Litz & Eaton targets two more urban neighborhoods for townhouses

A fast-growing residential developer has announced plans to add two urban neighborhoods to its growing portfolio of projects.

Indianapolis-based Litz & Eaton Development Co. said it plans to break ground in August on luxury, custom-built housing projects in the Fletcher Place and Fall Creek neighborhoods, with completion expected by the end of the year.

Developer Brad Litz and custom homebuilder John Eaton are calling the developments the final two of four major residential projects they have in the works for 2018 in or near downtown Indianapolis.

Under their plans, a five-unit townhouse project called Fall Creek Townhomes will be built at the corner of Delaware Street and Fall Creek Parkway South Drive. Buyers will be able to customize more than 2,100 square feet in each unit, which will contain up to four bedrooms and a two-car garage.

Prices will start at $499,900, according to an estimate by the developer. Each townhome will also be outfitted with a rooftop terrace, where residents will receive "a skyline view of downtown Indianapolis."

A similar luxury townhome development near Warsaw and East Streets in Fletcher Place will be priced at $799,900 per residence.

The Portofino will include five urban-style, single-family homes. The units will offer private two- or four-car garages and rooftop terraces, and give buyers the opportunity to have the residence be "built in any style from traditional to modern," the developers said.

Homes in Fletcher Place are seeing rising demand, with existing houses and condos on the market priced from about $215,000 to $550,000.

“Housing prices in Fletcher Place have gone way up, making it unaffordable for younger and newer people to move in,” said Andy Howard, a 10-year resident and president of the Fletcher Place Neighborhood Association. "We want a mixed-income neighborhood … We want diversity in terms of everything … so I would prefer to see something more affordable on the market.”

Howard said he felt the land on which the townhomes will be constructed could be put to better use. He said an initial plan by the developer called for at least 10 townhomes, which would have been preferable.

Rob Lime, president of the Fall Creek Homeowners' Association, said he was generally supportive of Litz & Eaton’s development in his neighborhood. He said his fellow board members were "neutral or happy" about it.

"When I moved in three years ago, there was only one house on the west side of that lot … and I believe it was vacant," Lime said. "It's good to get more housing options, and it's good to have a more modern look."

When Litz & Eaton was formed in 2011, the firm realized annual revenue of about $1 million. This year, it’s expected to break the $40 million mark.

The firm has two other urban projects on the docket—Penn Row Townhomes in the Herron Morton neighborhood and Liberty Place at Lockerbie Square.

The Herron Morton site, located in the 1800 block of North Pennsylvania Street, consists of 13 upscale townhouses, all totaling at least three stories.

Liberty Place at Lockerbie Square will be a gated community of 12 townhouses, with sizes ranging from 1,400 to 3,000 square feet.

Some of Penn Row's units could be ready for occupancy this summer. Construction is expected to start on the Lockerbie project in mid-August, with occupancy expected by spring.