Onyx+East plans $10M townhouse project in Kennedy-King neighborhood

A local developer plans to spend about $10 million to develop a townhouse project on the near-north side of Indianapolis.

Onyx+East hopes to build 36 townhouses on a 1.1-acre lot at the southeast corner of 22nd Street and College Avenue. Construction on the project, called The Kennedy, is expected to start before the year’s end.

The proposal calls for seven separate three-story structures, with three buildings facing College Avenue, one facing 22nd Street and four occupying an interior area that surrounds a courtyard.

“We are excited to be a part of the Kennedy-King neighborhood, and the growth that’s been seen over recent years,” said Brandon Bart, a development associate with Onyx+East. “We are also excited to reimagine and redevelop that specific intersection because it currently doesn’t have a lot of activity.”

Most of the property is vacant, with the exception of a single-family home along 22nd Street on the northeast corner of the property.

Bart said the proximity to the Monon Trail—about a quarter mile to the west—is also a benefit for the development.

According to filings with the city, the units will range from 1,300 square feet to nearly 1,950 square feet, with starting prices between $280,000 and $350,000. Each home would have an attached garage, and some would include a third-floor terrace or balcony.

At least 23 units are expected to range from 1,300 to 1,430 square feet, with a one-car garage, two to three bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms. The starting price for those would be around $280,000. 

Another 12 homes would have two-car garages, range from 1,536 to 1,688 square feet and be priced starting at $310,000. One 1,948-square-foot unit would have three bedrooms and start at $350,000.

The project is expected to include new sidewalks connecting the homes on the interior of the property to each other and with College Avenue. Some of the homes would share an interior courtyard.

The parking garages and an eight-car visitor lot would be accessible from 22nd Street, according to the filings.

Onyx+East is seeking approval from the city to rezone the property from the D-8 dwelling and C-3 commercial designations to a D-P, or planned development, district. The land is under contract, pending approvals from the Metropolitan Development Commission and City-County Council.

The Kennedy is Onyx+East’s second project to go before the MDC in the past month. Its plans for a $12.5 million development with 37 townhouses near the Fountain Square neighborhood were approved by the MDC on April 21.

The project comes amid what Bart described as “extensive growth” within the Kennedy-King neighborhood in recent years—mostly involving single-family, detached homes. 

“We haven’t seen a lot of growth with higher density attached product,” said Bart. “So we’re bringing a different product that also offers a different price point than what we’re typically seeing for new construction [now] in that area.”

The purchase of the property is expected to close in mid-summer, with construction starting in the third quarter of the year. Sales for the homes are expected to begin by the end of 2021, with project completion by mid-2023.

The design firm on the project is Rottmann Collier Architects and the civil engineer is CEC.