Reimagining Range Line Road

May/June 2023

For nearly three decades, the city of Carmel, under Mayor Brainard’s leadership, has been actively involved in various development and redevelopment projects to enhance its infrastructure and promote economic growth. Range Line Road is one of the major thoroughfares in Carmel, and the city has been focused on improving its transportation network.

In addition to other significant road improvement projects, including roundabouts, widening roads, adding bike lanes, and improving pedestrian walkways to make Carmel an even more walkable city, Carmel Monthly is pleased to feature some of the most notable improvements and redevelopment projects that have and continue to transform Range Line Rd.

The Range Line Diet

We sat down with Carmel Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Henry Mestetsky, who discussed the variety of projects that are redesigning these specific gateways that lead to the city’s central core.

“I think it’s worth prefacing this by saying that without the mayor [Jim Brainard] doing the Range Line Rd. diet, none of this would have been possible. Before that, Range Line Rd. was seen as just another way to get from North to South, and it had a very suburban, outlot retail feel. It wasn’t a place that people could imagine as a walkable, vibrant environment.”

Mestetsky continued, “As part of doing redevelopment projects and creating these redevelopment districts up and down Range Line, I think slimming it down with the road diet and with the roundabouts is what allows people to imagine this is a place they can live and walk safely. And though Range Line still moves traffic efficiently, it is safer for people driving and walking along it because cars aren’t going 50 miles per hour anymore, trying to race to get to the next [traffic] light.”

A Few Notable Redevelopment Projects

The Muse

The Muse [formerly The Corner] is a $69-million mixed-use project consisting of approximately 285 luxury apartments, 25,000 square feet of office/retail space and a free 364-space public parking garage. Future commercial taxes from the project (TIF) are being used to construct the public parking garage, utility relocations and streetscape improvements.

The CRC is partnering with Kite Realty Group on the development of this project.

Location: SW corner of 116th Street and S Range Line Rd.

“What’s now called the Muse project is creating another gateway from the South and is under construction,” Mestetsky said. “You can already see changes happening there. This project will provide free public parking and trailhead access to our Central Park. If you don’t want to drive all the way to Central Park, you can park in that garage and start your Central Park journey from there. It’s another benefit that the public gets from having these kinds of projects.”

Mestetsky mentioned that another non-CRC redevelopment project will be coming to the southeast corner, where the gas station used to be. Details on that specific project will come at a later time.

Proscenium and Proscenium II

“Going northbound from this reimagined gateway, there are a lot of things happening around the Proscenium,” Mestetsky shared. “The Proscenium is almost complete, and there’s actually a new restaurant concept coming to the Proscenium Green — pending final city approval. The concept is for it to be an [upscale] steakhouse and ice cream shop. And moving diagonally from Proscenium to the old Walgreen’s site is another exciting project called Proscenium II. The seven owner-occupied condos are currently for sale.”

Proscenium II is an $18-million mixed-use development that includes seven owner-occupied flats/condos, 48 luxury apartments, 15,000 square feet of office/retail and a 120-space free public parking garage.

The Carmel Redevelopment Commission is partnering with Novo Development on the development of this project.

Location: 1215 S. Range Line Rd.

Civic Square Parking Garage

“Continuing northbound along Range Line Rd. is the new courthouse and CPD extension project,” Mestetsky said. “The CRC has built a new Civic Square Parking Garage just behind the old Spaghetti Factory. We’ve transformed former city parking lots that didn’t pay any taxes, put those cars in parking garages, and built an urban neighborhood. We’ve also built the most high-tech parking garage that we’ve ever built. It also has incredible art murals on its east and south sides, done by local artist Nancy Keating. If you drive by there now, you’ll see that the north and west sides are bare. It’s going to be wrapped by 24 for-sale condos that are going to wrap the garage. The construction should start on those later this year.”

The garage offers electric vehicle charging stations, a solar canopy interconnected to offset the power consumption in the garage, and security cameras. Further, it has integrated LED lighting and camera technology that shows drivers where spots are open and exterior signs that indicate the number of available spots. The garage includes a covered public bike storage and service area.

Construction commenced in January 2022, and the garage opened in July 2022.

The Wren and The Windsor

Pedcor’s City Center’s last two remaining buildings are under construction and will complete the 10-plus-year plan. The Wren and Windsor buildings are part of Phase Two of work on Carmel City Center, which includes apartments, shops, restaurants and the Veterans Way Garage.

The Windsor building will be located just east of Carter Green and south of Hotel Carmichael, with the Wren building to the east of the hotel.

The Wren Building will house 78 apartment units across 23 different unit types. The development includes a mail kiosk, a bicycle storage room and public lobbies. The lower level will be leased out to commercial retail tenants.

The Windsor project consists of approximately 10,000 square feet of leasable commercial space on the ground floor and 30 luxury apartment units on floors two through four. The Windsor will sit along the Monon Trail, providing easy access to all shops and restaurants around the Carmel City Center.

Mestetsky added, “We get to see the final two pieces complete the grand vision that has been very transformative for the city.”

Magnolia and Mélange Projects

Carmel Monthly has previously featured the Magnolia and the Melange projects in previous issues, but both are contributing to the overall redevelopment of Range Line Rd.

Magnolia is a multi-phase development that will include six condominium buildings with five units per building, for a total of 30 for-sale condos, and multi-family residential.

The CRC contributed the land for the development of this project and is partnering with Old Town Companies on this project.

Location: SE corner of City Center Drive and S Range Line Rd.

Mélange is a $30-million residential project that includes 45 for-sale luxury townhomes and 12 for-sale flats along the Monon Greenway.

This project broke ground in the spring of 2021. The CRC is partnering with Onyx + East on the development of this project.

Location: Veterans Way and Monon Green Boulevard

The LOR/1933 Project  

The LOR/1933 project is a $30-million, three-story, mixed-use development that will include 43,000 square feet of office/retail, including the 1933 Lounge, and a for-sale residential component. This mixed-use development further enhances the development along Range Line Rd. in the Arts & Design District.

The Carmel Redevelopment Commission is partnering with LOR Corporation on the development of this project.

Location: 111 South Range Line Rd., at the southeast corner of S Range Line Rd. and 1st Street SE

“The 1933 Lounge will take up the majority of the first floor, and there’ll be other retail on the first floor,” Mestetsky said. “It will be under construction this year and is scheduled to be completed in 2025.”

1st on Main Project

1st on Main is a 1.7-acre, mixed-use development located on the first historic lots, 1 to 4, of the original town of Bethlehem, located at the northeast corner of Main Street and Range Line Rd. This $40-million project will include 35 apartments; eight two-story, for-sale condominiums; a 310-space public parking garage; and a four-story, 73,000-square-foot office building with first-floor restaurant space and a private rooftop terrace. This project will also include a community gathering plaza featuring the city’s Rotary Clock.

The Carmel Redevelopment Commission is partnering with Lauth Group, Inc. on the development of this project. 1st on Main broke ground in late 2021 and is expected to be complete by late summer 2023.

Location: NE corner of Main Street and Range Line Rd.

“This has been in the works for a long time, and it’s been a part of the mayor’s vision to transform that corner,” Mestetsky stated. “It is the heart of our historic Main Street. It was the town of Bethlehem’s first gathering point and commercial point, and it will continue to be a gathering point for daytime employees and evening residents while supporting the small businesses all around Main Street. The completion of 1st on Main is expected to wrap up later this year.”

Monon Square Project

Another notable redevelopment project that the CRC is excited to get underway is the Monon Square project.

“The northern half of Monon Square will have [luxury] apartments and for-sale condos,” Mestetsky explained. “There will be several destination restaurants, and Salon 01 is moving their new location into that project. Essentially, if you can imagine diving Monon Square into four quadrants, the two northern quadrants will stretch from the Monon itself over to Range Line Rd.”

Mestetsky shared that while many details are still under development at this time, he projected that the northern half of the project is anticipated to have a two-year construction timeline, and the southern half is a few more years out.

For more details on CRC projects, past and present, visit choosecarmelin.com.

Writer:

Janelle Morrison

Photography:

Courtesy of CRC