A new neighborhood planned in Whiteland will be the first in the community designed specifically for seniors, which has been in demand as residents age, officials said.
Ryan Homes plans to build 79 single-story duplexes, for a total of 158 units, on a 62-acre property on the south side of Whiteland Road, west of U.S. 31. The neighborhood, which will be targeted to residents age 55 and older, including lawn care and snow removal, Whiteland Planning Director Joe Csikos said.
This is the first Whiteland neighborhood specifically targeted to this age group and is sorely needed in the community, Csikos said.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe neighborhood, to be named Briar Creek, will provide an option for Whiteland seniors who want to downsize their home after their children have moved out, but who also enjoy living in the Whiteland community and want to stay, he said.
The developer also plans to build a 59-home neighborhood on the south end of the property. That project, which will include one- and two-story homes ranging from 2,400 to 3,300 square feet, won’t be targeted to any specific age groups, said Adam Mears, a representative of Gradison Development, which is working with Ryan Homes on the project.
Developers and the town long have eyed the property as a site for home construction. The land was rezoned for a similar neighborhood in 2006, but plans fell through due to the recession, Csikos said.
Home construction has increased in Whiteland the past couple of years. In 2017, 28 home constructions permits were issued in Whiteland. No home construction permits were given out in 2016, according to data from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.
The homes built last year were mainly in the Millstone subdivision, which is west of the planned Ryan Homes site. Forty lots remain in the 149-home neighborhood, Csikos said. Home construction had also been halted there until Arbor Homes acquired the property in 2016, Csikos said.
The interest Arbor Homes has had in the Millstone neighborhood is one of one of the reasons Ryan Homes believes there will be ample buyers for their homes as well, Mears said.
Ryan Homes is in the process of getting the approvals needed from the town prior to construction beginning, Csikos said. With the land already zoned correctly for the project, the town would need to approve allowing the homes to be constructed five feet closer to the edge of the property than what the town allows and approve the final construction plans, he said.
Construction on the duplexes is set to begin in April, with work on the single-family homes scheduled to begin in the summer. The neighborhood is expected to be completed in three to four years, Mears said.
