Indianapolis-based Arbor Homes is looking to develop a maximum of 467 houses near the southeast corner of County Roads 800W and 600N in Hancock County.
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HANCOCK COUNTY — A home-builder wants to bring more than 400 new houses to the northwestern part of the county.
About a quarter of the proposed neighborhood would consist of properties the developer wants to make affordable for first-time home-buyers. That prospect intrigues officials, who recognize the lack and need for such accommodations in the county. But it also exemplifies their struggle to balance a desire for high design standards with lower sales prices.
Indianapolis-based Arbor Homes is eyeing 140 acres near the southeast corner of County Roads 800W and 600N for a maximum of 467 lots.
Called Magnolia Manor, the proposed community would consist of two product types. One would be 339 of the developer’s Arbor product, it’s traditional single-family home with minimum livable floor areas of 1,400 square feet for a single-story and 1,800 for multi-story.
Then there’d be 128 of Arbor Homes’ new Genesis product, with minimum livable floor areas of 1,100 square feet for two-stories and 1,850 for three-stories. Genesis is designed in a “cluster-style” layout with four to 10 detached homes arranged around a shared motor court. Each home comes with a private yard and attached two-car garage. They’re designed around the same floor footprint to increase construction efficiency and decrease development costs.
“The Genesis line of homes was created as a first-time home-buyer product to fill a growing gap in housing inventory,” states a letter of intent for Magnolia Manor that Arbor Homes filed with the county.
Caitlin Dopher, senior entitlement manager for Arbor Homes, said in an informal presentation about the Genesis line before the Hancock County Board of Commissioners in January that the company’s goal is to make the homes available for under $200,000.
Magnolia Manor would also have a trail system, pool, pool-house and playground, according to Arbor Homes’ proposal.
The developer is asking the county to rezone the land to a planned unit development, which would establish specific development standards upon the approval of county leaders.
Mike Dale, executive director of the Hancock County Plan Commission, supports the proposal. While the county’s comprehensive plan calls for housing in the area with a lower density than what Arbor Homes is pitching, Dale noted what the developer is asking for isn’t much different from existing neighborhoods nearby. He added the site is bordered by major collector roads intended to serve higher traffic volumes.
Magnolia Manor’s proposed minimum lot widths and front and side-yard setbacks are smaller than what the county typically allows, however, and Dale recommends that those be increased before the plan commission gives any kind of positive recommendation on the project.
The proposal renews county leaders’ dilemma of wanting strong design standards, which increase home costs, as more warehouses get built in the county creating jobs that don’t pay enough to afford such houses.
“We want to eliminate vinyl (siding), we’re concerned about super high density, we’re concerned about cheap homes,” Dale said. “On the other hand, all these industrial buildings are coming here; we need affordable housing. And prohibiting or outlawing vinyl, requiring huge setbacks … that all adds to the price of homes. So how are we going to provide affordable housing if we’re going to keep on raising our standards?”
Vinyl siding is listed among the proposed design standards for Magnolia Manor.
Michael Long, a plan commission member, said it may take some government-led motivation to strike the balance they seek with residential developers.
“If we want the house to cost $200,000 but we want it to be on a 65-foot lot, we got to figure out a way to incentivize them to build that,” Long said. “I just always kind of grimace when I see ‘affordable housing,’ because it’s become an oxymoron.”
Renee Oldham, a plan commission member who also serves as director of the Mt. Vernon Education Foundation, said she has concerns about lower-costing homes becoming rental properties and increasing transience, which can strain school systems.
Oldham, who also formerly chaired the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, added that she feels the area lacks capital infrastructure for first-time home-buyers, like down payment assistance programs.
“Once you open the floodgate for development that is substandard, you will get all kinds of stuff that you don’t want,” Oldham said. “So I think it’s great to start out with high standards, and to be able to attract the right kind of investment into your community versus taking anything that you can get just because you need to fill a gap.”
Byron Holden, also a plan commission member, suggested there could be a practical reason for loosening some standards as he looks at the economy.
“In 2008 we had a recession; it took about 12 years to recover from it,” Holden said. “I know we got this big boom going on in the one corner of the county, but typically we don’t go out of our way to raise a whole lot of standards, especially when we might be headed into another recession.”
The town of McCordsville, whose southern border spans just north of the Magnolia Manor site, opposes the proposal. A letter to the county signed by McCordsville Town Council President Tom Strayer calls out the Genesis product.
“While we certainly understand the want and need for entry-level homes in our shared Hancock County community, we do not feel this is the right location,” the letter states.
It wouldn’t blend in with the existing larger residential lots in the area, the letter continues, adding the town has concerns the neighborhood would prompt similar proposals nearby.
The county plan commission is slated to consider Magnolia Manor at its May meeting, during which members would vote on a recommendation for the proposed rezone to the county commissioners.
