As Westfield’s leaders review a developer’s proposal for a 715-acre residential development, they expect to see more large projects come before them as the city’s comprehensive plan comes into focus.
Indianapolis-based Platinum Properties LLC recently submitted plans for Ironstone at Hortonville, a massive project that would consist of approximately 2,300 houses, along with shops, restaurants and recreational facilities south of 214th Street, on the north and south sides of 206th Street, east of Freemont Moore Road and west of Oak Ridge Road.
Mayor Scott Willis told members of the Westfield City Council on Monday that he was first approached about the potential development two years ago before he was elected mayor, while he was serving on the City Council. The Ironstone project received an introduction at Monday’s council meeting.
“They came to me and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this acreage and we’d like to do something,’” Willis told councilors. “My answer then was, ‘No, no, no, no, we’re not ready. We don’t have a comprehensive plan and a vision for this project.’ So, we all agreed we would shelve it and pick it up in a year or so, once we had a little bit more momentum behind the comprehensive plan.”
A comprehensive plan is a long-range planning document that guide’s growth and development by setting standards and determining desired uses throughout the city. Westfield began the process of refreshing its comprehensive plan last year. The city expects to have a new plan in place by February.
Willis said that once the new comprehensive plan is in place, he expects developers to pitch more large, master-planned projects like Ironstone. He said Westfield’s building permit count is currently the lowest it has been in eight years as developers and homebuilders wait to see what the city wants and expects.
“When you look at the new comprehensive plan and where we’re going, we’re going to see more of this,” he said. “This is Step 1 of what’s going to be multiple more projects coming in the next 10 to 15 years as the city opens up the comprehensive plan throughout the township.”
“Monster” project
Ironstone’s proposed project site is partially on agricultural land within the unincorporated community of Hortonville and bisected by Six Points Road, Horton Road and the Monon Trail. The property will need to be annexed into Westfield’s city limits.
The development would consist of four areas: The Lakes, The Reserve and The Village, which would be limited to single-family houses, and the Horton Square Mixed Use block.
The Lakes would be built at the southwest corner of 206th Street and Six Points Road with houses priced from $350,000 to $700,000. The Lakes would have linear parks and a water feature called Carey Lake.
The largest houses, including custom houses, would be at The Reserve on the east side of Ironstone, where home prices would range from $500,000 to $2.1 million.
The :Village and the Horton Square Mixed-Use block would be at the center of the community. The :Village would have rear-loaded single-family houses, along with town houses that would line the Monon Trail. Residences would be priced from $350,000 to $800,000.
Horton Square would have shops, restaurants and multifamily housing. An 11-acre park called Foundry Park would have $4.5 million worth of amenities, including pickleball and tennis courts, a 9-hole frisbee golf course, a waterfront amphitheater, a Monon Trail trailhead and a 10,000-square-foot clubhouse with a resort-style swimming pool.
Ironstone would also feature 14 miles of trails throughout the development.
“This is a monster,” Platinum Properties owner Paul Rioux told councilors. “It’s going to take over 10 to 12 years. That’s my optimistic scenario. We’ll have multiple builders, multiple products, and the investment that we’re making in this area will eventually add about a billion dollars of assessed valuation to Westfield.”
Westfield has three residential developments that are roughly the size of Ironstone or larger. The 710-acre Bridgewater took 16 years to develop, while development took more than 18 years at the 700-acre Springmill Trails. The 965-acre Chatham Hills is still being built out 11 years after construction began.
“This is far superior to any other neighborhood we have in Westfield, outside of the private country clubs of Chatham and Bridgewater,” Willis said. “You can’t get these amenities with small parcels. Developers need large parcels of land to pull off a lake, to do the trails.”
Councilor Kurt Wanniger compared the plan for Ironstone to other large, master-planned developments in Hamilton County.
“I’ve been part of developments since 1994 all around Hamilton County, and I can tell you the successful, more visionary-type developments are where people want to live,” he said. “And this will be one of those. Village of WestClay, Countryside, Centennial, Harmony. Those are signature communities in Hamilton County.”
The :Village of WestClay is in Carmel, while Countryside, Centennial and Harmony are in Westfield.
Long-range plans
At Monday’s meeting, Willis said road infrastructure will be improved before any houses are built. The project is expected to generate $7.5 million of road impact fees that would be used to pay for infrastructure improvements.
Jon Dobosiewicz, a land-use professional with Carmel-based law firm Nelson & Frankenberger LLC, said infrastructure construction would begin next year if the project receives approval.
“In my 30 years of representing petitioners in front of the city of Westfield, this idea and concept of having the city and developer coordinate and identify road improvements and advance those prior to the construction of homes within a development is new,” Dobosiewicz said.
Platinum Properties plans to donate 40 acres of land on the northwest corner of 206th Street and Six Points Road to Westfield Washington Schools. Westfield Fire Station 85 will be built on the southeast side of the intersection.
Willis countered arguments against Ironstone related to its impact on the Westfield school system by saying the city needs more students because he said residents are currently aging in place and not enough new students are moving in to replace those who are graduating.
“[Westfield Washington Schools Superintendent John Atha] is pleading with me not to put the brakes on development because it will cripple the schools long-term,” Willis said. “In 10 to 15 years, all these students that are in our school right now will all be out of our school.”
Platinum Properties, founded by Rioux in 1997, has developed more than 4,000 lots in 27 neighborhoods in Westfield.
Ironstone is scheduled to receive a public hearing on Monday at the Westfield Advisory Plan Commission’s meeting. The Plan Commission is expected to host a workshop meeting on Dec. 15 and could provide a recommendation on Jan. 14. The project could return to the City Council for a vote in February or March.