Former Carmel mayor presents master plan for Prospect’s Head property

Jim Brainard, a consultant and former mayor of Carmel, presented a completed master plan for Prospect’s 20–30 acre Head property and urged a walkable, mixed‑use downtown built at a ‘gentle density’ of about three to five stories with hidden or underground parking paid for through tax‑increment financing (TIF).

The plan, presented at a joint meeting of the Prospect City Architectural Review Committee and City Council, shows a main street with ground‑floor retail, a town green and amphitheater, and a mix of single‑family houses, townhomes and multifamily buildings. Robert Jacob, chairman of the committee, opened the meeting and said the committee is advisory to the council and is soliciting community input as the plan moves toward zoning and implementation.

Brainard pointed to his experience in Carmel and described how denser, walkable development can generate the tax revenue needed to finance public amenities and structured parking. “You need to go a little higher to create the tax revenue to do that,” Brainard said, explaining that the increase in assessed value from redevelopment can be bonded against to pay for garages and streetscape improvements. He illustrated the approach with Carmel examples and technical touches such as narrower blocks (about 400–450 feet) and parallel parking to calm traffic and make sidewalks feel safer for pedestrians.

Why it matters: the plan defines the city’s opportunity to shape how the Head property is developed rather than leaving decisions entirely to market forces. Brainard said zoning changes will be required and that the developer currently under contract will not close until zoning and financing work is completed; the city will also hire fiscal advisers and bond counsel to size potential TIF bonds.

Committee and council members generally praised the approach. A committee member with decades of architecture experience told the panel the plan ‘‘makes all sense’’ for the site and welcomed the mix of housing types and small retail opportunities. Mayor Doug Barnsley reminded the public that the council would not take action in this meeting but that committee action remained possible as the process moves forward.

Environmental and design concerns surfaced in public comment. Kristen Forrest, president and CEO of Riverfields (which owns and manages a nearby nature preserve), urged that the project protect the floodplain and Harrods Creek and recommended hiring a landscape architect to ensure ecological sensitivity. “We care very deeply about the flood plain and the ecology of the flood plain, Harrods Creek,” Forrest said, urging careful design that reduces driving and protects habitat. Brainard and the team said the plan preserves a large portion of green space (roughly 40 percent of the site was cited in discussion), that federal and local flood maps were used in siting, and that some mature canopy and flood‑prone areas are intended to remain largely undisturbed.

Wes Johnson of Westcott Development, the developer under contract for the site, said the firm is local and committed to an iterative, public process; he noted some of the site’s mature trees and low‑lying floodplain areas will remain intact and that specialists including landscape‑architecture and habitat consultants will be engaged. Johnson also emphasized the value of small retail spaces lining the street rather than large national retail pads.

Next steps and public access: Brainard said there are multiple planning phases ahead — from the massing study to detailed architectural design — and that there will be numerous public hearings. City staff and the mayor said the plan is available on the city website and that staff will convene follow‑up meetings with neighborhood groups; the developer and certain city staff offered to meet with homeowners associations. The council did not vote on the plan. The committee approved routine minutes from the previous meeting by voice vote, and the meeting adjourned after public comment.

The committee and project team said they will continue outreach, prepare zoning code changes for review, engage fiscal advisers on potential TIF structures, and schedule the required public hearings before any final approvals or developer closings occur.