Westfield Indiana is on fire and as the leaders work to slow residential development and somehow keep the fast commercial development at bay, there are a few spots in Westfield that will surely make an impact in 2018.  We have been watching the new Riverview hospital grow into our skyline for about a year now and it’s just beautiful to see from every direction and will be followed by continued growth in some areas as well as new commercial developments.  The market drives development and there is substantial pent up demand in Westfield so seeing these coming builds will be a site for weary eyes.  Here is the list.

  1. 191st and US 31 – What?  There is more to Westfield then SR 32?  Yes there is and it’s bigger in my eyes.  US 31 was designed by really smart people and it gave way for one of the best intersections for development in Hamilton County.  191st St. has become not only a great exit to Grand Park but has also become a secondary route parallel to SR 32 between Noblesville and Westfield.  Currently Henke Development is developing what will be a first class site with hotels, shopping and restaurants.  But not far behind will be additional retail serving travelers and the community but also corporate headquarters and medical users.  Stay tuned for this and watch as development along 32 begins to shift north to easier, better priced real estate.
  2. Park St – “Restaurant Row” as it is called and created by the visionary Beauchamp’s, will continue to prosper.  The small block of restaurants like Rail Epicurean, Greeks Pizzeria, Italian House and Chiba have gained statewide attention, which in turn has attracted outside investment dollars.  This street is purely the vision of local investors to date but will quickly expand in the next year with rumored 2 or 3 additional restaurants and mixed use development.  This is great for a stagnate downtown and local merchants that rely on outside traffic to stay busy.  Visiting downtown on a weekend is far different then a weeknight with people coming from all over the area to Union St and Park St to eat and hang out.
  3. Junction North – The true sign of a redeveloping city in my eyes is the presence of new development amongst current development like Northridge Construction has spearheaded for several years.  Junction North is a row of to be built custom homes on Hoover St that will change the look of Union and Hoover St’s and the entrance to Asa Bales Park.  It’s small enough to mix in but large enough to make a perceived impact on our small trying City.  Prices will range in the low $500’s up and will absolutely continue to promote a walk able urban lifestyle locally.
  4. New Neighborhoods – Westfield had approved several fantastic neighborhoods before the recession and as many of those have been gobbled up and built out the market still demands more volume.  Currently I am working with 3 large homebuilders looking for land to build tomorrow homes in every price range.  Knowing this, I will only assume that there are countless more working the area.  Fishers is near full but desirable, Carmel is full and really expensive and Westfield is wide open and expensive.  But there are buyers and when there are buyers there is demand.  You will continue to see neighborhoods popping up primarily West of US 31 and new home builders will continue to drive the market in Westfield
  5. Midland Trace – We have somehow avoided the explosive development along our trail like Carmel has in the past but it won’t be long until the secret gets out that our “waterfront” property is there for the taking.  The Midland Trace runs East and West from Gray road, east somehow and ends near Ditch Rd we think currently.  This trail is the perfect place to draw in high-density housing and commercial development and if you look along Park St for example and the area North of College St downtown, you will see the opportunity is just waiting for the right developer.  In 2018 you will begin to see several residential developments going up along the trail and plans introduced for additional growth.
  6. Bonus – It is exciting to see things happening in our city especially downtown and along the main corridors but I thought it would be good to talk about a few sites that probably will remain the same in 2018.
    1. 32 & Union – I highly doubt we are able to figure out a game plan for this intersection quite yet and being that it is primarily private property, it would take an act of God to turn this into a master developed site today.  It will happen though.
    2. 32 West – Land prices West of US 31 are absurd and until the developers can figure out a way to pass along the costs or land owners get real, you will see very little vertical development.   You will continue to see long drawn out planning and “what’s happening here” panels during 2018.  It will happen though.
    3. Inside Grand Park – As much as I think the land inside and right around Grand Park is awesome, it’s still a ways off from being an affordable option to end users and developers in mass.  We may see a few pocket builds but we are still years from seeing substantial growth inside.  With the development of area homes and 191st St it will improve the odds but it’s going to take some infill to make it worthwhile.  It will happen though.
    4. The old Truck Stop at the NW corner of 31 and SR 32 will remain and I will put money on it

Boy do we have a lot going on and being in Real Estate we better know far in advance what is on the horizon and being able to share is something I find important.  As much as I want everything to happen now, I am glad good developers are doing what is being done responsibly.  Things can quickly get out of hand or even worse stop, neither of which we are experiencing in our market.  So ask some questions, get involved and look forward to some really great new developments to come to our awesome community.

 

-curt

Curt has been in the Indianapolis Real Estate business for over 10 years and spent his first years learning all aspects of commercial management and brokerage.  He has had great success in managing existing commercial projects and new retail and office developments.  Curt specializes in building owner representation and purchases in the Westfield Indiana market as well throughout the Indianapolis Metro area.  Curt is passionate about growing the local Westfield community and in his free time  volunteers with Westfield Youth Assistance and raising 2 children with his wife Jennifer.