Noblesville moves forward with redevelopment — cautiously

After years of focusing on development on the outskirts of the city, Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear is moving forward with plans to redevelop land near downtown.

Ditslear has announced a new park, river trail and incentives to lure a new corporate headquarters west of the White River from the city's bustling downtown. The mayor hopes private development will follow.

Some of his political opponents say the plans have been a long time coming. While Carmel, Fishers and Westfield have moved forward more aggressively with taxpayer-backed initiatives to redevelop their own urban cores, Ditslear and Noblesville have moved forward more cautiously.

The conservative approach has left the three-term mayor in a unique position in growing Hamilton County. While Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard and Westfield Mayor Andy Cook fended off challengers in the May 5 Republican primary who accused them of acting too aggressively with taxpayer money, Ditslear faced an altogether different type of criticism.

Businessman Mike Corbett accused the mayor of letting Noblesville fall behind. Other political opponents have accused him of spending too much time and money to build infrastructure to lure businesses — often retail chain stores — to the Ind. 37 shopping corridor and not enough to support the city's historic downtown.

Kurt Meyer, a real estate agent and community advocate for downtown redevelopment, is among those who think Ditslear has moved forward too cautiously.

Although he likes Ditslear's ideas west of the river, Meyer said city officials have been talking about redeveloping the area for years — but taking little action. He said Noblesville is losing out on the excitement that redevelopment plans are bringing in neighboring cities.

"This is stuff that we've been talking about for years," Meyer said. "Years. If Jim Brainard were mayor, it would all be finished."

Despite the criticism, Ditslear is on the path toward re-election in the Republican stronghold by soundly winning the party's primary.

Ditslear thinks moving cautiously with redevelopment was the correct approach. And he says he has been active, pointing out that the city has attracted $41 million in commercial development and 31 new businesses since he took office in 2004. Much of that is along major corridors, such as I-69, 146th Street and Ind. 37.

But as the mayor heads toward a fourth term, he is imagining a new beginning near downtown — one built around the needs of millennials, who Ditslear says want to live, work and play in an urbanized area.

"A lot of young people determine where they are going to live, and then they get the job," Ditslear said. "Cities therefore are really trying to be attractive for growth and have the trails and the parks and these gathering places."

First steps

Noblesville has long considered linking downtown to the land west of the White River, a hodgepodge of fast-food restaurants, houses, abandoned buildings and vacant land.

In 2008, the city paid $45,000 to Development Concepts Inc. to create a plan to develop land west of the river. Action steps over 20 years called for $24.6 million of public money to attract $238 million of private investment.

But the plan was largely shelved during the slow recovery after the recession.

Ditslear said times are still tough, but he thinks the city has the resources now to take a good look at improving the area through smaller steps. Private development, he thinks, is positioned to follow.

This summer, the city will begin construction on a park costing up to $10 million on land across Ind. 19, immediately west of the river. Ind. 19 will be converted into a parkway, with a grassy, tree-lined median and crosswalks.

Named after the former Federal Hill schoolhouse, Federal Hill Commons will include an amphitheater, a playground, a water feature and gathering space for community festivals, and a farmers market.

Hamilton County government and Noblesville also will continue to develop the Riverwalk trail along the White River. In 2016, they will use $1.8 million in federal funding to build a trail costing from $2.2 million to $2.4 million from Logan Street to Conner Street to Maple Street along the river.

Ditslear and county government, which has its offices in downtown Noblesville, also are discussing adding a trail across the White River to link downtown from Riverwalk trail to the new park.

Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt and Hamilton County Councilman Steve Schwartz said the talks are encouraging.

"There's commitment for both sides to make that happen and have some connectivity from the west side to the east side," Heirbrandt said.

New businesses

Ditslear wants to do more than build a park and trails to activate land west of the river.

The City Council on May 11 unanimously approved a healthy incentive package to lure a new corporate headquarters to the area.

BlueSky Technology Partners, a digital consulting and marketing firm, will build a $6 million, 40,000-square-foot facility at Ind. 32 and John Street, about two blocks west of the park.

BlueSky didn't come cheaply. The city approved a 20-year tax break for the company and will fund a $3.4 million incentive package to buy the land and improve the hilly site.

Ditslear, though, thinks Noblesville will come out ahead. BlueSky will still pay $100,000 a year in property taxes for the first 10 years of the deal and $150,000 a year for the remaining 10 years.

BlueSky also plans to lease 6,000 square feet of the building for a first-floor restaurant, which would pay about $45,000 a year in property taxes.

The tech firm will employ 75 to 85 workers, earning average pay of more than $90,000 annually.

Perhaps more significantly, BlueSky has agreed to work with the city to recruit more companies to build on underutilized land in the area. Ditslear has been reluctant to use eminent domain as a redevelopment tool, hoping the private sector will take the lead. Noblesville, though, did buy two lots for sale in the area.

Eric Warne, BlueSky's president and chief operating officer, said he likes the city's vision and will do what he can to help. The park, he said, was a crucial addition to attract the company and the people who work there, many of whom are millennials.

"From our perspective, the green space with the new Federal Hill park, that was really kind of the big draw," Warne said. "Being close to downtown, that was important, too."

Future plans more nebulous

Future phases of development west of the river are less clear.

City officials had been working with the Schwartz family on a deal that would have brought apartments or condos and a parking garage to land near the park — similar to a deal Mayor Scott Fadness brokered in the developing downtown of Fishers.

The Schwartzes planned to package land where they operate a trailer facility, plus a closed Ace Hardware store, Steve Schwartz said.

Those plans, though, fell through when Godby Home Furnishings moved into the former hardware store in July. That's where the parking garage would have gone.

Now, the city hopes that Riverview Hospital takes a lead in offering new lifestyle and living options in the area. The county-owned hospital bought the former Kahlo dealership along the river in 2006, planning a future medical center.

However, the hospital recently purchased an adjacent struggling 1970s-era retail center to the west, the Noblesville Square Shopping Center.

Ditslear hopes the hospital now expands medical services to the west and offers the riverfront property for development, potentially including retail, restaurants, apartments and condos.

Riverview President and Chief Executive Officer Pat Fox declined to be interviewed for this story. Spokeswoman Christin Barber said the hospital is supportive of the city's development but has no news to report on how it will develop the land it owns.

There's some indication Riverview plans to move forward sooner, rather than later, with development. The Noblesville Farmers' Market operates on the old Kahlo parking lot during summertime weekends, and organizers have been told they will have to find a new location some time after this year.

Ditslear has offered the park.

Looking ahead

Ditslear is unopposed in the general election and likely will begin his fourth term in January.

Noblesville will transition into a second-class city, which means he will have more authority over some city operations and the City Council will be expanded from seven members to nine.

He's not yet sure how that new dynamic will affect his plans, but he thinks the majority of council members will want to move forward. He has recruited several members to run over the years.

He hears critics who say he has moved too cautiously and too slowly with downtown redevelopment. But he said Noblesville has no plans to transform as quickly and completely as Carmel.

For one, the city already has a thriving downtown. For another, moving forward as aggressively as some of his counterparts in Hamilton County just isn't his style.

Ditslear said he wants to develop land west of the river, but it's a matter of making the finances work.

"We have to take advantage of the timing, and we want to do these things," he said. "We'd love to do more, but we have to live in our means."

Call Star reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich.