A proposal to issue municipally backed bonds to pay for a new parking garage to jump start Pedcor’s City Center phase two is currently sitting in committee for the Carmel City Council.
But the Carmel Redevelopment Commission wants to move the process along as quickly as possible, so a public hearing was held on Nov. 26 to give anyone a chance to speak about the project.
Many on the City Council have expressed skepticism about the proposal, but at this meeting only excited proponents voiced their thoughts. Not a single person spoke against the development.
Michael Drewry, managing partner of Drewry, Simmons, Vornehm, a law firm located at the City Center, said there’s a unity of the entire project and the quality of the work doesn’t appear to be expensive to him compared to other commercial projects. Drewry cites his background in construction law as his credentials.
“Kind of like with halftime of a ball game, you get out there and finish the game,” he said. “Phase one was finished and phase two needs to be finished.”
Justin Moffett, of Old Town Design Group, said the development of the City Center was integral for his decision to announce his $100 million-plus redevelopment of Carmel’s Midtown area.
“We would not have had to have the courage or desire to move forward with those grounds if it was not for the efforts done with the Carmel City Center,” Moffett said.
Representatives from City Center businesses such as Pure Concepts, Bath Junkie and Matt the Miller’s Tavern all spoke in favor of the deal.
In other news, CRC officials announced that the tax increment finance district for Parkwood has paid off its debt and now any revenue generated will mean money for a reserve account for the CRC.
The CRC also discussed two competing bids for land for sale near the Midtown area. Barrett & Stokley bid $2.5 million and Old Town Design Group bid $1.72 million for land situated west of the Monon Trail, south of 2nd Avenue SW and east of 3rd Avenue/4th Avenue SW.
CRC officials said they would consider all pros and cons and not just the highest bid. As a result, the commission voted to reject both offers because it allows them a chance to move on to negotiating with both parties in order to try to fine tune either bid before selecting one of them.
