By Taylor Wooten, [email protected]
A developer is eyeing 47 acres in Bargersville for a mixed-use development that would include businesses and a variety of housing.
The Bargersville Town Council unanimously approved rezoning the 47 acres at State Road 135 and Two Cent Road to mixed-use from general commercial to allow for businesses and housing.
Commerce Park South LLC representatives presented initial plans for the planned development at a recent town council meeting. The plans for the housing development aren’t set in stone, said Greg Ilko of CrossRoad Engineers. Right now, it would be multi-family housing, including apartments, duplexes and paired patio homes.
Greenwood-based developer The Garrett Companies will have a role in creating the housing complex, with several architectural renderings attributed to the local developer. Initial renderings show a centralized roundabout at the entrance, and an upscale pool area surrounded by apartments.
Town council members were concerned about increased traffic in the area, which already includes a church and the neighboring Oakrail and Summer Gardens subdivisions. If the project exceeds 450 units, the town will be required to pay the Indiana Department of Transportation to do a traffic study in the area.
The development would be located in Franklin Community Schools, and could potentially add hundreds of students.
The proposed development would also include a four-acre commercial strip located along State Road 135, according to initial site plans. The development would be similar to the South Grove Commons shopping area, according to the presentation given to the council.
While the development would include apartment buildings, there would be other types of housing as well. Most of the area would be taken up by paired patio homes, also called villas, Ilko said.
The town council and Bargersville Plan Commission requested several commitments for the rezone.
The development cannot include more than 450 units and must be in substantial compliance with the site plan. The development must also include a 20-foot landscape barrier between residential and commercial areas, a buffer zone on the entire westside of the property and a paved, asphalt trail along Two Cent Road.
This isn’t the first time the land has been rezoned for proposed developments. The area was rezoned in 2010 for low-density, single-family homes. In 2014, it was to be turned into a sports complex consisting of an indoor athletic facility, a paved trail and several sports fields. Neither project came to fruition.
The new rezone removes commitments made for past projects.
