Muesing Management withdraws Bargersville mixed-use development proposal

An Indianapolis-based company that proposed a mixed-use development in Bargersville withdrew from the project on Wednesday. By consensus, town officials voted to accept the withdrawal.

The project, proposed by Museing Management Company, would have brought 422 apartments, townhomes and space for three commercial buildings southeast of State Road 135 and Whiteland Road.

“After much discussion with our legal council and a conversation with Dustin [Muesing Representative], we believe this is the appropriate action,” said Joe Csikos, the town’s development director.

The proposal first came before the Bargersville Plan Commission in August and was delayed for two months because of questions over permission to access an existing road. Plan commission members and town officials have been debating if the project was the right one for the 36-acre parcel since then.

The plan commission sent the proposed project with a unanimous “no recommendation” to the town council in October. There was some discussion at this meeting about the growing number of apartments in Bargersville and the lack of affordable housing.

Last month, town council members asked the developer to commit to prohibiting adult businesses in the commercial parcels, to which they agreed. Council member Andrew Greenwood said at a November meeting that he would vote favorably for the project if the number of units and the architecture was changed. Following that meeting, the development was put on hold again until the company withdrew.

Plans show 11 three-story buildings containing 208 units and 16 two-story townhomes containing 114 units which would have come with a density of 14.1 units per acre. The units would have been priced starting at $1,025 for a 667-square-foot one-bedroom apartment, with a three-bedroom, 1,578-square-foot townhome renting starting at $1,775. Renters would have needed a minimum income of $36,900 to qualify for the one-bedroom apartments.

The apartments would have included kitchen appliances and an in-unit washer and dryer, along with added amenities. The complex was to include 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 was going to include a dog park and trails circling retention ponds and running 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. 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.