Fishers pumps new life into aging Allisonville Road corridor

The intersection of East 96th Street and Allisonville Road in Fishers certainly looks different than it did a year ago.

The despised “Michigan left” turn—which annoyed motorists for more than a decade—is gone, with a two-lane roundabout in its place. Residents are moving into apartments at the $135 million River Place development that is being built on an 83-acre site that for years sat in limbo. And soon the city will begin transforming 125 acres adjacent to the White River into Fishers White River Park.

Mayor Scott Fadness said city leaders began working with a sense of urgency about three years ago to revitalize the intersection, which he said had started to fall into a state of disrepair.

“We don’t want to wait very long when it comes to urban decay,” he said. “We want to step in sooner and make investments that can be the catalyst for redevelopment so that [Fishers] remains an attractive place.”

It’s an approach Fadness wants to take with the rest of the Allisonville Road commercial corridor, which stretches northeast to East 126th Street.

The corridor, once a thriving gateway on the west side of Fishers, has remained stagnant for nearly 20 years as areas closer to Interstate 69, such as the Nickel Plate District and The Yard at Fishers District, have experienced rapid commercial and residential growth.

But Fadness said change is coming and the time is right to revitalize Allisonville, which in Fishers stretches from East 96th Street to East 146th Street. The roadway is one of the busiest in Hamilton County, with more than 20,000 motorists passing through the intersection at East 116th Street each day.

“We’re going to stay aggressive to ensure that every corner of Fishers stays a vibrant and attractive place for investment and for people’s quality of life,” Fadness said.

Revitalizing the intersection at 96th and Allisonville represents the first step for the corridor. In order to get started, the Michigan left had to go.

The setup installed in 2013 had drivers who wanted to turn left from Allisonville onto 96th first approach the intersection, then turn right, proceed a few hundred feet, then hang a left U-turn at the median. An early attempt to brand it the “Fishers U-Turn” never stuck—and that’s probably a good thing for Fishers.

When did it become clear people didn’t want the Michigan left?

“The day it opened,” Fadness said.

Long time coming

Replacing the Michigan left with a roundabout was one key to making the River Place development happen immediately to the west, he added.

“For them to really have that reach its true potential, we needed a better access management system,” Fadness said. “We needed better infrastructure there.”

When it’s completed next year, Carmel-based CRG Residential’s River Place will feature a 380-unit apartment complex with seven buildings, 66 town houses and three commercial buildings with 32,500 square feet of space and 170 parking spaces.

Indianapolis-based Centre Properties targeted the site in the late 1990s and announced plans for high-rise offices and condominiums, town houses, retail and restaurants.

The project, then called RiverPlace, was beset by roadblocks. Centre spent years trying to mitigate concerns about the development’s impact on the adjacent White River and major roadways.

In 2007, Centre altered its plans and was approved to build 600,000 square feet of retail space, 1,000 luxury condominiums, two hotels and 300,000 square feet of high-rise office space. However, the project stalled during the recession.

Fadness said the property “became a big question mark in a bookend to the Allisonville Road corridor,” but now the River Place project will help turn the intersection into a southern gateway into Fishers.

“It all just kind of came together at the right time with the right players,” Fadness said. “And we’re excited about where this project takes us when it comes to the Allisonville Road corridor.”

CRG Vice President of Development David George said River Place will complement Fishers White River Park next door to the west and that the retail at River Place will provide a place for park visitors to shop.

“Over time, the area will transform into a recreation destination, not only for Fishers but also for residents of Carmel and Indianapolis,” George said.

The city plans to break ground on the $6 million park this month and have it ready for visitors by next fall. In 2022, the White River region received $4.7 million in READI 1.0 funds that will go toward constructing the park.

To be built on land the city purchased in 2021, the park will feature more than 5,000 feet of riverfront access, along with 2.45 miles of trails, including trail connectivity to Fishers Heritage Park at White River at East 106th Street; a kayak launch; native plantings; a creek stomping area; two scenic overlook boardwalks; and year-round restrooms.

Fadness also said development east of the 96th and Allisonville intersection will be a catalyst for the Allisonville corridor. At the Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport, Andretti Global is building a 400,000-square-foot headquarters. Fishers-based Patch Development, Carmel-based Pure Pharmacy and Italy-based Prema Racing will also have facilities at the airport along 96th Street.

“When you add all those things together, you start to really turn a corner and bring in a new chapter to the Allisonville Road corridor,” Fadness said.

Putting plans into action

The city is using the 93-page Allisonville Road Corridor Study to guide development along the roadway. In total, Allisonville Road stretches nearly 25 miles from Binford Boulevard, just south of East 46th Street, in Indianapolis, to State Road 37 in Noblesville.

Last year, the Fishers City Council adopted the corridor study after two years of work by Indianapolis-based HWG Engineering and a 20-member committee composed of Fishers city leaders, residents and business owners.

The study focused on the 2.2-mile stretch of Allisonville from 106th to 126th streets, which encompasses 344 acres and 219 parcels owned by 165 people. City leaders have said the study is a guiding document, not a concrete plan, for development along the corridor.

Fadness said he envisions the future of Allisonville Road will skew more residential with “a neighborhood feel to it.” He said residents who live near 116th and Allisonville have said they want amenities similar to those in downtown Fishers, only without the dense, multifamily housing in the Nickel Plate District.

“They want that growth,” Fadness said. “They want that dynamism that’s happening in downtown, just maybe in a slightly different form.”

Action is underway on two major changes coming to the intersection of 116th and Allisonville.

Next year, the city plans to begin construction on a roundabout that will replace a four-way stop that backs up each day during rush hour. Also, early next year, Kroger will open a $41 million, 120,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace store and fuel center at 7400 Fishers Station Drive at the former site of a Marsh Supermarkets on the east side of Allisonville Road.

The store will replace Kroger’s current 67,000-square-foot grocery on the opposite side of Allisonville at 7272 Fishers Crossing Drive. Kroger has not determined how the current store will be used once it closes.

“Building the next store for that corridor is evidence of how we’ve grown with Fishers,” Kroger Manager of Corporate Affairs Eric Halvorson said.

‘Tangible connection’

Joe Eaton, who has lived in Fishers since 1990 and co-chaired the Allisonville Road Corridor Committee, said he hopes the roundabout and Kroger Marketplace will help spur development that will make the area around 116th and Allisonville a destination spot and better connect the west side of Fishers to the Nickel Plate District and areas east of Interstate 69.

“It’s a very busy intersection,” he said. “It’ll be hard to completely eliminate that pass-through vibe. But I think if you attract the right businesses in each of those quadrants—north, south, east and west—that you can get more of a traffic that is more, ‘Let’s visit here.’”

Eaton, who lives in the River Highlands neighborhood just south of 126th and Allisonville, added that residents who live on the west side of town “have kind of longed for both a physical and tangible connection to the heart of the city.”

Fishers City Council member Selina Stoller represents areas along Allisonville Road between 116th and 146th streets in the city’s Northwest District. She expects the roundabout and Kroger relocation to help spur more action around the 116th Street intersection, particularly on the southeast side of the crossing where a vacant lot sits.

“What I’m hopeful is, with the south side of 116th Street, that we can then create interest in upgrading that area, as well,” she said.

Denise Webster, who serves as president of the River Glen Homeowners Association near 116th and Allisonville, said her area of town is a gateway for people coming to Fishers from Carmel and improving the Allisonville corridor is important to residents.

She said the past year has seen visible progress in improving aesthetics through beautification efforts, such as adding green space and improving medians.

“The oldest part of your cities are the ones that are most at risk,” Webster said. “If you don’t take care of the old, the new are going to falter, as well.”•