Q&A: Carmel native builds company by building community

Old Town Design Group CEO Justin Moffett is a Carmel native who likes to joke that he “never made it out of the neighborhood.”

It’s true that today he lives with his family in pretty much the same place he was born, but you’d hardly recognize it. Formerly a nondescript swath of downtown Carmel known as Old Town, the neighborhood is now—thanks in part to the effort of Moffett and his Old Town co-founder, Jeff Langston—part of the Carmel Arts & Design District.

“I can’t go for a walk on the Monon [Trail] without running into five clients,” Moffett said. “It’s been amazing to watch the transformation. The area where I grew up is now one of the most desirable places to live in the region, and I’m proud that Old Town had a role in shaping that.”

Moffett’s belief in “homebuyers responding to classically designed, craftsman-style homes in walkable locations” has guided the company to consistent, year-over-year growth. That’s even though it was founded in the deepest throes of the Great Recession and recently weathered both high mortgage rates and the COVID lockdown.

Old Town cut its teeth on small and midsize residential projects in the Carmel, Noblesville and Zionsville areas, but it has increased both its geographical range (most prominently with Provenance, a planned community next to Purdue University’s Discovery Park District) and the scope of its work. It recently broke ground on Wild Air, a 260-acre, mixed-use Zionsville development that will cost roughly $500 million and feature (among a great many other components) 386 single-family homes and 290 apartments.

How has Old Town consistently grown in spite of so many real estate market disruptions? And what is its plan for the future? Moffett addressed those and other questions.

How did you decide to name your company Old Town Design Group?

Jeff and I both grew up in the downtown Carmel area in a neighborhood called Old Town. When we started our first project, a small 17-lot development, it was in that same neighborhood. We needed a name for the zoning filing, so we went with Old Town. Initially, we didn’t think that Old Town as a company would last beyond a few projects in Carmel. But as the business grew, the name stuck. It ended up defining our brand.

How is the company organized?

We started as a boutique custom-home-building business but have expanded into a company with four distinct divisions that allow us to handle various aspects of real estate development—from land acquisition to construction. It helps us diversify our revenue streams, especially during market fluctuations.

Our homebuilding arm, where it all started, is Old Town Design Group. The second division is Old Town Land Development, which is responsible for acquiring land and getting it ready for construction. Whether it’s for our own homes or for other builders, it guarantees a steady pipeline of lots to work with.

For example, at Wild Air, we’ve brought in five other builders, and our land development team is crucial in setting up the framework for that collaboration. Next, we have Old Town Cos., which is our development arm. It handles all of our multifamily projects and commercial developments. And finally, there’s Old Town Construction, which handles the construction of our larger commercial projects, including multifamily and mixed-use buildings.

What’s the division of labor between you and Jeff Langston?

I’ve always focused on the vision and front-end part of the business—finding opportunities, planning our developments. Jeff is the operational backbone. He makes sure the homes get built and the customer experience is top-notch. I often joke that I’m the one dreaming up the next big idea, while Jeff is the one making sure it actually gets done.

What’s your niche?

Defining our niche has been a 15-year journey. When we started, we were a boutique custom-home builder. We had a hunch that there was a growing demand for high-end, walkable homes in the emerging downtowns of Indianapolis’ northern suburbs, and that indeed struck a chord with buyers. Our homes offered a smaller footprint but maintained the high-quality finishes typical of larger suburban homes.

But as we grew, we saw the need to diversify. We’ve moved beyond just homebuilding into multifamily and mixed-use developments, commercial projects and land development. This diversification has allowed us to weather market cycles and provide a more stable revenue stream for our team.

What makes us unique is that we deliver an elevated experience not just in the housing sector but in the other areas we serve. We use creativity and attention to detail to enhance the experience of living in our communities, whether through design, amenities or the overall environment.

What advice do you have for anyone starting a business in tough times?

When we started during the Great Recession, things were incredibly tough, but we didn’t stray from our focus on the quality of our product and the experience for our customers. We also had a long-term perspective. It wasn’t about making a quick buck. It was about building something lasting.

Today’s market may be uncertain, with fluctuating interest rates and inflation, but those who understand the fundamentals of their industry will find opportunities.

My advice for anyone starting a business in tough times is to be patient, build a strong team, and ensure that whatever you offer—whether it’s real estate or another product—meets a genuine need with excellence.

Many of Old Town’s projects feature a mix of homes, apartments, green spaces and a retail presence, often laid out in a pedestrian-friendly manner and located in or near small town centers. Why not just turn out conventional suburban developments?

When I started out, I saw that Carmel was making big public investments to develop a walkable downtown, and I knew there was an opportunity there. At 25, I didn’t have the market credibility to compete in the bigger, more established suburban neighborhoods, but I figured if I focused on the downtown area, it could become my brand identity.

In the early days, I spent a lot of time piecing together small parcels of land. We would frequently work with 10 or more property owners just to get enough land for a small community of 10 or 15 lots. Looking back, it was risky and definitely not easy, but I knew we were headed in the right direction.

Those early projects taught me a lot and helped lay the foundation for Old Town Design Group’s reputation. We focused on building high-end, walkable homes in areas that were becoming more urban and connected, and that approach really resonated with homebuyers. People wanted that kind of lifestyle, and Carmel’s downtown was the perfect place to deliver it.

What kinds of unique challenges do your smaller, in-town projects pose?

The complexity of infill projects comes down to several factors, but the biggest one is community impact. Whether you’re developing 5 acres or 250 acres, you need to pause and really engage with the people who live in and around that area. In our industry, we talk about “context sensitivity,” which means considering how the scale and design of the project will impact the adjacent property owners. For infill developments, this can be particularly tricky because you’re often working in established neighborhoods where people have a vested interest in what gets built next to them.

We always aim to get this right, but it’s not easy. Sometimes you have to work with 10 or more property owners just to assemble the land, which is a challenge in itself. Then, you have to ensure that what you’re proposing fits the character of the neighborhood. We don’t just take a cookie-cutter approach and try to make it fit. We ask ourselves what belongs there.

Are larger developments like Wild Air informed by your experience with smaller projects like Midtown?

Midtown was a smaller infill project, but the principles we applied there—context-sensitive design, listening to the community and focusing on place-making—are the same ones we use in larger developments like Wild Air. The scale might be different, but the core approach remains consistent: designing for longevity and community impact.

What new challenges does Wild Air present?

Wild Air is one of the largest projects we’ve ever taken on, and with that scale comes new challenges. The most significant challenge has been dealing with the sheer dollar amounts involved.

The past few years have introduced unique circumstances we haven’t faced before. Inflation has driven up construction costs by about 25% to 30%. The cost of materials and labor has skyrocketed, making budgeting more difficult. And rising interest rates have made financing more complicated, which means we’ve had to come up with larger amounts of equity upfront.

What sets Wild Air apart is how we raised that equity. We were able to raise nearly $45 million through local relationships, many of whom were past Old Town clients. That level of local support was extraordinary and speaks to the trust and reputation we’ve built over the years.

Do you foresee doing projects outside of central Indiana?

I don’t see our geographic footprint growing dramatically beyond this core area. A large part of our success comes from the hyperlocal relationships we’ve developed, which makes it difficult to replicate our approach in areas far outside this region. That said, we are open to pursuing unique opportunities that align with our mission. For instance, we have a joint venture with the Purdue Research Foundation to build a master-planned community on the west end of the Purdue University campus. This project serves a specific need by supporting Purdue’s efforts to attract world-class businesses to their research park, and it’s about 55 to 60 miles away from our headquarters.

Where would you like Old Town to be in a decade?

The vision for Old Town is to create an organization that is sustainable beyond the founding owners. … Success, to me, looks like building a company that isn’t just dependent on us as individuals but has the leadership and infrastructure in place to thrive long after we’ve stepped back from day-to-day operations.

This requires a shift in how I operate as a leader. One of my mentors told me that I need to be more like Yoda and less like Luke Skywalker. That really stuck with me. It means I need to focus on coaching and developing our team rather than trying to control every aspect of the business myself. It’s about being a guide and a strategist rather than being directly in the fight. I’ve learned that, for the company to grow, I have to trust the talented people around me to take ownership and lead.•