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Noblesville-based developer and sports complex operator Card & Associates Athletic Facilities is planning the second phase of its 95-acre Hickory Junction development, south of the intersection of Interstate 65 and State Road 39 in Lebanon.
Lebanon Planning Director Ben Bontrager told members of the Lebanon City Council last month that the developer is making plans for 456 housing units and 64,000 square feet of commercial, office and retail space at Hickory Junction, east of the $31 million Farmers Bank Fieldhouse, which opened in February as part of the development’s first phase of construction.
Bontrager said the second phase could feature 288 apartments and 168 single-family houses. Office and retail buildings would be built along the interstate, and residential buildings would be built to the south.
Card & Associates owns the land at Hickory Junction and plans to sell property to developers who want to build at the location in Lebanon.
“This is intended to be an extension of the Hickory Junction Fieldhouse site,” Bontrager said.
The 200,000-square-foot Farmers Bank Fieldhouse at 505 S. SR 39, just south of Interstate 65 Exit 139, opened Feb. 9 and features eight basketball courts, 12 pickleball courts, one turf field, and pitching and hitting tunnels.
Sports offered at the facility include baseball, basketball, football, pickleball, soccer and softball. There are also plans to add golf simulators and a weight room.
Card & Associates expects the fieldhouse to attract 100,000 visitors per month starting in 2025.
In October, Greensboro, North Carolina-based Bel Canto opened the 92-unit Hickory Cottages Apartments to the south of the fieldhouse along Enterprise Boulevard.
“We were confident in the masterplan and timing as Farmers Bank Fieldhouse opened,” Card & Associates President Billy Bunkowfst said in written remarks. “We are now bullish to continue Hickory Junction’s pace as a youth sports and tourism destination co-located with new residential, dining and entertainment experiences.”
Also, this month, Card & Associates announced it selected Indianapolis-based real estate developer The Ghoman Group to build two hotels totaling 300 rooms at Hickory Junction. The hotels are considered part of the first phase.
The Ghoman Group plans to spend $70 million to build the hotels, which will include a 100-room Fairfield Inn by Marriott. The brand of the second, larger hotel has not yet been announced, but it is expected to include a 30,000-square-foot conference center. Construction on the Fairfield Inn is slated to begin in mid-2025.
Mayor Matt Gentry announced plans for The Farmers Bank Fieldhouse in October 2021. The site was previously home to a Holiday Inn Holidome that was razed in 2012.
Card & Associates estimates Hickory Junction will have a $75 million annual economic impact with 35,000 hotel-room bookings and 1.5 million visitors per year.
“Hickory Junction is more than just a development,” Gentry said in written remarks. It’s an asset and amenity that our community needs and is important as we continue to secure additional economic development.”
Among its projects, Card & Associates, founded in 2015, developed the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield and developed, constructed and operates Mojo Up Sports Complex in Noblesville, Community Sports and Wellness in Pendleton and the Mishawaka Fieldhouse in Mishawaka.
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Excited for this!
Appears to be Very Optimistic economic impacts and visitors per year. Time will tell.
We do know there are-will be no more Hickory Trees on or around the development that took its name from what once was.