GREENFIELD – The Greenfield City Council threw its support behind a proposed downtown development at its April 24 council meeting, agreeing to donate about 2½ acres of city-owned property for mix-use development northeast of Pennsylvania and Osage streets by the Pennsy Trail.
The council passed a resolution approving the transfer of roughly 2½ acres of city-owned property to TRG Development, a Muncie-based company which proposes building a mixed-use development and structured parking garage spanning two city blocks somewhere between South Street to the north, Mount Street to the east, Osage Street to the south and Pennsylvania Street to the west – an area which encompasses part of the Pennsy Trail and the current Team Image sports apparel shop.
Councilman Thomas Moore said the final details of the plan are yet to be determined.
“Right now this is all in the developmental stage. We’re just snowballing ideas,” said Moore, a downtown Greenfield investor and part-owner in The Depot Restaurant, who said he has a “small partnership” in the proposed development project.
With Moore recused from Wednesday’s vote, the council voted 5-0 to support the development, which could consist of approximately 176 apartment units, 16,500 square feet of retail/commercial space and 380 parking spaces, including a structured parking garage.
Where exactly that development lands within the defined area remains to be seen, but it could potentially include a new parking garage where a city parking lot now sits on the southeast corner of South and Pennsylvania streets.
Mayor Guy Titus said he thinks a mixed use development could be a great boon to downtown Greenfield.
“Everybody is doing it these days, why couldn’t Greenfield be a part of that?” he said. “If a developer comes here wanting to spend money and enhance our downtown with some nice apartments and retail, I think it would be great.”
The resolution that passed Wednesday states that “the city will use its best efforts to issue economic development revenue bonds to fund the construction of the structured parking garage and for the project,” and that constructing the project in the city’s downtown “will provide additional job opportunities, assist in the retention and expansion of significant business enterprises in the City, increase the level and diversity of the tax base and enhance the City’s efforts for downtown revitalization, creating a vibrant, active community with a central business core, all of which are of public utility and benefit to the citizens of the city.”
The resolution went on to state that “encouraging economic development in the downtown central business core will assist in stabilizing existing downtown businesses, promote new investment in the downtown central business core and improve the overall quality of the downtown central business core.”
Moore, who grew up in Greenfield, said the proposed development is exactly what downtown Greenfield needs in terms of housing, parking and retail offerings.
Continuing to cultivate the downtown area will create a positive ripple effect for downtown businesses, he said.
Moore recalled a recent night when nearly 40 people were gathered around the bar at The Depot, not a single one from Greenfield, which he said demonstrates the downtown’s commercial draw.
“I think (developments like this) help bring money to the downtown and the city,” he said.
Both he and Titus reiterated that the proposed project is in the early developmental phases, and it would likely take many months to get to the point of breaking ground.
“There’s going to be hookup fees and all kinds of things we’re going to be negotiating and working on, so it could be a year-long process. There’s a lot to cover,” said Titus.
The proposed development has a lot of amenities Greenfield residents have been asking for, said the mayor, including increased retail offerings, parking and affordable housing.
“I’d love to see local businesses taking advantage of this space and see people out walking and riding their bikes, enjoying all downtown Greenfield has to offer,” he said.
Tyler Ridge II, president of TRG Development, said he’s excited about what the new development could mean for the area.
Now that the council has approved the initial proposal, he said his company will be pursuing READI 2.0 funds from the Indiana Economic Development Council to get the biggest bang for their buck on the project.
READI (Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative) will dedicate $500 million in state appropriations to promote strategic investments to make Indiana a magnet for talent and economic growth.
“Applications are due in May so I’ll know a lot more” this summer in terms of financing, said Ridge. “The details of the project are up in the air because we don’t know how much money we’re going to come up with. For now we’re just kind of brainstorming ways to get mixed use development in downtown Greenfield.”
Ridge said homes east of Mount Street – a north/south alleyway between Pennsylvania Street and State Road 9 – are not within the footprint of the proposed development plan.
