A prime real estate spot in Carmel is up for sale.
Colliers has been appointed as the exclusive agent for the sale of the CNO Financial Group’s 78-acre corporate campus at 11825 N. Pennsylvania St.
CNO, an insurance and financial services company, is in the process of moving its operations to the OpenLane Inc. building at 11299 N. Illinois St. in Carmel. It announced its move in June 2023 and expects it to be complete this spring.
“Colliers is being engaged by CNO to lead the marketing process for the campus and, naturally, we feel that there is an opportunity for an experienced master developer to come in and potentially partner with other specialized developers, too,” said Andrew Urban, Colliers’ senior vice president of occupier services.
Urban said the 78 acres could be described as a district.
“It’s really one of the sites where it’s not going to be one single use,” he said. “It’s going to be a number of different uses crossing commercial, office space, laboratory space potentially, as well as retail and community aspects. I know parks are going to be part of this, as well as green space and residential options across different price spectrums. It really has exciting potential. There are not many 78-acre parcels in the City of Carmel.”
Urban said Colliers has had conversations with the city’s previous administration and current administration, along with new and existing members of the Carmel City Council.
“Our priorities with any potential redevelopment project are going to place a heavy emphasis on ensuring that we are optimizing our ability to attract talent and position Carmel as a top-tier destination in the U.S.,” Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam said. “CNO has been a strong local partner for many years, and I appreciate their continued collaboration as we work to achieve the highest and best use of that land.”
Urban said the City of Carmel has offered support and feedback.
“Carmel is going to have a large influence on what happens here,” Urban said. “There is a lot of planning and input to take it from what it is today to what it can be in the future.”
The campus includes more than 611,000 square feet of building space and 2,700 parking spaces.
“For everyone involved, one buyer provides some natural synergies and one natural cohesive vision over time,” Urban said. “At the same time, we realize it is a very large development opportunity. There could be multiple developers for the three key pieces of the parcel. They would naturally have to collaborate and work together. A master developer could come in and take the lead role in how the pieces can fit together and then partner with individual developers on different aspects of the site with their specialization and track record.”
Urban said it is hard to put a number on the property’s worth at this point.
“We’re kind of letting the market determine the value,” Urban said.
