Pictured is a rendering of a townhome slated for construction, to start later this year, in Kokomo's near east side neighborhood. Provided image
KOKOMO – City officials and a local developer announced on Monday the planned construction of eight detached townhomes in Kokomo’s near east side neighborhood.
The $1.6 million private development, called The Grove on Mulberry, will be constructed by a firm headed by Howard County developer Kaleb Hollingsworth on the southeast corner of Mulberry Street and Apperson Way.
Construction on the homes is scheduled to begin later this year, according to a city press release.
“The Grove on Mulberry repurposes an underutilized site and continues the trend of infill development in Kokomo,” said Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight in the release. “These homes will transform an important thoroughfare along Apperson Way and create an attractive gateway into Kokomo’s historic Near East Side.”
Each of the three-story homes will have two or three bedrooms, a garage and two balconies, and all eight will be available for purchase. The homes’ prices are so far unclear.
“We wanted to be a part of the growing and vibrant downtown,” added Hollingsworth. “This is great investment opportunity and we’re thrilled to work with the city to bring quality housing to Kokomo. After taking a look at the market, it was clear that there is a strong demand for single-family homes in and near downtown Kokomo.”
As noted in the release, The Grove on Mulberry will be the second townhome development under construction in the downtown area in the last year, following the
The Market Street Townhomes, located behind the new YMCA, will be comprised of eight townhomes, three condos and new retail space. The project’s retail space will be located at the corner of Market and Sycamore streets, above which the condos will be placed.
Fortune Companies official Riley Metz said that two of the three finished townhomes and two of the three condos are sold. The five townhomes currently being worked on will be completed by March, said Metz. The project is being constructed by Fortune Companies.
About the retail space, Metz said nothing has been finalized but that “we’ve had some people look at it with ideas that I would personally love to see in downtown.”
Last month, city officials announced their own infill project, a program that will include the construction of new single-family, market-rate homes on vacant and underutilized lots in Kokomo neighborhoods. The first two homes are slated for the near west side on West Taylor and West Jefferson streets.
The homes will be purchased by buyers from the Kokomo Community Development Corp.
Each home will, according to city officials, be designed with an open floor plan and be built with quality materials.
Notably, the homes will be sold on the open market, and funds collected from home sales will go back into the city program to finance the construction of additional homes.
Overall, the city and KCDC “worked with Indiana-based SRKM architecture to create five designs that meet the trends and desires of today’s homebuyers, while respecting the character of our neighborhoods,” according to Goodnight.
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