MISHAWAKA — Young professionals, millenials and empty-nesters will be the target for the large, 232-unit apartment building that an Indianapolis developer hopes to start building this summer near Beutter Park.
These are people who “could afford a big house but want the amenities,” said David Flaherty, CEO of Flaherty & Collins Properties, who recently spoke to the city’s Redevelopment Commission.
Tenants might find a pet grooming station, a large room to store and work on bikes, a workshop space for personal projects and a couple of guest suites that visitors could rent by the day.
The company describes “luxury” units of just one to two bedrooms. Rent would cost $850 for a 550-square-foot studio, $1,150 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,650 for two bedrooms.
The word “luxury” has caught flak on The Tribune’s Facebook posts about the project, with some arguing that there needs to be housing for a broad range of incomes. When asked, Flaherty said its target audience is needed to make the project happen. They are active and social, he said, and are likely to step out, visit the businesses and enjoy the city’s Riverwalk.
Several restaurants have already shown interest in two key spaces on the street level of the four-story Mill at Ironworks Plaza, as it would be called.
The city pursued this deal as a way to finally spur development on wide, vacant plots of city-owned land in downtown where the Uniroyal plant was imploded 17 years ago. On Feb. 27, the commission approved a development agreement with Flaherty & Collins, who will spend $26.9 million on the project, plus more than $9.5 million from the city and almost $5.26 million from the state’s Regional Cities Initiative.