A high-level unoccupied asset at Fishers, which in the past was reserved for a $500 million mixed-use development, is under a new owner, but the question of what will be built there, which has been going on for decades, remains undecided. .
According to President Chris Reid, Indianapolis-based CRG Residential purchased acres west of the northwest corner of 96th Street and Allisonville Road in Fishers about six weeks ago.
Although Reid refused to provide acquisition value or express percentage plans, he said he was confident that CRG could progress where a former owner, also a developer based in Indianapolis, might not do so.
“I wouldn’t have acquired it if I didn’t have the ability to execute,” Reid said. “We’re just looking to figure out what we think we can do to increase its value. We are still in the early stages of developing our plan.”
Center Properties, founded in Indianapolis, first focused in the 1990s and announced plans for high-rise offices and condominiums, townhomes, businesses and restaurants.
The project, called RiverPlace, was riddled with obstacles. The Center has spent years seeking to alleviate considerations about the effect of progression on the adjacent White River and major roads.
In 2007, the Center changed its plans and was approved to build 600,000 square feet of commercial space, 1,000 luxury condos, two hotels and 300,000 square feet of superior workspace. But the assignment sta highlighted the recession.
Las Vegas-based Beal Bank, which lent millions to the project, took over in 2017 after winning a $15 million ruling opposite the Center’s CEO, Craig Johnson.
Fritz Kauffman, CEO of cushman and Wakefield Commercial Real Estate Services, helped facilitate CRG’s land acquisition in mid-June. He said the company planned to expand what it could just before inviting outside expanders to complete what’s left.
“There will be about 20 acres that we will market for progression projects,” Kauffman said.
CRG Residential has built a number of major housing assignments in the Indianapolis market, and the company is recently arriving at Nickel Plate Station in downtown Fishers. This assignment will come with 237 apartments, 10,500 square feet of advertising area and a 337-seat garage when completed.
While CRG Residential will likely bring homes to the 96th Street site, Kauffman said Center Properties is leaving the door open to high probabilities by ensuring that zoning allows multifamily, commercial and other uses.
“The (development of the existing planned unit) that is in position is likely to be maintained. There may be some adjustments, but it’s quite wide,” Kauffman said.
Meanwhile, curious neighbors are what will include CRG’s plans.
“All you do is win and cut a little. That’s it,” Reid said. “It will take time to expand a game plan. We’ve had it for about six weeks, but it can take a year or more.”
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