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Carmel-based Taylor Morrison Homes of Indiana LLC is seeking to build 142 for-sale houses near the Village of West Clay in Carmel, according to documents submitted to the city.
Plans call for Clay Cottages to feature 99 single-family detached and 36 attached-paired houses priced from about $450,000 to $650,000, and seven estate-style houses that would range from $1.25 million to $1.5 million.
The homebuilder will seek to rezone the property at the southeast corner of the intersection of West 126th Street and Towne Road from S-1 Residential to the Clay Cottages Planned Unit Development. The Carmel Plan Commission is expected to discuss the development at its meeting on Nov. 19, and the Carmel City Council will consider the rezoning request at a future meeting.
“My favorite aspect of the plan is that with Clay Cottages, Taylor Morrison will be able to bring a variety of for-sale homes to the community to serve different buyer lifestyles and family needs,” Taylor Morrison Homes of Indiana Division President Todd Pyatt told IBJ.
Earlier this year, Carmel-based Luxe BTR withdrew plans to build a 214-home, build-to-rent community at the site called Luxe Communities of West Carmel. The property is east of the Laurel Lakes community and surrounded by the Village of West Clay to the north, east and south.
Clay Cottages would feature several common areas throughout the community that could include public gathering spaces, fire pits, a dog park, a picnic shelter and recreations areas.
There is an existing pond on the south side of the property. Taylor Morrison participates in National Wildlife Federation programs related to new residential community construction and it could incorporate native plantings, monarch butterfly gardens and nature-themed recreation areas.
Access points to Clay Commons would be along the northern portion of the community from the roundabout at West 126th Street and Towne Road, a main entrance across from the Laurel Lakes community and along the southern portion of the community that would serve the seven planned estate lots.
Taylor Morrison’s proposal also cites recommendations released last month by the Carmel Housing Task Force, a group of nine business leaders, residents and city officials who met from February to September and studied Carmel’s housing needs.
Pyatt said Clay Cottages would meet the housing study’s recommendations by providing houses aimed at Carmel residents looking to downsize out of larger homes and help open existing housing to younger Carmel residents with families.
“The diversity in the plan offering aligns well with the recent Carmel Mayor’s Housing Task Force Finding and Recommendations Report,” Pyatt said. “Specifically, Clay Cottages will have homes with enhanced architectural design and detail, many of which will have a primary bedroom on the first floor or the option for a guest bedroom on the main level and will be on smaller lots with less maintenance.”
Earlier this year, Scottsdale, Arizona-based residential builder and developer Taylor Morrison Home Corp. acquired Pyatt Builders, a Carmel-based firm that consistently ranked among the 10 largest homebuilders in the Indianapolis area in recent years.
Pyatt founded Pyatt Builders in 2009. He continues to lead Taylor Morrison’s Indiana division at Pyatt Builders’ headquarters at 630 Third Ave. SW in Carmel.
“We have had some other projects in the acquisition and zoning phases in other locations around Indianapolis, but [Clay Cottages] is the first that has solely been in process since the acquisition and is the one currently in the zoning process in Hamilton County,” Pyatt said.
Taylor Morrison formed in 2007 through a merger of Taylor Woodrow and Morrison Homes.
Before its expansion into Indiana, Taylor Morrison operated in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Washington with a focus on building first-time, mid-market and resort-style housing.
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