<p><strong>W</strong>hen Greenwood established its riverfront district nearly a year ago, city leaders said numerous restaurateurs were banging at its doors to get in, but so far, none have opened.</p>
<p>Up to that point, the city had 34 licenses for restaurants and bars in Greenwood that wanted to serve beer, wine and liquor — the most desired type of license — based on the city’s population during the 2010 census. All of those licenses had already been issued, meaning unless a restaurant closed, no new businesses that served alcohol could open.</p>
<p>In a riverfront district, the number of alcohol licenses that can be provided isn’t limited, but city council members have said they will monitor it closely. The state will monitor it, too.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
<p>The riverfront district includes the most developed parts of the city, including all of downtown, Greenwood Park Mall and the site of the former Greenwood middle school, which the city purchased from the school district and demolished for future development.</p>
<p>When the council OKed the riverfront district in November, some Greenwood leaders hoped to attract several more upscale restaurants to the downtown and surrounding areas. At the time, officials said restaurant owners were lined up, waiting. By establishing the riverfront district, the city opened the door to more restaurants and bars that wanted to serve alcohol.</p>
<p>Now, Mayor Mark Myers said restaurateurs are likely waiting for the former middle school property to be developed. At least two restaurant developers have shown interest in the riverfront district in recent months but have not moved forward with plans, he said.</p>
<p>Two new restaurants, including one that would serve breakfast, are in the early stages of development in Old Town Greenwood, near the Main Street and Madison Avenue intersection. At least one of those developers has inquired about a liquor license, Myers said.</p>
<p>“(The riverfront district) has a lot to do with it,” he said of those new restaurants.</p>
<p>The city is in the process of soliciting bids for development of the former middle school property just south of the city’s core.</p>
<p>Redevelopment of the former middle school property is part of the years-long $24.5 million plan from Myers to revitalize downtown. His hope is the area will eventually be home to more than 580 apartments and townhouses, 75,000 square feet of retail shops, restaurants and office space, 9.9 acres of open green space and include 1.9 miles of new or renovated streets.</p>
<p>Myers has said he wants his vision to come to fruition in the next five years. Ideally, he would like to see development of the property start early next year, he said.</p>
<p>The 523 South Madison Master Plan, as they’re calling it, also calls for a four-story parking garage with 256 spaces, 110 parking spaces at other buildings, 39 parking spaces at the fieldhouse, 180 public parking spaces at Our Lady of the Greenwood Church and 56 additional street parking spaces on Madison Avenue and Meridian Street. While the site is actually more than 19 acres total, it yields about 15 acres of develop-able property.</p>
<p>Developers will also have the option to propose ideas for three additional parcels on the four remaining acres on the south end of the property, all the way to Smith Valley Road. The master plan offers land-use estimates and schematics of anticipated buildings, but city officials said specific figures for commercial space, office space and residences can and will likely change.</p>
<p>The plan is to keep the request for proposals open for four months. Usually, they are only open for a month or two, he said. City staff would vet all of the options developers and investors bring to the table, and bring the top, most appropriate bids to the redevelopment commission.</p>
<p>Myers hopes to see a variety of restaurants once that development takes shape, including multiple breakfast joints and a high-end steakhouse, both of which he said Greenwood is lacking. He wants all of them to be family-friendly spots, and he is not opposed to chains such as Buffalo Wild Wings opening new locations in the downtown area.</p>
<p>Ultimately, though, how the former middle school property is developed is up to developers and investors, the redevelopment commission and the city council.</p>
<p>And which restaurants and bars get liquor licenses is up to the city’s Board of Public Works and state’s Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.</p>
<p>Each new liquor license has to be approved by the board and the commission.</p>
<p>So far, no additional liquor licenses have been applied for under the riverfront district, according to the state commission.</p>
<p>Myers still expects the riverfront district will create a restaurant boom in the near future in the city, he said.</p>
<p>“Absolutely,” Myers said. “We don’t have it ready yet.”</p>
<p>Interested businesses can get a license for $1,000, which is a fee paid to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. The big difference between the new licenses and the established ones — besides cost — is that they would have to be renewed annually, meaning they do not hold the same value as established licenses.</p>
<p>Boundaries for the riverfront district are County Line Road to the north; Smith Valley Road to the south; Emerson Avenue to the east; and extends just west of State Road 135. However, it does not include all areas within those boundaries, just areas within 1,500 feet of the three bodies of water included in the district, Pleasant Creek, Pleasant Run Creek and Jolly Brook.</p>
