Whitestown looks to proposed $110M project as next step for town

Whitestown leaders believe a proposed $110 million housing and retail development near a new Interstate 65 interchange presents an important next step in the town’s growth.

Indianapolis-based New City Development is formulating plans for Padgett Commons, which would be built on 40 acres of undeveloped property east of I-65 near the intersection of East County Road 550 South and Perry Worth Road.

An initial design for Padgett Commons calls for 250,000 square feet of retail space, which could include a big-box store, entertainment options, restaurants, a car wash and a gas station.

The project would also have 120 apartments, 80 senior-housing units, a park and a trail. Construction could begin next spring if the project receives approval from the town.

New City founder Isaac Bamgbose told IBJ that Padgett Commons would be “a front door” to Whitestown as people enter town off I-65. The project has a five- to seven-year construction timeline. Padgett Commons is named for Karen Padgett, the current landowner, and her late husband, Charles, who farmed more than 400 acres in the area.

“[Whitestown has] seen a tremendous amount of growth over the past decade, and they’re really looking for something to take things to the next level from the development standpoint,” Bamgbose said.

“That’s what we’re offering with Padgett Commons. Something that’s grounded in some of the history of the site, of the area, mixed with the utility of creating something that’s going to serve the community.”

New City and the town also expect to partner on a plan to improve infrastructure in the area by 2027. Later this year, the Whitestown Town Council is expected to consider a 25-year, $27.2 million bond to pay for infrastructure work that would include extending East County Road 550 South west to the new I-65 Exit 131, extending and widening South County Road 575 East, building three roundabouts near the site of the proposed Padgett Commons, constructing roadwork and a trail within the development, and installing utilities.

Whitestown Town Manager Katie Barr said Padgett Commons is just as much an infrastructure project as it is a housing and retail project. She noted the town envisions South C.R. 575E as a four-lane, north-south artery through Whitestown that would more easily connect I-65 and new areas of town to downtown, which the town has spent several years reviving.

“The overall goal is to bring people to Whitestown to where they can work, live and play, all in one, within the development,” Barr said. “It’s going to create a gateway into Whitestown, which we believe establishes identity and character.”

Adding amenities and improved roadways near Exit 131 could relieve congestion to the south along Whitestown Parkway where housing and businesses have taken root over the past decade, she said.

Last year, the Indiana Department of Transportation finished construction on the $63 million Exit 131. Whitestown has two other I-65 interchanges: at Whitestown Parkway to the south and State Road 267 to the north.

“[Padgett Commons] is the ideal situation,” Barr said. “It’s a win for the landowner, a win for the developer and a huge win for the town and residents.”

New City’s next step

Bamgbose founded New City in 2020 after he left Wisconsin-based Hendricks Commercial Properties, where he played key roles in the development of the Ironworks Hotel & Apartments on the north side of Indianapolis and the Bottleworks District in downtown Indianapolis.

Currently, New City is developing the $300 million Hobbs Station on 125 acres at U.S. 40 and North Perry Road in Plainfield. The first phase of Hobbs Station is expected to be completed early next year.

Hobbs Station will feature more than 200 single-family homes; 650 apartments; 120 senior-housing units; more than 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurants; as much as 200,000 square feet of build-to-suit office space; and a two-building, 498,000-square-foot industrial project.

At Hobbs Station, New City focused on master-planning the development and gathering partners, such as Atlanta-based Pulte Homes for single-family home construction, Indianapolis-based Avenue Development for senior housing and Chicago-based HSA Commercial Real Estate for the industrial buildings.

Bamgbose said his development experience gave him a natural pitch in Whitestown for his vision for Padgett Commons, where he also plans to involve multiple firms.

“We kind of bring these partners to the table with us because we have such a deeply entrenched network here locally of folks that we trust, and they trust us to be able to create these special, purpose-made and place-made areas versus just spaces,” he said.

Barr said New City’s communication with residents and town staff set the development team apart from other firms that sought to build on Padgett’s 40 acres.

“They listened to the needs and the wants of the residents,” Barr said. “One of our primary objectives for the town is to increase the quality of life, and New City aligns with that vision.”

‘About damn time’

Growth has come fast in Whitestown over the past decade.

The community along I-65 has grown from fewer than 500 residents in 2000 to more than 13,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Most of that growth has come in the past decade, and town officials believe the population will reach 25,000 in the next decade.

Residential, retail and industrial growth is most evident near I-65’s Exit 130, in the $1 billion, 1,700-acre Anson mixed-use development that includes the $250 million, 2.7-million-square-foot industrial 65Commerce Park. On the southern edge of Anson, two big-box retailers—Meijer and Lowe’s—have spurred more retail.

Park 130, southwest of Anson, covers 170 acres and includes six industrial facilities ranging from 40,000 square feet to more than 700,000 square feet.

Now, with a new town manager and a new town council, Whitestown leaders are taking a more deliberate and long-term approach to development in the town where the median resident age is just 37.

“We’re not looking at two or three years from now,” Barr said. “We’re actually looking at 10, 20, 30 years from now for the future, and it’s important that we expand our tax base and start providing these amenities for residents to improve that quality of life to attract that generation to want to come to Whitestown to live.”

Both Karen Padgett and Whitestown leaders wanted to ensure that the 40 acres near Exit 131 would not become yet another warehouse or industrial site.

Craig Anderson, who represents Padgett, oversaw the Anson development for former Indianapolis-based commercial real estate development company Duke Realty before he retired in 2017. He said the Padgetts were the second-largest landowners within Anson, and the 40-acre property is the last parcel yet to be sold in the area. New City is expected to acquire it by Nov. 27.

Anderson said lack of access to the site prevented it from being developed as part of Anson, but the new interchange made it desirable to developers.

“It’s just taken time for other developers to continue to buy land and develop and build the infrastructure to reach this parcel,” he said.

Industrial developments have been built to the north and west of the Padgett Commons site, while single-family homes are to the east, and Lebanon-based Witham Health Services owns land to the south.

Anderson said Padgett held out for years in selling the 40 acres because she wanted something special for Whitestown to be built there.

“She wants something that just represents the family in a good way,” Anderson said. “She’s been very stoic in just holding on to trying to find the right developer to come in and sort of do us justice on a high-quality development.”

That’s what Bamgbose said he wants to build.

“We’ve been able to paint a vision that is not just dynamic and cool, but it’s also functional,” he said.

Members of the Whitestown Town Council indicated their enthusiasm for Padgett Commons earlier this month when they unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding between the town and New City as a first step in the approval and review process.

Councilor Courtenay Smock said at the Oct. 2 meeting that he is “excited to see something of this quality come to town.”

“And it’s about damn time,” he said. “I think [this] project is going to be raising the bar for all future projects that knock on our door and want to come to Whitestown. That’s what I’m most excited about. We’re putting something different [here], not just the sea of sameness that we can drive 10 miles away and get the same thing.”

And Councilor Eric Nichols said Padgett Commons would blend in well in Whitestown.

“This is really thinking about, ‘What do we want in the area?’” Nichols said. “And it’s things that provide benefits and lifestyle to the residents.”•