The company, which specializes in apartment developments, wants to bring multifamily units, offices, retail and restaurants to the 900 block of Meridian Street. The largest building planned, 960 N. Meridian, will be a four-story property that will have retail on the main floor and 70 apartments on the top floors. The other new building would be a small out-lot-style retail structure, "something like a drive-thru bank," says Matt Griffin, development manager for the company. He says the company is in negotiations with an office-supply chain to take most of the main building's retail space. There's also about 1,600 sf of retail space available in the three-story Stokley-Van Camp building, where Buckingham is headquartered.
These projects are just the start, however, Griffin says. The firm also is looking to buy half a dozen more properties in this area bounded by Meridian and Pennsylvania streets, and 10th and Ninth streets, including the Master Glass sites now owned by FinishMaster Inc., and a six-story apartment building and parking lot owned by the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library system. The mostly vacant properties once housed a roller rink, a factory showroom and a car dealership. "We're working on several land schematics, but we don't know the details," Griffin tells GlobeSt.com. "We know it will be similar mixed-use properties, with office and retail, and upper floor apartments, but we don't know yet how many buildings we'll have."
He says the area, still north of the CBD, is in the path of future growth, and this mixed-use development will be perfect for newcomers to downtown living. "It's an exciting time for this type of property," Griffin says. "The trend nationally is for people to be moving back to the dense, urban lifestyle. You've got young professionals wanting to gravitate to a downtown, and empty-nesters doing the same thing. Plus, gas prices are in our favor, people don't want to drive far. Living above a deli or market is a big advantage these days."
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