A Westfield-based landscaping company is planning to open a location in Bargersville this spring.
Bargersville Town Council members unanimously approved a seven-year property tax abatement for Sundown Gardens during a meeting earlier this month. With the abatement, the landscaping company will receive $74,494 a tax break and will pay $64,562 in property taxes from 2024 to 2031.
The business owners will invest $3.5 million in the 24-acre property on the east side of State Road 135 that is north of Bargersville Veterinary Hospital & Wellness Center and south of Shane Milam’s Used Cars. The investment includes the cost of the property, site work and the cost to build the garden center, according to town documents.
Barring an extreme winter, Sundown Gardens plans to open its new retail and garden center in town this spring after 73 years of serving Hamilton County customers. It will be the second location for the business, which started in Carmel in 1949 and moved to Westfield in 2016.
The company plans to hire five new employees in addition to relocating five jobs from the Westfield location, although those positions haven’t been finalized yet, said Sam Marsh, a Sundown Gardens retail manager. Marsh lives in Bargersville and is one employee who will transition to work at the new location.
The Bargersville location will start out with a focus on retail services, with lawn and garden tools and supplies, pottery and home decor, and a full-service nursery with container trees, fertilizer, container shrubs, balled and burlapped trees, annuals, perennials, pre-made flower pots and hanging baskets. The 10,000-square-foot facility will include a main building and three greenhouses, he said.
Sundown Gardens requested a tax abatement for a $1.1 million investment on building improvements to make the new facility financially feasible, as it took five years for the Westfield operation to break even, according to town documents.
With the abatement, Sundown Gardens won’t pay taxes on the $880,000 property during the first-year of the agreement, saving the company $19,865. The amount the town gets in taxes will gradually increase until the seven-year period ends in 2030, after which company will shoulder the full cost, according to the documents.
With property taxes gradually phased in, it will help the business deal with some of the financial difficulties of opening a new store, said Joe Csikos, Bargersville’s director of development.
Bargersville is an ideal location for expansion because of its access to Interstate 69, which is now complete as far north as State Road 144 in rural Bargersville. The town is also relatively close to Columbus, Bloomington, Greenwood and Indianapolis, said McKella Marsh, another retail manager for Sundown Gardens.
“I see a huge opportunity there and want to grow with the community and offer a high-end product at a good cost. We can be their garden shop and get their questions answered,” she said. “We love forming friendships and relationships with customers.”
Sundown Gardens will help develop the business landscape in Bargersville, Csikos said.
“I think it’s a pretty unique business,” he said. “It’s a good amenity. It’s not just the economic impact of commerce, but they’re a good member of the community in Westfield. It will be a good addition.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the new Sundown Gardens location will include residential services such as landscapes, hardscapes, design and installation, grading and seeding. The store will initially be limited to retail services.
