Milhaus plans $41.5 million apartment project in Whitestown

Indianapolis-based Milhaus Development will begin construction next April on a $41.5 million apartment complex next to Whitestown’s developing Little League headquarters.

Brad Vogelsmeier, vice president of development for Milhaus, said the roughly 13-acre project at 7279 S. Indianapolis Road will feature nine three-story buildings with 240 market-rate apartment apartments. Early designs show the multifamily buildings will be accompanied by a clubhouse and a separate retail strip with up to 10,000 square feet of space.

“It’s a pretty attractive location, and it’s a more affordable price point than living downtown or in a more established location like Carmel or Fishers,” Vogelsmeier said. “And being next to the Little League facility, we’re excited about the impact that will have.”

Previously, Indianapolis-based Kite Harris Property Group planned to bring a $25 million mixed-use development with multifamily, retail, office and recreational facilities to the site.

“After detailed planning and discussions, [Kite Harris] brought us in for the multi-family expertise, while they would develop the commercial component,” Vogelsmeier said. The office and recreational components were dropped.

The project is slated to include 12 studio, 102 one-, 108 two- and 18 three-bedroom apartments ranging from $800 to $1,600 a month. Amenities include a walking path along Indianapolis Road, a pool, outdoor kitchen, firepits, dog park, coffee bar and resident lounge, fiber-speed internet and a fitness center. The complex will include 480 parking spaces.

Because the site sits below the floodplain, Milhaus will have to spend upwards of six figures to raise the ground three or four feet, said Vogelsmeier. For that, the developer is asking for some incentives.

The Whitestown Redevelopment Commission reviewed Milhaus Development’s request for a $4.1 million bond issue earlier this month that would be backed by the $29.5 million increase in assessed value the project will bring to the Maurer Commons TIF district.

As part of the plan, Milhaus would immediately return $1.1 million of the 20-year TIF bond to the city to invest in infrastructure for the area.

“Being able to have some of that money to develop the rec site, to help attract new investment there is going to be important and it gives us the flexibility to be selective and find the right project instead of taking the first thing,” said Bryan Brackemyre, president of the Whitestown Redevelopment commission.

Milhaus’ bond request is scheduled for another hearing by the redevelopment commission on Jan. 20.

Kite Harris is also involved in developing the land immediately south of the apartment site, where construction has already begun on Little League International’s Central Region headquarters. The planned 20-acre headquarters at 7060 S. Indianapolis Road was supposed to open last summer, but construction delays have pushed that opening to June 2021.

The property is part of the former 135-acre Wreck’s Inc. junkyard, which the town bought in late 2018 for future development.