SCP Starts First Phase of $200M Mixed-Use

INDIANAPOLIS-Strategic Capital Partners LLC has teamed up with the city and other developers to create the 100-acre Avondale Meadows mixed-use project, which is expected to cost up to $200 million. The project is a redevelopment of a downtrodden, existing low-income housing site.

The Chicago-based firm recently broke ground on the first development at the site, a 248-unit apartment complex called East Village. The apartments are a joint venture of SCP, the Sterling Group, the Meadows Community Foundation and the city. Sterling was brought on because of the company’s experience with apartment housing, says Mike Higbee, managing director of SCP’s Urban Development Group.

The city helped acquire the land and provided funds from the federal government’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program for the construction of East Village and the demolition, earlier this year, of Timber Ridge Apartments at the site. “This site at one time held a shopping center and a significant amount of low-income housing that became an eyesore. Much of that housing is now down, and we’re replacing it with a master-planned redevelopment that will include housing and retail,” Higbee tells GlobeSt.com.

Plans for Avondale Meadows include 150,000 square feet of retail, including a supermarket, and up to 900 apartments and single-family homes (with some units reserved for seniors). The property will also have parks, athletic fields and charter schools, as well as a community center that will include a health clinic, a YMCA and rooms for community groups and non-profit agencies.

Higbee says the plan is to turn the area into a safe, sustainable and environmentally-friendly neighborhood. “We know from a service standpoint that there is significant demand for housing and retail. We think the market is ready for this. We’ve talked to two-to-three anchor grocery stores that have indicated an interest. We hope the project will also spur some spin-off development,” Higbee says.

He says it will likely take five-to-eight years to complete Avondale Meadows, starting with East Village. The apartment complex will include green spaces, a fitness center and a pool, with rents ranging from $280 to $710. About 70% will be reserved for tenants who meet low-to-moderate income requirements, and the rest will be available at market rates.