A mixed-use development proposed on Franklin’s northside cleared its first hurdle with a favorable recommendation from the city’s plan commission.
Indianapolis developer Platinum Properties Management Company, LLC is planning a mixed-use development to include up to 230 new homes, a market-rate apartment complex, two commercial spaces and a 28-acre public park. The development is dubbed Kingsbridge.
The two commercial buildings would be built on U.S. 31, with a road between leading to the apartment complex and subdivision behind it. The park would be on the westside of the property, according to plans for the project.
The housing development, by Miami, Florida-based Lennar Corp., would be developed first if the project is approved, with the apartment complex and commercial developments to come when partners are found for those building projects, said Dustin Huddleston, a local attorney representing Platinum Properties.
The Franklin Plan Commission on Tuesday voted to annex over 33 acres into the city, from Johnson County. The property, currently farmland, is located south of the Park Forest subdivision in Whiteland, and south and east of the Knollwood Farms subdivision in Franklin.
The annexation request passed unanimously and was forwarded to the Franklin City Council for a mid-July public hearing and vote in early August.
The plan commission also gave unanimous approval for a proposal that would rezone about 150 acres to Planned Unit Development (PUD). This rezone only applies to the area that includes the homes and park, as the commercial buildings and apartment complex are already within city limits and have appropriate zoning for those land uses.
The commission only approved the conceptual plan, which essentially says they approve of the idea for the development. Final approval will come later when the developer submits a primary plat proposal.
The conceptual plan includes three types of homes from Lennar, with starting prices between $275,000 and $350,000.
It includes 60 homes from Lennar’s Venture Collection, priced at $275,000 to $350,000, and 170 homes from the company’s Cornerstone Collection, priced at $350,000 to $450,000.
The Lennar homes to be built in Franklin will be similar to Lennar’s Morningside development in Bargersville, and more upscale than Lennar’s Grassy Manor development in New Whiteland, Huddleston said.
Sterling Properties has worked with Franklin Parks and Recreation on plans for the park that would be included, and the parks board recently approved a long- and short-term plan for the development. The long-range plan includes a parking lot, playground, dog park, pickleball courts, a basketball court and trails throughout.
The park will be funded by the developer and the city, said Chip Orner, Franklin’s parks director. The park land will also be donated to the city, and parks employees will take care of the grounds, he said.
“We worked a long time trying to get some park and trail amenities to the northside,” Orner said. “I commend the developer for setting aside parkland land in this development. We have spent a lot of hours trying to do just that.”
Sterling Properties will invest about $1 million in park amenities and put all park impact fee money that would normally go to the parks department directly into the park, Huddleston said.
The PUD will include sidewalks throughout the neighborhood and a path from the park to U.S. 31, which will eventually connect to an extension of the Franklin Greenway Trail, which will connect Kingsbridge and Knollwood Farms to downtown, Orner said.
The trail extension will be built during a U.S. 31 reconstruction project set to start next year.
The Whiteland Town Council passed a resolution this month that says the town does not wish to connect the two neighborhoods, said Kevin McGinnis, town manager. The council passed the resolution after hearing opposition from Park Forest neighbors who are concerned that more traffic would create a safety issue, as streets in the subdivision are narrow and winding and there are no sidewalks or streetlights, he said.
A few dozen Whiteland residents attended the Franklin Plan Commission meeting, too, and eight people, all Park Forest residents, submitted letters against the development to the plan commission.
Park Forest resident Richard Hill was the only person to speak out against the development at the meeting. Chief among his concerns were the stub street connection, impact on home values for the custom-home neighborhood he lives in and flooding issues he feels could be exacerbated by the development.
Hill also submitted a petition to the plan commission with 188 signatures of Whiteland residents who are against the development for those same reasons.
There is already annual flooding from a drainage pond between Park Forest and Knollwood Farms, which has gone into disrepair since the residents discontinued their Home Owners Association, Hill said. With more homes he feels the problem could get worse, he said.
The developer has plans to work around the pond issue and will work with the Johnson County Drainage Board to create a drainage plan that will keep water away from Park Forest, Huddleston said.
