The new year may start slow, but development is doing the opposite for Johnson County in 2025.
Several projects are multi-year efforts, some of which could be completed this year. Others are expected to start in 2025 and last for a few years.
There are projects from all over the county, from Greenwood to Franklin to Whiteland to Bargersville. Many are worth millions and could bring millions in economic development or hundreds of new residents.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest projects residents can expect to see in the new year.
Greenwood
Housing will continue to be a large contributor to Greenwood’s growth in 2025.
About 1,625 single-family homes and 594 apartment units are under construction now and expected to continue construction this year. Another 524 single-family homes will start construction, according to data provided by the city’s planning department.
In terms of single-family homes, there are seven developments under construction. Two of those — Elmwood Estates with 48 lots and Brighton Knoll with 37 lots — are expected to finish construction in 2025.
The remaining five housing additions are Lone Pine Farms with 216 lots left to build, Grand Vista with 341 lots left, Scottsdale with 446 lots left, Sagebriar with 524 lots left and Lyon’s Park with 13 lots left.
Mayor Mark Myers is excited about Sagebriar development, a Del Webb 55-and-up community.
“I’ve visited a few of them up on the northside, and they’re just beautiful. So I’m very excited about that,” Mark Myers said.
Three new housing additions could start construction in 2025 — Ridgetop with 80 lots, Lincoln Place with 115 lots and Honey Creek Farms with 329 lots.
“There’s development that’s still continuing to go on all around the city, and that just tells you that we’re doing the right things, because people want to live in Greenwood,” Mark Myers said.
Under construction apartment complexes include:
• Arlington Farms Apartments will bring a total of 408 new units. Forty-eight units were built in 2024, and the remaining 360 are expected to be completed in 2025.
• Oliver Springs will bring a total of 226 units. Officials say 112 units were built in 2024, with the remaining 114 being completed this year.
• Grove Crossing Senior Living will have 120 units built. It is expected to finish construction this year.
As for business developments, seven building permits have been issued for projects still under construction totaling $68.6 million:
• FedEx Freight’s 101,502-square-foot expansion of their Allen Road facility will be valued at $18.4 million.
• Endress+Hauser’s 107,952-square-foot expansion for a new innovation center and headquarters for the George E. Booth Co. is valued at $40 million.
• The Emerson Pointe Retail Center, 1145 N. Emerson Ave., will be 11,101 square feet and valued at $2 million.
• The Shiloh’s Coroner commercial development, featuring a retail center, a Bru Burger and a new Stone Creek Dining Co. total more than 40,000 square feet and worth about $4.2 million.
Mark Myers says the city is negotiating with a couple of different companies who are interested in bringing their companies to the city or expanding their existing presence in Greenwood. However, officials are not looking for any more distribution centers, as there are plenty of them in the city already, he said.
He’s also excited to see new businesses come to downtown Greenwood and is excited to watch them grow, he said.
Greenwood officials also plan to start construction of a new fire station, Station 95, on the city’s southwest side near Graham Road and Interstate 65. The station will also house a training room and a fire training facility that will let firefighters practice in confined spaces with live fire, he said.
Franklin
Projects across Franklin won’t be slowing down in 2025.
Construction continues for Malarkey Roofing Products' $200 million facility, which broke ground in November and is planned to open in 2026. The 350,000-square-foot facility is at Paul Hand Boulevard and Graham Road and will include a main production, warehouse and asphalt mixing buildings, according to the original plans. The company also promised to extend Essex Drive by 2027 at a cost of roughly $2.5 to $3 million at the company’s sole expense and provide the city with $2 million to help upgrade Paul Hand Boulevard.
“Malarkey has definitely been a good community partner and I’m excited about them being here … because they’re going to pay higher wages, they’re going to pay above the county average, and they’re helping with the city’s infrastructure,” said Mayor Steve Barnett.
Plans for Commerce Point, a retail center at the northwest corner of Commerce Drive and Morton Street, are also progressing following approval in December. The development could house Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Dutch Bros and Valvoline, each of which have shown interest in a lot.
The city has also had interest in a data center, but Barnett said they are “trying to pick and choose the right fit for Franklin.”
Aside from business, the city is embarking on $46 million projects for the wastewater treatment plant —- a plant expansion and a regional interceptor project with constuction to start in late 2025.
For quality of life, the city of Franklin made major strides with its new Active Adult Center by demolishing the old building and breaking ground on a new modern facility. Construction of the new center and new playground equipment for Payne Park is expected to be completed in the summer.
The city’s renovation of it’s Main Street fire station was also completed this year.
For housing, Barnett said Franklin has been averaging 150 homes per year. Four housing developments are currently under construction and will continue in 2025 —- Kingsbridge on U.S. 31 with 240 lots, Winterfield on Hurricane Road with 320 homes, and Westwind at Cumberland with 125 lots. At the Bluffs at Youngs Creek, the current section is all but full with the next is ready to sell.
The Links at Franklin finished building its first phase of 167 units as well.
The Post, an apartment complex being developed by Denton Floyd, plans to have 312 units on U.S. 31 north of the John Deere dealership. Redwood also bought some property in Franklin across from Founders Pointe Apartments for a future development, Barnett said.
Johnson County
With growth in Johnson County, officials are moving forward with projects and implementing new strategies for development in 2025.
The new year will see progress with the $11 million behavioral health annex, expected to finish construction this year. The in-patient facility will have 25 beds and care provided by Johnson Memorial Health and Horizon Health, a behavioral health management provider.
The county is also planning to build a new 73,000-square-foot community corrections building. The facility will feature dozens of offices for community corrections, adult probation and court services staff; bunks; classrooms; and more. The timeline for construction is not yet known, as the approximately $38.4 million project has not yet been funded.
With housing, there are several major and minor subdivisions in the county with available vacant lots for development, said Michele Hansard, county’s planning and zoning director. Meadows of Belleview, Berry Chase and Deerfield are all in the home-building stage, Hansard said. Section 3 of Water’s Edge, composed of 10 lots, is finishing up infrastructure to start building homes.
Hansard said Section 2 of Williamsburg Lake Estates is planning to go under infrastructure construction in the spring and another subdivision, Eagle Springs, might begin construction in 2025.
The new year brings new strategies for economic development. Commissioner Ron West said the county is looking at how it can become a partner in commercial and industrial development, which he said officials haven’t been able to do in the past partly because of limited utility access primarily with sewers.
“That’s going to become somewhat of a dominant discussion for us as we go forward because really our economic development is tied to either the ability to get services from the cities and towns or to satisfy our own needs one way or the other,” he said.
The county’s redevelopment commission recently contracted with Aspire Johnson County to help the county bring in commercial investment. West is hopeful that it will be beneficial moving forward next year.
Commissioner Brian Baird said the biggest focus will be on the I-69 area for the next five years, but growth is also possible in the I-65 corridor.
Bargersville
Bargersville officials hope to make 2025 a year of planning and goal-oriented growth. Officials hope to expand community programs and continue developing gathering spaces like Umbarger Plaza.
In 2025, pedestrians will safely be able to cross the railroad tracks at Old Plank Road and Main Street because of a partnership with Indiana Railroad. The project will be ADA-compliant and will connect Umbarger Plaza to the area west of the tracks. It seems like a small project, but from a pedestrian safety standpoint, it will be a huge benefit, said Dax Norton, town manager.
A new public relations position will help enhance Bargersville’s mission and vision for town government, he said.
A few projects are on the horizon in terms of development, including a project with surrounding counties to make the area near I-69 a tech innovation district, similar to 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis. Norton hopes to push the state to develop the corridor. A lot of focus in early 2025 will be on how the corridor will build a sustainable Bargersville.
Officials want to make sure that the infrastructure in Bargersville is ahead of development and that the burden of development is not placed on the backs of the current taxpayers as well.
Whiteland
This year, the town of Whiteland issued 107 new single-family residential building permits and Whiteland’s Director of Administration Carmen Young anticipates about the same for 2025.
“We get calls all the time, but we’re content with the pace that we’re at now with residential growth,” Young said.
The Saddlebrook Farms and Briar Creek residential developments will continue construction this year. Allure Apartments with 288 units and Redwood Apartments with 158 units will also start construction in 2025. Site work is already underway for Redwood.
Town officials are also in talks for a restaurant of some sort and a potential development at the corner of Whiteland Road and Graham Road.
For industrial development, Young said all but two of the currently built industrial buildings have a tenant and all other buildings have at least one tenant.
The town’s new comprehensive plan will be finished in 2025, she said.
“In the last six years since 2018, we’ve had significant growth. So that was one thing that I feel like we needed to get done and get updated just to make sure that the town’s on the right path as far as our future growth,” Young said.
The town is also working towards replacing a sanitary lift station that will be funded through READI grant dollars. The project should be done by the first quarter of the year, Young said.
New Whiteland
In New Whiteland, one of the biggest things that happened in 2024 was the approval of a new housing development called Pleasant Creek, which will start construction in 2025.
The 402-home residential development was approved in December and surrounds the wastewater treatment plant north and west of the Whiteland Road and Sawmill Road intersection. It will include single-family homes and townhomes to be built by Lennar Homes and Ryan Homes.
Among other conditions, developers will contribute $290,000 for traffic improvements and $75,000 for trails to the town.
“I think it’ll have an effect tax-wise. It’ll help everybody because when you add 400 more houses, then that helps the tax burden on everybody else. So, I think that’ll be the biggest thing,” said John Perrin, town council president.
Only one other housing development has lots open for construction: Brownstone. The development has four available lots, said Angela DeVoss, the town’s clerk-treasurer.
Seniors also have a new place to go with the opening of the newer part of Vita, a senior center off U.S. 31.
“That’s going to be a nice amenity for people that need somewhere to go, gives them another place to go,” Perrin said.
Edinburgh
One of the largest developments in Edinburgh’s history will break ground as early as 2025.
Castle Rock a 288-acre residential, commercial and park development., consists of 850 homes that will be built east of U.S. 31 and north of State Road 252. There will also be 82.5 acres of common area in the neighborhood, an additional 25 acres planned to be donated to the town for a park and a 20-acre commercial area to be built along U.S. 31, according to the plans.
The development is slated to break ground as early as 2025, said John Myers, town manager.
Another development under construction includes another section is Timbergate, the golf course community, Myers said.
Some companies are looking to expand and are growing in the town but Myers couldn’t give the names of the businesses or specific details yet.
The town is also planning a couple of project year including a new electric substation on the town’s south side near the fire station. The substation will aid the town’s growth by expanding its electric grid, Myers said.
Trafalgar
Trafalgar is seeing a rapid increase in interest for additional residential and commercial growth, said Bryan Gregg, town manager.
“The word is out, and opportunity has been discovered here in Trafalgar,” Gregg said. “We expect to see the addition of businesses in 2025 which will provide services that will be welcomed within the community.”
After an productive year, Gregg hopes to continue the trend. Officials are going to start seeking grant funding throughout the year and will be investing in infrastructure improvements as they expect to continually see growth.
Town Hall is currently undergoing updates and improvements, made possible through American Rescue Plan funds. Work on the building is expected to be completed by May.
Daily Journal news editor Noah Crenshaw and reporters Elissa Maudlin and Jayden Kennett contributed to this report.