Franklin College’s Innovation Park project is proposed on 249 acres along Park Avenue/Greensburg Road and West Umbarger Lane. The college is requesting to rezone the land as a PUD, including single-family homes, apartments, mixed-use spaces, office and innovation spaces and an area reserved for future college buildings. Submitted photo
A Franklin College plan that would bring a mixed-use development to Franklin was unveiled Tuesday evening.
The college’s Innovation Park project is proposed on 249 acres along Park Avenue/Greensburg Road and West Umbarger Lane. The college is requesting to rezone the land as a planned unit development, or PUD, including single-family homes, apartments, mixed-use spaces, office and innovation spaces and an area reserved for future college buildings. The area is currently zoned Residential-Suburban 1 and Residential-Tradition 1 but it is being used as farmland.
The Franklin Plan Commission heard the project and members of the public spoke on it Tuesday, but no decision was reached. The commission tabled the proposal to their April 16 meeting.
About the project
The college’s goal for the project is to attract high-tech industries to Franklin, said Kerry Prather, Franklin College president. The college purchased this 249-acre parcel, as well as land that is now being used for nearby athletic facilities in 2006. The farmland earmarked for this development and has recently been an interest for potential developers, he said.
“We’ve netted about a 1% return on that investment year after year,” Prather said. “We’ve just sat on it until the timing was right to decide ultimately what the development of that property should look like in a way that would benefit the institution and would benefit the city.”
The proposed development includes office and research areas for high-tech industries, with three agreements with undisclosed companies already in place if the development is approved. This would foster relationships between business leaders and students entering those industries, Prather said.
“96% of last year’s graduating class at Franklin College found employment in the state of Indiana, but not many of them in the city of Franklin simply because there are not that many opportunities for high-tech industry,” Prather said. “We’d like for this valuable, undeveloped land to ultimately be an advantage to the college and an advantage to the city, recognizing how important this piece of property is for the east side of Franklin and for the development of Franklin.”
The concept plan submitted to the plan commission includes 24 acres of mixed-use space, 64 acres of innovation and office space, 35 acres of single-family residential, 11 acres of attached residential housing, 14 acres of multi-family housing, 30 acres of future space for Franklin College. The plan also includes a park space and preserves wetlands along Park Avenue and a wooded area on Umbarger Lane.
The project would be made possible by a grant that the college is currently pursuing. The city and the college are also in talks to collaborate on a 40-acre Certified Tech Park within this proposed development.
Neighbors raise concerns
Several residents of the Jefferson Meadows neighborhood raised concerns about the density of the single-family housing that will back up to their properties.
Steve Yount, who also submitted an official demonstration letter to the plan commission, raised questions about the compatibility of the proposed higher-density residential areas with the larger-lot homes in Jefferson Meadows. He argued that the proposed development deviates from the city comprehensive plan and could potentially devalue properties in the area.
“If this body is to follow the concept plan, then the neighborhoods that are abutting our neighborhood should remain zoned RS-1,” Yount said. “It is not consistent and the comprehensive plan has built into the idea that as there is a new build-out, it is going to be consistent with the existing neighborhoods. This doesn’t do that.”
David Yount, a Jefferson Meadows resident and an attorney who represents Bargersville, urged the commission to reject the concept plan because “it doesn’t meet any of the five criteria considered under the Indiana code.”
“I’ve seen and sat through planning commission meetings over in Bargersville and seen lots of PUDs over the years I have been doing this,” he said. “To me, this is not a good PUD. This is not a good concept plan.”
David Yount also questioned the necessity of a PUD and for Franklin to pursue a tech park, suggesting that they dedicate a parcel of land solely for the innovation park portion of the project. He also suggested people working in high-tech industries would rather reside in custom-built homes.
College rebuttal
Timothy Ochs, an attorney representing Franklin College, emphasized the college’s willingness to work with the city and make adjustments to the plan.
“Their biggest issues are with the detached residential and the attached residential areas,” Ochs said. “You don’t throw this whole thing out because of that.”
Ochs argued that the layout of the residential development zones are “traditional planning principles,” showcasing a classic transition from the existing single-family zone to the north to a more dense single-family zone which then converts into a multi-family zone before turning into an industrial area. He said a PUD is best for a mixed-use project like this.
“That is very classic and it makes a lot of sense from a planning perspective,” he said.
Prather said that the college recently conducted a feasibility study that invited members of the community to comment on what they would like to see from this development. One big piece of feedback was the need for affordable housing, he said.
Ochs said the current mix of residential housing is more conducive to affordable housing than something like custom homes would be. The concept is centered around housing that would be affordable for recent college graduates.
“I have been representing developers for over 30 years and if we do all custom-built homes here, I can assure you that very, very, very few college grads are going to be able to afford to live there,” Ochs said. “What current planning tells us is that the best and most vital, vibrant communities are ones that have a multitude of residential uses to address the different kinds of people that have to live. Not everybody can live in a custom-built house.”
Next steps
Plan commission members expressed optimism about the innovation park’s potential but asked the college to consider a few revisions including larger lots in the single-family residential area and a lower limit on how many units could be attached in the attached residential area. Currently, there would be a limit of eight units.
“The only thing I see holding this up right now is the residential [part],” said member Joe Abban. “I don’t think the college plans on doing anything bad with that high density. I think it will fit in well with how Franklin is downtown.”
Copyright (©) 2024 Daily Journal (Franklin) eEdition