Plan commission committee approves Lifestyle Group exterior remodel on Rangeline Road

The Carmel Plan Commission Committee as a Whole on May 6 approved an exterior-remodel plan for a Lifestyle Group showroom at the corner of Rangeline Road and Winona.

The approval will let the Lifestyle Group, led by owner Jeff Warren, add large storefront windows and a Rangeline-facing entrance, create a small patio and add two signs and bike racks. The changes are intended to increase the building’s visibility along the Rangeline Road overlay.

The project matters because the building — a former law firm turned engineering office — sits in the Rangeline Road Overlay District and the owner said he wants the exterior to match the district’s storefront character and attract more foot traffic. "We want to make it a remodeling showroom... open up the views and make it kind of conform a little bit more with what's going on in the Rangeline Overlay District," said Jeff Warren, owner of the Lifestyle Group.

Carmel Planning and Zoning staff member Christina Jesse told the committee the proposed changes "do comply with the overlay's architecture standards" and recommended approval "contingent upon finalizing any outstanding review comments in project docs." The department noted planned landscaping, a sidewalk connection from the Rangeline multiuse path to the new entrance, removal of existing shutters and upgraded signage as part of the work.

Project details presented to the committee included placement of a wall sign on an existing gable, a monument sign in the yard as a second sign allowed by zoning, two bike racks ordered by the applicant, and a patio area just off Rangeline. Warren said the applicant will keep existing mature trees and will install a direct sidewalk connection from the Rangeline multipath to the new front door.

Committee action: a committee member moved to approve the application "pending any outstanding items to be addressed in project docs," the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the public discussion; the approval was conditioned on the applicant finalizing outstanding review comments with planning staff.

Under the committee’s action, the applicant will finalize project documentation with planning staff and proceed through required permitting and sign-permit review. Planning staff’s continued checklist items must be satisfied before permits are issued.

Speakers who addressed this project included Jeff Warren, owner, Lifestyle Group; Christina Jesse, Carmel Planning and Zoning (department representative); Aliza Shalott, sign permit specialist (Planning & Zoning); and a committee member identified as Counselor, who moved approval.

The committee’s approval advances the project toward permit review; the applicant must complete the outstanding project documents cited by planning staff before work may begin.