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Committee forwards North End Phase 2 site plan to plan commission with staff follow-up requested
Summary
Old Town Companies and Avenue Development’s Phase 2 site plan for North End — including a 70‑unit 55+ building and 72 townhome units — was forwarded to the full Plan Commission with staff-identified architectural, landscape and engineering details to be resolved before final action.
The Carmel Plan Commission Committee as a Whole on May 6 forwarded the North End Phase 2 site-plan and design review to the full Plan Commission after staff and the applicant agreed to continue detailed design review prior to final action.
Justin Moffat, principal with Old Town Companies, presented Phase 2 of the North End, describing a development that includes an apartment building with 70 units for individuals 55 and older and seven townhome-style buildings containing 72 units. The site sits adjacent to the Monon Trail and is in the Monon Greenway overlay.
Moffat said the team added substantial landscape along U.S. 31, preserved limestone from a previous Monon bridge rebuild for use in a pocket park, and relocated a trail connection southward so the pedestrian experience would be less exposed to U.S. 31. "We added a significant amount of landscape along the 31 corridor that was requested of us," Moffat said.
Alexia Lopez of the Department of Community Services said staff was still processing the project’s second-review submittal and that about 20 comments remained outstanding. "Some of them are minor," Lopez said, "we don't have any major... changes that would affect the project like moving a building over there or completely taking something out." She listed architecture details for townhome elevations and a 16-unit facade, consistency of light fixtures with Phase 1, water-quality measures (the project uses a regional off-site detention pond) and ensuring the trail/path remains a 10-foot multiuse path where shown.
Key site elements discussed with staff and the committee: - A fire-department-required vehicular turnaround and parking area near the Monon Trail; the applicant said that function and emergency access make some parking and turnaround geometry unavoidable and that they will screen parking with mounding and plantings. - A planned pocket park adjacent to the Monon Trail that will reuse limestone salvaged from a previous Monon bridge project and include interpretive signage. - Stormwater management using a combination of an on-site Best Management Practice (BMP) near the Monon and an off-site regional detention pond at Keystone and Smoky; engineering staff requested clarification on water-quality measures and native planting around the pond. - Architecture and material-detail questions on townhome facades and a large multifamily building, including treatments to break long facades, material transitions and consistency of lighting fixtures with Phase 1.
Director Mike Hollibaugh said staff and the applicant are largely aligned on the major items and that the remaining issues are detailed items that can be resolved in the weeks before the full Plan Commission meeting. "All the really big items, it appears as though we're all in agreement," Hollibaugh said; he urged continued staff–applicant work to finalize remaining details so construction can proceed this season where feasible.
Committee action: Commissioner Shannon moved to forward the Phase 2 site plan to the full Plan Commission with a favorable recommendation, subject to continued staff–applicant discussion and resolution of outstanding detailed items before or at the Plan Commission meeting. The motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Committee members noted that if unresolved items remain, the full Plan Commission may defer action to a future meeting without returning the file to committee.
Next steps: The applicant and planning staff will continue working through the outstanding architectural, landscape and engineering details; the file will appear on the full Plan Commission agenda (noted for May 20, 2025) with staff’s outstanding items summarized in the department report. If details cannot be resolved in time, the Plan Commission may defer final action.
Speakers for this topic included Justin Moffat (Old Town Companies), Alexia Lopez (Carmel Department of Community Services), Mike Hollibaugh (Director, Community Services), and committee members who asked procedural and design questions.
