Proposed project could add 233 affordable apartment units to northwest side

A senior housing project on the northwest side could soon be joined by a neighboring complex with another 233 affordable apartment units.

Lafayette Landing at Kessler opened in 2012 near the intersection of Lafayette Road and West Kessler Boulevard North Drive as a development by the Partnership for Affordable Housing, a not-for-profit organization that provides housing opportunities for the poor.

Herman & Kittle Properties Inc., a for-profit company that develops, builds and operates multi-family housing and self-storage sites in 18 states, now manages the 72-unit project for seniors older than 55 and people with disabilities earning less than 50 percent the area median income. It’s petitioning the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development Hearing Examiner for zoning changes that would allow it to build the new complex, to be called The Reserve at White River.

The Reserve would consist of three new buildings directly to the south of Lafayette Landing, taking up nearly 11 acres of land mostly used for parking at 2333 Lafayette Road and 2290 Warman Ave.

Petition documents call for 73 one-bedroom, 120 two-bedroom and 40 three-bedroom apartments, split between two four-story buildings and one three-story building. The 10.75-acre site would also include a 315-space parking lot and residential amenities, including a swimming pool, an exercise room, game room, playground and dog park.

Herman & Kittle also says the expansion would include 12 "large" storage units and 18 "small" storage units for resident use.

Matt Gadus, a director of the Partnership for Affordable Housing, declined to comment because his team was neither aware of nor involved in the new project.

Herman & Kittle representatives told IBJ on Tuesday that The Reserve would be targeted for individuals or families at 60 percent of the area's median income. The proposed expansion is slated for review Thursday.

City development staffers have recommended approval of the zoning change, subject to certain commitments.

"Due to the relative scarcity of multi-family housing in this general area, the proposed development would help fulfill a need for this type of housing," staff wrote in a report for the Metropolitan Development Commission Hearing Examiner.