McCORDSVILLE — Developers plan to ask officials to consider their idea for a community of commercial, multi-family and single-family properties on the south side of town.

Harold Gibson of Greenfield-based H. Gibson Land Surveying, representing Rogelio Mancillas of Indianapolis and Harold Mize of Greenfield, gave an informal presentation on the potential project at a McCordsville Town Council meeting this week.

Those behind the project intend to file a request with the town for the plan, which would require approval from the plan commission and town council.

The community, called Morningside at McCordsville, would go on just over 61 acres on the west side of Mt. Comfort Road south of County Road 600N. It would border the Easton at Stansbury neighborhood’s east side.

“We’re located along the coveted Mt. Comfort Corridor, which is not only an important corridor through the town, but it’s also a major artery … through Hancock County and even now it’s being considered important to the metropolitan Indianapolis area,” Gibson said.

Commercial buildings would go along Mt. Comfort Road. Multi-family buildings and a self-storage facility would be in the middle of the property, and the single-family properties would be on the west side, near the homes in Easton at Stansbury.

Anticipated permitted commercial uses would include restaurants and offices.

“We’re not looking for big-box buildings; we’re not looking for one retail center,” Gibson said. “We would prefer to have three or four multiple out-lots in there so that we can break that up.”

Gibson said the multi-family development would meet current trends by having more one- and two-bedroom units and a limited number of three-bedroom units.

“We’re being told by the market specialists that today’s multi-family projects look different than they did 10 or 15 years ago,” he said. “Because of the rising cost, because of the rising lease amounts, they prefer … more quality inside the unit than space. And we also see that the number of occupants in those units are going down instead of up.”

A minimum unit size of 730 square feet is currently being considered, Gibson continued, adding rents would be at or above market rate, targeting $1,100 to $1,500 a month. The multi-family development would also have attached garages.

A market study for the project indicates a large need for multi-family housing in the area led by jobs coming online through the dozens of large buildings in western Hancock County that have been planned and built over the last couple years, Gibson said.

Larry Longman, a McCordsville Town Council member, agreed.

“I think we’re deficient in multi-family in McCordsville, so I think this fills a void for us,” Longman said.

The community would also have a clubhouse, pool and walking trails.

In the single-family portion of the community, properties would be single- or two-story, and sizes would be about 1,400 square feet and up, Gibson said.

The project’s planners intend to petition the town for a planned unit development, which would establish the community’s own development standards.

But building design and architectural standards already in place for the area would be followed, Gibson said. He added a planned unit development is not being pursued to avoid them, but rather so that a mix of commercial, multi-family and single-family uses could be accomplished.

Gibson estimated the community would take five to 10 years to finish.

“We envision the multi-family and the single-family and a portion of the self storage units starting immediately,” he said. “The commercial uses are going to lag behind that. As we get more rooftops, I think you’re going to see those would fill in.”

Town council members expressed support for the project, but also a desire for the self-storage units to avoid poor aesthetics, which Gibson said he would be willing to work on with officials.

“The mixed use is a good use of that land, a good place for it, so if we can get the architectural stuff worked out, then I think we’re good to go,” said Barry Wood, president of the town council and a member of the plan commission.
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