I’ve avoided commenting on this project at the corner of 86th and Keystone. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be “green” or if it was just dense development (which is still good for the area). However, I’ve been reassured with this article in today’s Star. Here’s the choice part of the article:
Premier Properties will present those plans tonight — to transform 50 acres on the southwest corner of Keystone Avenue and 86th Street — to the council at 7 p.m. at the Nora Branch Library. The development could include condos and an indoor theater for concerts. It would be across 86th Street from the site where neighbors fought a development that includes a Whole Foods Market and 31 townhomes.“If we (NCC) are for smart growth, then the fact that they are using an area that’s been zoned commercial is good,” (NCC head Ruth) Hayes said. “They are not going out and ripping up residential areas and/or farmland.”Woodfield Centre, a partially empty strip mall currently sits on the property as well as two office buildings Premier recently purchased from Duke Realty. With plans for a “green” development including rooftop gardens and reusing rainwater, Hayes believes that if Premier brings all the plans together, it could spark a change in the way planners develop property in the Indianapolis area. “None of us have seen the details,” Hayes said of the council. “It’s extremely dense and intense. It’s been Nora’s position if it’s dense and intense, go up if you must, but don’t sprawl down our corridor.”
I’m pretty excited about this one being that I work nearby.
Too bad this couldn’t have went in instead of the bland building that was built instead.
Did this end up as Iron Works then? If so, it is very Carmelish – all show, no soul.
I would say that Iron Works lacks soul because of WHERE it is, not WHAT it is. It may be a little flat and monotonous, but not that different from old warehouse structures you see near Mass Ave.
If you took that design, as is (maybe reduce the size of the parking lot), and put it in a truly urban setting, I think it would activate very well. The retail spaces are all designed to be accessible from either side of the building.
Imagine Iron Works in place of Circa at North and College:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7751295,-86.1453417,3a,75y,24.64h,89.01t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sQPwPe_QaKYIN-o29tJrbeQ!2e0!5s20150801T000000!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1?hl=en
I think that is kind of the point though. If you rehab an old iron works into a loft building, that is very different from building a low rise and attaching a fake crane to the front of it. This is similar to my complaints about Carmel’s good urbanism. Good urbanism is trumped (in my opinion) by the newness and how out of place it feels. Part of that is I live in an urban neighborhood with old rehabbed structures so I can feel the difference in authenticity. For most people it may not matter.
I don’t think anything that could have been built at this location could have had “soul.”
Also, while City Center in Carmel is very cartoonish, I do like what has been built in their old downtown. I don’t think you could say that area has no soul.
Thanks for finally talking about >Woodfield Crossing Proposal | Urban Indy <Liked it!
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