Council approves 264-unit workforce housing project on Burkhart Road with development commitments

The Evansville Common Council on March 31 adopted an amended rezoning ordinance that clears the way for a multi-family residential development at 3200 North Burkhart Road.

Area Plan Commission staff and the developer said the project would add workforce-affordable housing near the I-69 corridor and include commitments to limit impacts on adjacent neighborhoods.

The ordinance and use-and-development commitments were presented to the council by Cassie Virgen of the Area Plan Commission, who said the APC recommended approval by a 7-0 vote. Developer representatives described revised commitments that, according to APC staff, were filed before final reading and limit the site’s uses to multifamily residential, prohibit mobile home parks, cap building height at 60 feet (three stories), require screening for dumpsters, provide a tree buffer and fencing along the southern property line, limit construction hours, and require a traffic-impact study to inform access decisions.

Mike Schaubmeyer, representing the applicant, told the council the UDC had been negotiated with neighbors and that the developer had filed a revised UDC. He described the project as workforce-affordable housing and said the developer is applying for state funding (including REDI and the Indiana Housing Authority) to support the development. Jerry Burgess of Marion Development Group said the company had commissioned a housing study and found a significant need for units in Evansville.

Council members who spoke in the meeting praised the applicant’s engagement with neighbors and the concessions in the UDC. No public remonstration was raised at the council meeting. On a roll call vote the ordinance was adopted unanimously: nine ayes and zero nays.

Next steps described by the applicant include pursuing financing and state housing authority review; construction timing will depend on final funding and permitting.