FORTVILLE — A developer is scaling down a proposed housing and commercial project for Fortville after previous plans drew public backlash for being too dense, too tall and lacking parking.
Forza Development had wanted to construct two buildings on about two acres along the 400 block of East Broadway Street and on a former car wash property to its northeast across Elm Street.
One of the buildings was to be three stories tall and about 43,000 square feet with 40 workforce housing apartments and potentially 2,500 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. The other building would have been two stories and a little more than 13,000 square feet with five market-rate apartments upstairs and commercial space on the first floor — possibly a restaurant. Plans called for almost 90 parking spaces, but included surrounding street parking.
The property is a block or so from the Fortville-Vernon Township Public Library.
Joy Skidmore of Single Source Real Estate Services, representing Forza, said at Monday’s Fortville Town Council meeting that the project team has been reevaluating the site plan over the past month. They’ve been applying what she identified as three main concerns arising from the public over the former proposal — a lack of support for affordable housing at the location, sentiments that three stories is too tall and what many felt to be a lack of proposed parking.
Skidmore said the team is now considering decreasing the majority of the project from three stories to two stories with retail on the first floor and only market-rate apartments above.
“We do still have one three-story building that we’re kind of playing with,” Skidmore said. “If we can lower it to two stories, we’ll definitely lower all of it but we’re playing with numbers to make sure we can still make a viable project.”
The decrease in density will result in more parking spaces compared to the former plan, Skidmore continued.
Before going back to the drawing board, Forza was originally hoping for the town council’s final approval last month on its former plan. The developer had intended to make the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s July 29 application deadline for tax credits to help fund the project. Those tax credits are part of Fortville, Greenfield and Hancock County’s award from the state’s Stellar Communities program. Forza’s proposal for Fortville was part of the communities’ Stellar application, although it evolved from the original idea as time went on.
If the project came to fruition, Forza’s Fortville workforce housing units would have been rented to tenants based on an income scale.
Now that market rate is the only kind of housing Forza is considering for the site, the firm won’t be able to apply for tax credits in the future to help fund the project.
Skidmore sought a vote from the town council Monday to allow the Fortville Design Review Board, which advises the council, to reconsider the soon-to-be revamped proposal. Then it would go before the town council and Hancock County Plan Commission for its needed approvals. She said she expects the new plan to be ready for a community meeting within the next four to six weeks.
Town council members voted unanimously to table the request and allow town attorney Christina Bruno to research whether Forza can return to the town’s design review board or if it needs to file a new petition with the Hancock County Planning and Building Departments.
Town councilman Tim Hexamer, who supported Forza’s former idea, told the Daily Reporter that he’s looking forward to seeing what the developer comes up with.
“I’m happy to hear they’re coming back,” Hexamer said.
Councilman Michael Frischkorn, who also supported the former plan, said he hopes Forza does a better job of communicating its idea to the public, which he felt was lacking and rushed during the first go-around.
Cindy and Gene Akers, a Fortville couple who lives near the proposed project site and who opposed Forza’s former plan, told the Daily Reporter that they like what they’ve heard so far.
“I’m pleased to see they’re not going to put too much into that small space,” Cindy said.
