Plan Commission sends North End Phase 2 (VivaBene senior building and townhome-style units) to committee amid multiple UDO variances

The Carmel Plan Commission on March 18 assigned the North End Phase 2 applications — a proposed VivaBene age-restricted apartment building and a set of townhome-style apartment buildings by Old Town Companies — to a Plan Commission committee for further review. The packet included a primary plat amendment, two Architecture and Design and Landscape Standards (ADLS) dockets, and eight requested variances from the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and Monon Greenway overlay.

What was proposed Presenters said the Phase 2 plan splits the site into two primary lots. The Old Town portion (Lot 1) would contain seven townhome-style buildings with 72 apartment units and surface parking; the VivaBene portion (Lot 2) would be a single building with garage parking. The development team described pedestrian connectivity to the Fields Market Garden and the Monon Greenway and said the Phase 2 design preserves significant trees and open space.

Discrepancy on unit counts The docket read aloud at the start of this hearing described a 170-unit building for individuals 55 and over plus seven townhome buildings containing 72 units. During the presentation, representatives from Avenue Development and Old Town described the VivaBene building as approximately 70 units and the Old Town portion as 72 units; Rebecca McGuckin (Old Town) and Greg Hilko (Crossroad Engineers) said Phase 2, together with the block and common area, will yield more than 3.5 acres of open space. The difference between the docket’s 170-unit figure and the presenters’ 70-unit figure was not resolved at the meeting and remains an item for committee clarification.

Project components and community features Rebecca McGuckin (Old Town) emphasized that North End Phase 1 already includes community elements — a garden, a recently opened farm-to-table restaurant and 40 integrated attainable housing units for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities — and that Phase 2 is designed to integrate with those amenities. Matt Guapas (Avenue Development) described VivaBene as a 55-plus independent living product that emphasizes aging-in-place design, care coordination, and social programming; he said the VivaBene model aims to keep residents active and engaged with amenities and nearby paths.

Variances requested The petitioner requested eight variances that staff and the applicants grouped into three categories: - Urban Residential (UR) variances: maximum front-yard setback greater than 50 feet in places; reduced side-yard parking setbacks; minimum parking ratios (request to provide 1.25 spaces per dwelling unit rather than the UR requirement of 1.5); and other dimensional exceptions tied to the site’s irregular geometry. - Monon Overlay/architectural variances: building footprint maximums and façade-modulation requirements (code language that calls for design changes every 50 feet along a façade), and a variance from a requirement to step back floors above the third level. - Waivers related to street layout and floodplain/stormwater: a hammerhead/cul-de-sac waiver for the proposed private street geometry, and additional waivers to allow parking within areas affected by floodplain/flood fringe and to address water-quality easement requirements.

Staff comments and outstanding items Planning staff reported support for the variances given the development context but listed outstanding items the applicant must address before committee, including: - Provide water-quality measures on-site and apply for three additional waivers (water quality preservation easement, no-parking-in-special-flood-hazard-area waiver, and dead-end street waiver); - Reduce EIFS coverage on some building facades and provide more durable exterior materials in visible elevations; - Add more building-based landscape plantings, additional street trees along US 31, and a detailed landscape plan for the common area; and - Provide a lighting/photometric plan and details for the Monon trailhead connection.

Questions from commissioners Commissioners raised concerns about the amount of EIFS shown on VivaBene facades, screening for rooftop mechanical equipment, pedestrian connections to the Monon Greenway, parking counts and the 1.25-space-per-unit request for the Urbana Residential zone, and the long façade on an eight-bay townhome building that staff asked be visually broken up.

Action and next steps A motion to assign the primary plat amendment, the two ADLS dockets and the eight variances to committee (with the expectation of returning to the full commission for final action) passed by voice vote. Staff and the development team will bring the requested clarifications, architectural revisions and technical exhibits to the April 1 committee meeting for further review.