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A Carmel-based development firm struck an 11th-hour deal on Monday with neighbors of an event venue just north of Broad Ripple to allow for the advancement of a proposed $61 million apartment project.
The agreement between J.C. Hart Co. and residents of the Oxbow Estates and Spirit Lake condominiums cleared the way for the City-County Council to unanimously approve a rezoning of the former Willows Event Center property at 6729 Westfield Blvd.
Under terms of the deal, the Elements project will include 168 apartments—a reduction from the proposal of 192 apartments and 16 town houses that was approved in December by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission. The project no longer includes condos or town houses, with a park now set to occupy two acres of the eight-acre property.
The four apartment buildings proposed for the development will retain largely the same design, but two of them will have an unspecified reduced height. Several ancillary buildings, including a clubhouse, will be eliminated from the plan.
The commitments from J.C. Hart Co. also require the company to include an affordable housing component as part of any request for tax-increment financing bonds—with up to 10% of the units set aside for those making up to 50% of the area’s median income—rather than paying a lump sum to the city’s affordable housing fund to skirt the requirement.
“We feel that this agreement, this compromise, is the right step forward,” said John Kautzman, an attorney who represents several neighborhood associations in the Marott Island area, north of Broad Ripple. “Obviously, no one gets everything that they want in a compromise, but we’re very pleased that this project includes several things that we fought so hard for. And that’s why we think it was the right thing to do.”
Kautzman said J.C. Hart also agreed not to develop any additional property under its control around Spirit Lake for a minimum of five years after occupancy begins on the Elements project.
The parties met to discuss the deal Sunday morning, but a final agreement wasn’t reached until about 20 minutes into Monday’s City-County Council meeting.
“‘It’s fair to say it’s an 11th hour deal—one that took two years of steady progress to obtain,” Kautzman said.
Hart first said in late 2021 said it planned to develop the Willows property on the western and southern edge of the man-made Spirit Lake into 256 apartments, along with 18 town houses from Indianapolis-based Chase Development.
Multiple changes were made to the proposal to appease neighbors, but Hart and Chase ultimately withdrew the plan in mid-2022 amid opposition from nearby residents. They came back to the table in 2023 with a modified plan that reduced apartment unit counts to just fewer than 200 units.
Opposition to the project from first-term City-County Council member Brienne Delaney, D-District 2, was a shift from the supportive position of now-former council member Keith Potts. Neighborhood opposition also carried weight in the positions taken against the project by Councilor John Barth, D-District 7, whose district includes a small portion of the neighborhood, as well as State Rep. Carey Hamilton, D-District 87, and State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-District 30.
Despite that pushback, the project was approved unanimously by the MDC in December, triggering a time-sensitive lawsuit on Jan. 22—a last-ditch effort to stop the development from winning approval by the council, although Delaney said she was trying to drum up opposition to the project.
At the heart of the lawsuit for neighbors, among numerous concerns, has been density of the project. In the lawsuit, the group tied development maximums to the construction of the Spirit Lake condos in the early 2000s, which limited future projects to no more than 1.94 units per acre.
Both the developer and the neighbors have made concessions in recent weeks to find a resolution.
Neighbors believed the appropriate density would be closer to 40 to 45 total apartment units. They said they were willing to compromise on unit counts, but only if there was a reduced height to the apartment buildings and better traffic management along Westfield Boulevard.
An updated traffic study that was commissioned by the development team before it refiled the project determined the project would not adversely affect traffic flow along Westfield Boulevard.
J.C. Hart Co. offered the removal of the condo element and the inclusion of additional greenspace as part of its efforts, along with the removal of vehicular access to the site from a neighboring private roadway for Oxbow Estates.
The lawsuit is expected to be dismissed with prejudice on Tuesday by Marion County Superior Court.
“We are grateful that we have been able to work effectively with our neighbors to make the Elements project a reality,” John Hart, chairman of J.C. Hart Co., said in a written statement. “This 168-unit project will bring a major investment and much needed housing, including workforce housing, to Broad Ripple. We want to thank the residents’ steering group, President Osili, Majority Leader Lewis and Councilor Delaney for their commitment and efforts to bring the parties together on the final important details. We look forward to a great relationship with our community and will continue to work together as we develop an environmentally sensitive project with state of the art architecture, top flight amenities and upscale finishes.”
The City-County Council voted 24-0 to approve the rezoning of the property to allow for the project to move ahead. Councilor Dan Boots, D-District 3, abstained from the vote.
“We are very proud that we were able to achieve so many positive gains for our coalition of neighborhoods,” Kautzman said. “But the only way we were able to do it was with the passionate, tireless work of the whole coalition of neighborhoods and all the volunteers, as well as the unwavering and steadfast support of counselors, Brienne Delaney and John Barth. At the end of the day, we’re very pleased with what we were able to achieve.”
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It seems baffling to me that the residents would want a compromise of only apartments and now townhomes/condos? Why. You originally complained of bringing in apartment renter “types” that never stay in the neighborhood but rent party and leave, but then push to remove the townhomes which helps encourage ownership and loyalty to the neighborhood and a vested interest. What a shame.
Way to go, NIMBYs! Another dagger in the heart of your dying suburb.
You blocked any chance of new homeowners in the area, removed future 40 families from the neighborhood, and stomped your angry feet and screamed loud that half an acre is just too small for any single residence.
More low density it is! Who needs local tax dollars, who needs local schools (you already let your high school get blown away!), and who needs local residents to visit your local stores!
JC Hart along with other developers have destroyed Broadripple. But it takes a complicit government to allow it to happen. I was born on Haverford and have great memories of walking along the canal, and 62nd street. Now there are towering monster buildings everywhere you look. I guess that is “progress”?
There will be plenty of great memories made… for new families. Indy is growing fast and BRip is a great example of it. You’re either for “progress” or moving to the outskirts and farmlands.
The view out your front windshield is more expansive than the one in your rear view mirror.
Don’t forget to blame BRVA if you’re going to call entities out.
In aggregate, Broad Ripple is doing great. Increased density was needed and is needed. There are many small towns and villages across the world have a higher population density & taller buildings than than Broad Ripple.
I agree with Mark. Broad Ripple has been destroyed. Look at all of the vacant storefronts. Is that what you call progress? People in Oxbow have to be just sick over this. Traffic is already at a standstill in this area and here comes more apartments. Many in the area are vacant now. What is happening is that developers are being offered breaks and incentives to build these towering and ugly residences. Ou daughter came back to Indy this summer to work and says she will never move back here. She sited the way downtown and Broad Ripple look on her reseasoning.