Zionsville residents filled the Town Hall council chambers for the April 15 Zionsville Plan Commission meeting, overflowing into the hallway. During the meeting, the commission voted 5-2 in favor of the proposed Sycamore Flats development and 7-0 in favor of a Holliday Farms primary plat proposal.
What happened: The commission gave a 7-0 approval of the Holliday Farms development primary plat proposal, dividing the 88-acre parcel into 165 lots for residential use.
What it means: Henke Development Group LLC will continue to move forward with redevelopment of the nearly 600-acre property into a residential development and 18-hole golf course, designed by famed Carmel-based golf course designers Pete and Alice Dye. Each home on the 165 lots will be designed and custom-built for clients by selected high-end home builders.
What’s next: Holliday Farms lots are currently being reserved. For more, visit hollidayfarmszionsville.com
What happened: Sycamore Flats, a large mixed-use development proposed near Sycamore and 2nd Streets in downtown Zionsville, passed through the Plan Commission with a 5-2 approval and a favorable recommendation to the Town Council, who will review the proposal next month.
What it means: Developer J.C. Hart proposed a rezoning of the 4.3 acres, located at 165 and 253 W. Sycamore St. and designated for business, to a mixed-use planned unit development.
Plans for the $40 million Sycamore Flats include 184 one- and two-bedroom apartment homes, 4,350 square feet of commercial and retail space and a 256-space parking structure. The proposal also includes amenities like a pool, green space, exercise area and clubhouse.
J.C. Hart representative Matt Price said the development would begin to revitalize Zionsville’s “front door,” referring to the area surrounding Main and Sycamore Streets, the southern entrance to Zionsville’s historic brick street. He said it would provide additional daytime and evening clientele for businesses in the village.
“If you look back at some of the old newspaper articles over the years, one of the discussion points (of town plans) was to draw people into the village business district,” Price said.
The Town of Zionsville and J.C. Hart each assessed the financial impact of the development. J.C. Hart believes the development would generate $22 million of new revenue to the town of Zionsville during a 40-year time period.
Remonstrators lined up to voice concerns, citing doubts about the true financial impact, inconsistencies with town planning and the current downtown aesthetic, traffic increases and stormwater impact.
J.C. Hart representatives said 2010-2018 data from Hamilton County showed home values near similar-scale apartment complexes raised prices between 12 and 27 percent. Village resident Gary Angstad argued this was less than the county as a whole and actually showed a decrease in value.
“In the same time period, MIBOR reports that Hamilton County as a whole grew its median income home sale price over 70 percent,” Angstad said.
Zionsville resident and CPA Bret Brewer said he worried the town could incur large financial losses if they agreed to pay 20 percent of the infrastructure as proposed.
Director of Planning and Economic Development Wayne DeLong said the staff was supportive of the proposal and the town was in a position to move forward with traffic improvements and solutions.
The commission then voted 5-2 in favor of the Sycamore Flats proposal.
What’s next: The proposed Sycamore Flats development will be considered by the Zionsville Town Council next month.
