look ahead," said Brainard, who's recently come under fire for budget shortfalls on two major city projects.

The mayor said he wants to see Carmel become more interconnected and more people walking instead of driving.

"The average household drives 100 miles a day," he said. "A lot of it is because they designed the city in a way that you have to."

Brainard would like to give families the choice of driving only five to 10 miles a day.

"We need to provide options," he said Thursday in a follow-up interview. "As we redevelop Old Town, we should design it in a way that people can walk or make short trips."

Having so many cars on highways and roads increases maintenance and reconstruction costs.

He also hopes to start a public transportation system in a couple of years.

The city has more than 1,200 hotel rooms, mostly along the Pennsylvania Street corridor, and a shuttle would benefit guests.

"We are thinking of starting a circulator -- and there are lots of federal funds for that," he said. "The shuttle would go in a circle from the hotels to Old Town to Clay Terrace and back. About 700 to 800 people stay in the hotels every night, and many of them don't have a car. This would help get them to the Arts & Design District and Clay Terrace."

The city has to determine the best possible route to benefit the most people and businesses.

"We don't want to set something up where we have a shuttle with one or two riders," he said. "We need to plan this carefully . . . so it is not a financial drain."

He's exploring federal avenues to fund a public transportation system.

"We want to make sure taxes do not increase," he said. "We are being careful. But Carmel does need transportation in the center core."

In the meantime, Brainard wants to keep working on the roads, specifically completing Keystone Avenue, where he plans to replace six intersections with roundabout-style interchanges.

That's one of the projects with a shortfall. The mayor needs $50 million to finish it, but City Council members are weighing their options. The Performing Arts Center is the other project with a shortfall, but the Carmel Redevelopment Commission has approved an additional $45 million to complete the project.

Brainard touted the city's many roundabouts during his speech by saying they're cheaper to build and safer for drivers.

He also wants to keep drawing new businesses to the city's center. The added density would speed up the creation of a public transportation system.

It costs about $8 million to reconstruct a mile of road in the county, he said, and it makes more financial sense to not stray too far from the center.

"In the long run, it's much less expensive to redevelop the inner city areas than to go farther out in the city," Brainard said. "We will continue to focus on redevelopment in the center."

Donna Franklin, a vice president of Noblesville Community Bank, attended both the Carmel and Noblesville State of the City luncheons. Both mayors had positive outlooks.

"(Brainard) was enthusiastic, positive," she said. "But you have to remember, we are all in Hamilton County and are blessed to be here. We are not as affected (by the economic downturn). But, some small businesses are (affected) in Small Town, U.S.A., or Middle Town, U.S.A."

Carmel Chamber President Mo Merhoff thought it was comforting to hear the mayor be so positive about the city's future.

"Optimism' is not being used with the economy," she said. "You don't hear those two words together, and there's a good reason for that. . . . But Carmel stands better, at least in the mayor's view."

ragerunner1

November 14th, 2008, 04:43 PM

Talking about a mayor that actually understands the big picture.

arenn

December 2nd, 2008, 04:13 PM

http://www.indystar.com/article/20081202/LOCAL0101/812020380/-1/ARCHIVE

Council seeks review of street project
Panel tables vote on $28.5M for Keystone roundabouts
By Heather Gillers
Posted: December 2, 2008

With a third of the Keystone Avenue reconstruction under way and half the money spent, the Carmel City Council got its first official say Monday on the ambitious road project.

Its message? Back up and slow down.

Council President Rick Sharp directed two council committees to examine how money has been spent so far before voting on a $28.5 million bailout for what Mayor Jim Brainard billed as a $90 million reconstruction.

"We have substantially missed the mark," Sharp said. "I think we need to understand why."

He directed the council's Finance Committee to examine past spending and suggested the Utilities and Transportation Committee huddle with project engineers to study how construction has unfolded.

Brainard said making information available to council members is a priority.

"The city engineer's door is always open," he said.

Since the project was announced two years ago, Brainard has controlled the revenue stream, the $90 million the state gave Carmel to take over a 4.2-mile stretch of Keystone. The question of moving forward did not come up before the council until last month, when Brainard announced he had underestimated the cost and would need city money to finish the road.

He first proposed sinking up to $50 million more into the project. When the council balked, two members floated the $28.5 million proposal.

One of those members, Finance Committee Chairwoman Luci Snyder, said the $28.5 million proposal was introduced in part to open council discussion and could be modified significantly. One alternative is for the city to advance Brainard the remainder of the state money, which is paid out in installments ending in 2010, then scale down costs to stay within the original $90 million price tag. Another option is to use money already earmarked for other areas -- likely other road projects -- to keep the city out of debt.

Brainard said he did not know whether $28.5 million would be sufficient to finish the project and declined to speculate on how much of the road could be completed with the original $90 million. He said last month the project could cost up to $142 million.

If the council allocates additional funds, Snyder said, "We'd like to put strings on this money. We don't want to be here in a year facing another shortfall."

The project seeks to replace six Keystone Avenue intersections with roundabouts. Hints that Carmel was spending more money than it had date back almost two years.

A preliminary construction estimate from February 2007 projects the cost at $112 million to $138.6 million, and communications by council members suggest at least some knew by last spring that the road was running over budget.

Several council members said they did not speak out earlier because they did not control funding for the project and did not have information showing the scope of the cost problem.

"Nowhere will you find my name signed on any document saying, 'This is what we are going to do,' because it never came in front of the council," Councilman Eric Seidensticker said.

He could not immediately recall receiving a February e-mail that Snyder said she sent to council members relaying the mayor's prediction that the Keystone project was running $10 million to $15 million over budget.

Seidensticker said informal predictions he heard did not give him enough information to speak out.

"You can't make a public statement about something you don't know the inner workings of," he said.

Asked when the council knew Keystone Avenue could end up costing more than its $90 million price tag, Brainard said it depends on the council member.

"I think some of them have been very diligent," he said. "Some of them may not have asked the right questions."

arenn

December 2nd, 2008, 04:13 PM

http://www.indystar.com/article/20081202/LOCAL0101/812020378/1268/ARCHIVE

Carmel council OKs fund transfer for Monon Center
Carmel City Council approves transfer of $650,000 to cover operating costs
By Melanie D. Hayes
Posted: December 2, 2008

Amid Carmel's plans for bailing out the Keystone road project and the Performing Arts Center, the City Council voted Monday to help the Monon Center out of its financial shortfall.

In September, the Carmel Clay Parks Board and Parks Department told city and township officials that the lavish Monon Center -- with its fitness center, aquatics park and community classes -- was operating in the red. At that time, parks director Mark Westermeier said the center needed $600,000 to get through the rest of the year.

The City Council voted 7-0 Monday to approve a resolution allowing the Parks Board to transfer $650,000 from its capital fund to its operating fund to make up the shortfall.

The parks' capital fund has about $4 million in county-option income tax revenue, Westermeier said. However, an agreement between the city and township stipulates that the money be used only to purchase land for parks and construction work on parks. The resolution would allow for an exception to the rule with a transfer.

The township board of trustees also would have to approve the transfer. A special meeting will be called to consider the resolution, but no date has been set.

"The Monon is beautiful," City Councilwoman Luci Snyder said before Monday's vote. "We want it to be successful and be a part of this community. We just want to make sure no one is squandering money."

Councilman Ron Carter said it was unrealistic to expect the Monon Center to earn 100 percent of its cost in the first year.

"It's rare that a business, especially one this large, can break even or turn profit in the first year," he said.

Mayor Jim Brainard was to ask the City Council on Monday to approve $28.5 million to keep construction rolling on the Keystone Avenue roundabout project. In October, the Carmel Redevelopment Commission approved Brainard's request for up to $45 million to finish the Performing Arts Center project.

As part of the Monon Center resolution, the council wants accountability from the Park Board, said Snyder, who co-sponsored the resolution in her role as head of the council's finance committee.

The Parks Board will be obligated to provide a detailed written report on a quarterly basis on the Monon Center's operations, financial plan and current fiscal status to the council, township board and mayor, Snyder said.

"We need to minimize the need to repeat this unfortunate necessity," she said.

If any of the $650,000 is left over Dec. 31, it must be returned to the capital fund, Snyder said.

Westermeier said the need for a subsidy should be expected again in 2009, as it was always part of the plan. The center is paying for 85 percent of its expenses through memberships and other revenue sources, and is expected to be self-sufficient after three years, he said.

The use of capital project funds will not affect future park projects, Westermeier said.

"In our capital plan, for the next five years, I don't see any project not occurring because of that or being cut back," he said.