Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen has declared that 2022 will be a year of action.
“2020 was a year of vision,” said Jensen, who took office in 2020. “2021 was much more a year of planning and preparedness. I think the fruits of our labor are really going to show themselves in 2022.”
RESIDENTIAL
The multi-family residential landscape of downtown Noblesville will change in 2022.
The Nexus development, a mixed-use development under construction on land where a former Marsh building was at Ind. 32 and River Road, will open in winter 2022. The development will feature mostly multi-family residential units, although there is a commercial outlot building. Nexus consists of 287 multi-family units.
Lofts on 10th will be complete by summer 2022 and have 23 units.
“I think when people think of some mixed-use in our downtown is when we start to get compared to other communities, but Lofts on 10th is a great example of, ‘No, we are going to do it in a very micro way,’” Jensen said.
Construction is set to begin on the East Bank development near the White River in downtown Noblesville in 2022. J.C. Hart is developing the mixed-use property, which will consist of 219 multi-family units and 5,000 square feet of commercial space.
Construction also will soon begin at the Village at Federal Hill, a mixed-use development being constructed west of Federal Hill Commons. Old Town Companies is developing the project, which will include 163 residential units, a city-owned parking garage with 430 parking spaces and a commercial component.
“We will own a majority of those spaces,” Jensen said of the parking garage. “Obviously, Old Town Design Group will rent spaces for their residents, but the majority of that parking structure will be used for public parking.”
Although all the details aren’t worked out, Jensen said the Village at Federal Hill parking garage will be similar to the Levinson parking garage, where the first four hours are free. The cost is $2 per hour after four hours.
Per the Village at Federal Hill commercial component, Jensen said the project will have a standalone building that will house Nickel Plate Arts and a cultural center. There also will be commercial components inside the mixed-use building.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
One of the city’s largest economic development projects set to open next year is Washington Business Park, which spans 75 acres east of Ind. 37 and north of 146th Street. The park includes 11 parcels for businesses.
“All of our focus has been on medical technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing, which are central Indiana’s three hotspots,” Jensen said. “Those will be a major focus for us in that area.”
Innovation Mile is set to begin construction in late 2022. Innovation Mile is a 1-mile-long, master-planned business district along 141st Street between Olio Road and Prairie Baptist Road. The development will encompass 200 acres and include commercial space for innovative companies.
Equicor, a nationally recognized real estate development and investment firm based in Carmel, recently announced it would construct three spec buildings in Noblesville’s corporate campus at Olio Road and 146th Street. Two of the buildings, totaling 500,000 square feet, will be constructed at the southwest corner of Olio Road and 146th Street. A 115,000-square-foot building will be constructed in the Saxony Corporate Campus in southeast Noblesville near Interstate 69. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2022.
“Our goal in 2021 and 2022 was to make sure we had land available and developed for those companies ready to land here now,” Jensen said.
ROADS
Perhaps the most anticipated 2022 project is the first phase of the $113 million Pleasant Street project. The City of Noblesville will contribute $98 million to the project, with Hamilton County contributing $15 million.
The city will break ground on the project in the third or fourth quarter of 2022.
Phase 1 will consist of constructing the road from 10th Street west to River Road.
“Phase 1 will accomplish the goal we are looking for, and that’s getting across the river,” Jensen said. “In 2023, we will go to construction bidding of Phase 2 and Phase 3 simultaneously.”
Phase 1 is expected to be complete in 2024. Phases 2 and 3 are expected to be complete by the end of 2025. When complete, the road will bypass Noblesville’s downtown from Hague Road to 19th Street.
Jensen said the community began talking about a Pleasant Street bypass as early as the late 1980s.
“The biggest shock people have realized is, we are actually doing it,” Jensen said. “We are knee-deep in property right-of -way purchasing right now.”
Because much of the project is new roadway, Jensen said construction is unlikely to negatively affect downtown traffic flow.
Besides Pleasant Street, other road projects in 2022 include construction on a roundabout on Ind. 38 near the Whitcomb Ridge residential development; completed construction on the new roundabout at Ind. 32 and Ind. 38; a new roundabout at Boden Road and 156th Street; and the construction of the south Allisonville Road Trail from Wellington Parkway to Christian Avenue.
For more, visit cityofnoblesville.org.
Bridge of Flowers
A private philanthropy project by the Gordon family and the City of Noblesville also will begin construction in 2022. The Bridge of Flowers will provide a focal point for downtown on the new Logan Street bridge.
“It’s a way we are going to activate the new pedestrian bridge over Logan Street,” Mayor Chris Jensen said. “It’s going to include lighting, irrigation, plants, benches and pergolas all on that pedestrian bump out on the Logan Street bridge. It’s going to be a great place to come take pictures or enjoy the river. The pedestrian walkway was a huge investment from the city and county, but it’s just a big chunk of concrete. This is the next phase of the project.”
