Home developer Onyx+East requests abatement for $17.5M project along Monon

Monon 21 (Rendering by Rottman Collier Architects, courtesy of city of Indianapolis)

Local developer Onyx+East is moving forward with plans to build nearly 60 build-to-rent residences on a site along the Monon Trail, north of downtown Indianapolis.

The $17.5 million project, known as Monon 21, is expected to create 53 townhouses—seven of which would be set aside for below-market renters—and four single-family homes at the 3.5-acre site at 2060 Yandes St.

Onyx+East on Wednesday requested a 10-year abatement for the project from the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, which would save it about $2.1 million, or 73%, in real property taxes. It’s the company’s first time requesting an abatement for one of its projects in Indianapolis.

During the abatement period, the company would still pay about $767,538 total in property taxes, along with the current annual tax of $14,722. Onyx+East would pay an estimated $283,774 annually in new property taxes after the abatement period expires.

The project was first considered in 2020, but was delayed due to increases in construction costs and changes in the residential development market. The rethink of the 92,000-square-foot project will also see the units become rentals, rather than for-sale offerings. It also morphed from a 50-unit townhouse project to one consisting of 57 total units.

The market-rate townhouse units are expected to cost $2,200 to $2,400 per month, with each ranging 1,600 to 1,700 square feet. Each would consist of three bedrooms and attached two-car garages. The below-market-rate units, which would be for those making up to 60% of the area’s median income, would be slightly smaller, but offer the same layouts.

Indianapolis-based Onyx+East closed on its $1.5 million purchase of the site in mid-2024 and plans to invest another $1.5 million to connect Alvord Street to Yandes as part of the project.

Brandon Knox, the company’s director of development, told members of the Metropolitan Development Commission that Onyx+East had “tried every route we can in the last four years to make this work,” but noted the project would not be possible without the incentive.

He addressed the matter during the commission’s pre-meeting Wednesday, where cases being considered on the agenda are discussed prior to the commission’s regular public gathering where it casts votes.

The commission introduced and gave initial approval to the abatement request, but John Dillon, who leads the commission, indicated he would like Indy Economic Development, the city’s new nonprofit focused on attracting and retaining investment in Indianapolis, to weigh in on the proposal. The City-County Council must also approve the abatement, before it returns to the commission for public hearing and another vote.

Knox said Onyx+East hopes to begin construction on the project by November and deliver the first units by May of 2026. It expects to finish the project in its entirety by May 2027.

Rottmann Collier Architects is the designer on the project.