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Lennar Homes of Indiana plans to build up to 360 houses at an active-adult community aimed at people ages 55 and over on the rural southwest side of Whitestown.
If approved, Cardinal Estates would be built on 170 acres at the intersection of East County Road 750 South and Wolfe Road, about halfway between State Road 267 and Interstate 65. The active-adult community would feature mostly one-story houses and some homes with partial second stories. While the houses would be aimed at seniors, there would not be an age limit for who could live in the subdivision.
Plans call for Cardinal Estates to be constructed south of the Golf Club of Indiana, an 18-hole golf course built in 1974. It would also be near Cardinal Pointe, which includes two subdivisions built by Lennar Homes of Indiana—a division of Miami-based Lennar Corp.—and Pulte Homes of Indiana LLC.
“The idea is to attract folks who only want a one-story home, want to live near a golf course and have that recreational opportunity,” Brian Tuohy, an attorney with the Tuohy Bailey and Moore LLP law firm representing Lennar Homes of Indiana, told Whitestown Plan Commission members this month.
Houses at Cardinal Estates would range from about $250,000 to $350,000.
Whitestown Director of Developmental Services Todd Barker noted that Cardinal Estates would eventually border Ronald Reagan Parkway when it is built in Boone County. Currently, Ronald Reagan Parkway ends about eight miles south at East County Road 600 North in Hendricks County. Barker estimated it will be 10 to 15 years before the parkway is built in Boone County.
“Growth is going to come to this area. I feel pretty certain about that,” Tuohy said. “And it’s already happened with the Golf Club of Indiana. The desire is for this to be residential as opposed to some kind of other use in the future.”
Residents who addressed Plan Commission members lamented about how the area is becoming less rural and how Cardinal Estates would impact area businesses and farmers.
“I’ve lived out here for 50 years thinking I was going to be in the country, and now the city is coming to me. We’ve already got houses across the road,” Beth Ramsey told Plan Commission members. “I just feel really, really bad that the city is coming out to me, and I like being out in the country.”
Some Plan Commission members discussed their concerns about the project’s density. Members voted 7-0 to continue discussion about Cardinal Estates to their next meeting on Feb. 10 to allow for more time to review plans for the development and allow Lennar Homes of Indiana to make changes.
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