Indianapolis-based property management company Muesing Management has proposed a 422-apartment unit development in Bargersville, which would also include three commercial lots located southeast of State Road 135 and Whiteland Road.
Images provided by Muesing Management
The ball is in the Bargersville Town Council’s court after a mixed-use development was forwarded to them with no recommendation Monday.
Indianapolis-based Muesing Management Company has proposed development to include apartments, townhomes, and commercial buildings southeast of State Road 135 and Whiteland Road.
If approved, a 36-acre parcel of currently agricultural land would be rezoned to C-3 commercial and R-5 multi-family residential. The project would have up to 422 units including apartments and townhomes, along with space for up to three commercial buildings.
The proposal first came before the commission in August but was delayed for two months because of questions over permission to access an existing road. The planned layout would require the developer to use Virginia Lane as a path between the commercial and residential lots. Access is still pending with the property owners from the South Grove strip mall, who maintain the road.
Since the last meeting the developer reached a non-binding agreement to use Virginia Lane as an access road, said Dustin Huddleston, a local attorney representing the development. Among other commitments, the commission asked the developer to get that in writing as a condition of their recommendation to the council.
There would be two ways to get into the development from State Road 135, with an entrance south of Dannemiller True Value and between commercial lots to be built south of Shane Milam’s Used Cars. Virginia Lane would be extended south and a roundabout would be constructed behind the new commercial buildings, plans show.
What’s in the development
This development is significant for the growing town. While there are other apartments in Bargersville, this project would be the largest apartment complex in the town, Joe Csikos, development director, said in August.
The project has a density of 14.1 units per acre, which is below the limit of 24 units an acre for R-5 designation. Plans show 11 three-story buildings containing 308 units and 16 two-story townhomes containing 114 units.
The three-story buildings would include one and two-bedroom apartments, which are being called garden-style homes. The townhomes would have up to three bedrooms. The units would rent starting at $1,025 for a 667-square-foot one-bedroom apartment, to a three-bedroom, 1,578-square-foot townhome at $1,775.
The apartments would include kitchen appliances and an in-unit washer and dryer. Residents have access to amenities such as an outdoor pool, a pet washing center, a bike repair station, workout areas, a golf simulator and about eight acres of green space. That green space includes a dog park and trails that circle retention ponds and run parallel to State Road 135, according to planning documents.
Muesing Management has developed a similar neighborhood in Greenfield, the 348-unit Preserve on Blue Road subdivision.
“This is a product offering for the town to serve all of its citizens,” Kirby Kinghorn, president of Muesing Management Company, said in August. “It’s for folks who are just getting started in life, older folks who don’t want to maintain a home anymore, and folks in between. People often need an apartment at some stage in their life.”
The company also manages several other developments in central Indiana, including the Courts of Valle Vista Apartments, Greenwood Oaks Townhomes and the St. Andrews subdivision in Greenwood.
There aren’t any specific plans outlined yet for the commercial lots, but the developer will be required to follow the town’s allowed uses for C-3 zoning.
Kinghorn said Monday his company wouldn’t be responsible for developing the commercial lots, so he doesn’t want to promise what will or won’t be there. He asked to leave it open to maximize marketability but agreed to add a commitment that a tavern wouldn’t be allowed to open in one of the commercial spaces.
The developer also agreed to install two FLOCK cameras at the property, which would add to Bargersville Police and Johnson County law enforcement’s existing network of license-plate reading cameras. The cameras capture information about all passing cars and allow police to track suspect vehicles.
Debate over the development
Commission members talked about whether this development is the right one for the parcel.
Member Jeff Sickmeier brought up that there are over 600 apartments under construction or in development already in Bargersville and over 1,400 in the greater Bargersville area. The abundance of apartments and the lack of affordable housing is something to consider, he said.
“One of the things I’m wrestling with is having housing that is affordable, even for the people who work here for the police force and the fire department and the people in (town hall),” he said. “Is there affordable housing for them, or are they being pushed into renting?”
Member Josh Graham agreed housing prices are an issue, but said that’s more of a macro-economic argument. He said a more dense development like this fits with the area and would bring in more tax dollars than, for example, a single-family development.
“I would like to hear, essentially, what is the highest and best use and what the best project looks like to go here instead then, because I’m having trouble envisioning what would be,” Graham said. “If we don’t want something that adds some more retail, adds some commercial uses on the front edge and gives us a better tax base, what does that look like if we don’t do this?”
A vote to send rezoning for the development to the town council with a favorable recommendation failed, with a majority of commission members voting “no.” Among the “no” votes were town council members who sit on the commission, Ruth Ann Moore and James Rumell II.
The commission then called for a vote to give the council “no recommendation.” Members unanimously voted for that.
Discussion on the development and rezoning will continue at a town council meeting in the near future. The council meets next on Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.
