$8M project slated for Fall Creek Place

A local community development corporation is partnering with a Bloomington developer to build a mixed-use project with 47 units on a vacant lot in the Fall Creek Place neighborhood.

King Park Development Corp. owns the nearly one-acre parcel at the northeast corner of East 22nd and Delaware streets and has brought Cedarview Management Corp. on board to develop the $8 million project.

Cedarview received approval July 23 from the city to rezone the property to build the four-story project that would include nearly 9,000 square feet of retail and a 54-space parking garage.

King Park is betting that demand for housing in the neighborhood north of downtown will be high enough to support a market-rate development. The last apartment project built in the area, 16 Park along 16th Street between Central and College avenues, is all affordable housing.

“There is really nothing comparable to this,” King Park Executive Director Steven Meyer said. “There just aren’t a lot of mixed-use projects like this outside of the downtown area.”

Units will range from small studios to two bedrooms. Rents have not been determined. But the rate in the Fall Creek area ranges from $1.30 to $1.50 per square foot, Meyer said.

King Park bought the tract from the city in 2007 and tore down an abandoned auto service center that sat on the site. The not-for-profit cleared the property of contaminants and began marketing it late last year.

Local architect Studio 3 Design Inc., which does work for Cedarview, became aware of the development opportunity and notified the firm, Meyer said. It would be the first project for Cedarview outside its home turf.

Founded in 1972, the company has developed nearly 20 apartment projects in Bloomington, including The Gateway, which opens next month on North College Avenue near West 17th Street.

Construction, meanwhile, on the yet-to-be-named project in Indianapolis could start in the fall and finish by August of next year. Both the Fall Creek Place and Herron Morton neighborhood associations support it, Meyer said.

“We were adamant that this project set the bar for future developments in the area, in terms of design and making sure it is what neighbors want,” he said. “It’s the kind of project that everyone wants to see in an urban area.”

The project already is attracting interest from potential retail tenants. Meyer said he’s had discussions with several restaurants interested in leasing space.

If all goes as planned, it could be the second apartment development in the area to break ground this year.

Urban residential specialist Axia Urban LLP is co-developing a roughly $4 million project, also with 47 units, with Near North Development Corp. It received $550,000 in grants from the city to help finance the mix of affordable and market-rate units.

The nearly one-acre parcel on the east side of Meridian just north of 21st Street became part of Axia’s portfolio in 2006. An old abandoned Chinese restaurant last stood on the site.

Construction crews are expected to start pushing dirt by the end of the week, said Michael Osborne, Near North’s executive director. The project should take a year to finish.