Preliminary concept plan of Jacobi Legacy Farms, subject to change.
Provided image
McCORDSVILLE — An amendment to the Jacobi Legacy Farms planned unit development (PUD) was presented for discussion at the last plan commission meeting on January 16.
David Compton, vice president of land acquisition at Pulte Homes of Indiana, presented the updates to the board, which primarily focuses on the additions of a fifth district to the already proposed four. The other four would remain mostly unchanged, according to the staff report, with the new district having the addition of town homes and single family homes, such as cottages.
“This allows the transition of higher-to-lower density residential uses to remain in a west-to-east fashion, as originally intended by the PUD,” the staff reported. “McCord Square is directly west of this site, and it is important that we continue to place high-to-medium residential density in supporting locations around McCord Square.”
Compton said that with the 43 acres, there are not to exceed 365 combined units in the area.
The original PUD was approved back in November 2021, but since then Compton said it has been a complicated project and has been working with the staff of McCordsville on sewers and water roads for the project.
When looking at the PUD and the overall marketplace since being originally approved, Compton said the increase in cost for construction impacted the affordability of the homes and forced out a lot of potential buyers in the market.
“Now we anticipate starting in … all houses being in the $400,000s. This prices out many young professionals and other potential buyers who want to live in McCordsville but frankly just can’t do it right now,” said Compton at the meeting.
The site for Jacobi Legacy Farms is just east of the new town center development and just north of CR 700. Compton said that he believes it’s important to maintain the connectivity between the projects with the east/west boulevard. They also want to remain sensitive to the neighbors north of the site.
Compton said that the Jacobi family had been a part of Hancock County, owning the land proposed for this project since 1966. Compton has personally worked with the family in the 90s on a project in Hamilton County.
Melissa Gerard, manager of entitlements with Pulte Homes of Indiana, spoke to the board about the new addtions that are located on the southwest side of the site area. As far as streetscape, the single-family residences intended for that area will also have the same streetscape that appears along the boulevard.
Gerard also showed the plan commission sample elevations of the home designs with some that would have front porches. Gerard said the sample images were from a project in Georgia, and he was able to discover that the company, called Landscape Management Services (LMS) LLC, was also looking to expand its work in the Indianapolis area.
“They feature maintenance-free products. Their exteriors and — well the entire home actually — interior and exterior, the yards and the green spaces are all maintained by LMS,” said Gerard at the meeting.
Geard also said that LMS is an owner, meaning they are long-term, building to own. Gerard said these homes are aimed toward those who do not want maintenance anymore, such as empty-nesters, those who do not want stairs or those who don’t want the commitment to the home.
With LMS being mostly in the southeast, Gerard said their designs are more coastal in appearence, but would be working with their team to give a more midwestern look.
LMS would also have their own amenities added along with what was previously agreed to in the PUD in 2021.
Pricing would start at approximately $1,800 a month for a one bedroom, and work its way up to a three-bedroom cottage and three-bedroom town home of approximately $2,300-2,500 a month.
“There’s going to be high-end finishes, high-end architecture, high-end no maintenance yards, so I think it’s a really nice concept for a particular class of buyers,” said Gerard at the meeting.
Compton’s plan for the evening was to take notes and write down any questions, then to work on a revised plan and elevations before coming back to the plan commission for a recommendation at their February meeting.
Gerard spoke similarly, asking the board for a continuance because they know that there is a lot more work to be done with hopes of LMS to be able to be present at the next meeting to answer questions.
More information on the original PUD and the plan commission meeting can be found at mccordsville.org.
