A grocery store has been proposed to occupy a renovated building on the west side of Meridian Street just south of 24th Street. The Progress Team Coordinator is working on getting site plans and elevation renderings of the building, and possibly a developer presentation to interested neighbors. A zoning hearing on the project is slated for July 13 because the project is requesting a variance of development standards for reduced parking (62 parking spaces, 118 required) and accessory uses equaling 42% of the gross floor area (25% max permitted). Click here to download a project narrative and site plans.

Please direct any comments to progress@fallcreekplace.com.

A public hearing is set for June 1 for a proposed Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins to be located in the former Bon Jour Café building at 2402 N Meridian St. Such a retail use is permitted, however, the drive thru they are requesting is prohibited by the Regional Center Zoning Ordinance which was established to transition Meridian Street, and Downtown, away from automobile-oriented uses. As such, the petitioner is requesting a variance from that ordinance to build a drive through (not permitted) and a variance of development standards to provide for four stacking spaces before and one stacking space after the drive-through (six stacking spaces required before and two stacking spaces required after).

The City of Indianapolis provides neighborhood organizations, as well as individual citizens, with opportunity to provide input regarding changes to and variances from land use decisions in their neighborhood. In Fall Creek Place, we do this through the Progress Team, which has a coordinator and whose membership is made up on a case by case basis of any neighbor who has an opinion on the case. The coordinator gathers input and forwards it to the HOA Board of Directors with a recommendation on a neighborhood position. The neighborhood can choose to support or oppose the case, or take no position.

The Fall Creek Place Progress Team solicits your input regarding any position, or no position, the neighborhood should take regarding this petition. If you have thoughts please share them by emailing progress@fallcreekplace.com or by sharing them publicly in the discussion forums on the neighborhood website at http://www.fallcreekplace.com.

From the Indianapolis Business Journal

A troubled low-income housing project called Caravelle Commons has a new owner with plans to redevelop the complex to better connect with the Herron Morton Place neighborhood.

Next door, the grocery chain Kroger has revived efforts to acquire land and plan a new supermarket at 16th and Central Avenue to replace a cramped, old-format location. The chain bought the corner a few years ago, closed on a vacant parcel that was previously part of Caravelle earlier this year, and is negotiating with the owner of another vacant lot.

Together, the developments could represent a turning point for a blighted stretch of 16th Street that has bedeviled the surrounding neighborhood for years. Community groups aren’t getting hopes up just yet; talk of redevelopment along the stretch has been buzzing for at least a decade.

But they are encouraged by plans to either drastically revamp or replace the 65-unit Caravelle, which sits on about seven acres north of 16th Street between Central and College avenues.

The Indianapolis Housing Agency bought the complex in March from the Near North Development Corp., which took over the failed co-op in 2003. Near North stepped in to refinance, renovate and stabilize the property with an eye toward eventually selling it to a more appropriate owner, said Michael Osborne, the group’s president.

FULL STORY

The Fall Creek Place Progress Team is distributing zoning information to you as a courtesy regarding a zoning variance request for the 22 on Delaware project at 2205 N Delaware Street. We value your feedback and ask for your help in forming a neighborhood response to this public notice.

Click here to download the information packet.

You can email comments to progress@fallcreekpl ace. com or drop them in the Progress Team Coordinator’s mailbox at 2433 N Delaware St. The HOA board will consider your comments in deciding if it is appropriate to support, oppose, or remain silent on this request. Regardless of any official HOA position, individual neighbors are always able to express their individual opinions directly to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Any such letters should reference petition number 2009-DV3-030 and be directed to city staff Melanie Mullens (327-5848 or mrmullen@indy.gov). Note that while the public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday September 22 at 1pm at the City County Building, the petitioner has informed us of their intent to request to continue the hearing to October 13th at the same time and location in order to provide adequate time for neighborhood feedback.

In the packet you will find information about the proposed building design, floorplans, and site plan as well as a letter from King Park detailing a list of zoning commitments the petitioner will file with the case. These commitments are enforceable conditions placed on the property for as long as the variances are in place, regardless of the owner, and exclude certain uses otherwise permitted by the zoning as well as hours of operation. Note that zoning itself restricts other uses for the site. The city’s zoning code is available online at http://www.indy.gov/egov/city/dmd/planning/zoning/P ages /municode.aspx.

Many of the variances were, to some extent, granted for this site previously based on an earlier commercial project proposal by Mansur Development. New variances are being sought because the character and materials of the building have substantially changed from that older proposal. Variances are required for almost any urban development project due to the nature of the Indianapolis zoning code, which generally favors separated, suburban-style development on large lots. Therefore variance requests should not necessarily cause concern that a particular development is inappropriate to a particular site. That determination should only be made after consideration of the actual proposal.

We strongly encourage you to contact Janine Betsey, the petitioner and Executive Director of King Park Area Development Corporation, if you have any questions or concerns. Janine can be reached at jbetsey@kpadc.org or 317- 924-8116 x3.

We encourage and welcome your opinions on this request and your help in forming a neighborhood response.

Download Floorplans and Elevation Rendering 

 

A Note from King Park Area Development Corporation:

Greetings Fall Creek Place Area Friends & Neighbors:

Unfortunately, we are not having our groundbreaking for 22 on Delaware as we had originally planned on Monday the 31st at 1:00 p.m.  Despite being approved for financing, the fragile economy has taken a toll on our key tenant.  And while there are additional prospects we are working with, we are not quite ready to move forward.

Over the next few weeks you will see leasing and zoning signs go up so I wanted to give you more information about the site and what we are proposing so you can make suggestions or recommendations to us directly.

1. The name of the site is 22 on Delaware.  It has gone from a one story development, to a two story development with a beautiful upstairs that has balcony seating to attract a restaurant to our neighborhood. 
2. The total square footage is approximately 15,500 square feet and has 36 parking spaces.  The building is not taller than the house to the north and the materials chosen, hardi-plank siding and larger hardi-plank boards were chosen to compliment the residential materials used in the homes in the neighborhood. 
3. A complete set of site plans, parking lay out and leasable spaces are attached within this e-mail for your review.
4. There is additional space for lease available in the development and KPADC has build out monies for those businesses that meet neighborhood serving retail goals, create jobs and seek to hire individuals from the neighborhood.  The project seeks to create 30 jobs overall and we will begin training sessions this fall for residents in order to get them ready for the jobs.

We are very excited about this project as it builds on the strong residential base and the growing commercial components.  In addition, it will create needed jobs and provide economic opportunities to those directly in the neighborhood.

If you have comments or concerns about the site or leads on potential tenants, please contact me directly at jbetsey@kpadc.org or 317-924-8116 x3.

Thank you,

Janine

Janine Betsey, Executive Director
King Park Area Development Corporation
2430 North Delaware
Indianapolis, IN  46205
317-924-8116 x3