New neighborhood, park proposed

A new park could be added to the southeast side of Greenwood, along with more than 150 townhouses as part of a recently proposed new development.

If the property east of U.S. 31, between Stop 18 and Worthsville roads sounds familiar, that’s because this is the second proposal for a new development there in the past six months.

A previous attempt by Westport Homes to develop a 130-home neighborhood geared toward residents age 55 and older at the 40-acre site was rejected by the Greenwood City Council last year, but this next try will give the city something they’ve been wanting — a new park. City officials also had discussed buying the property and developing a park there, since the area around the property is developed with homes and the closest park is a mile away and requires crossing U.S. 31, which doesn’t have pedestrian crossings. But that proposal never materialized after Westport Homes stepped in to consider purchasing the land.

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Under the new plans proposed by Westport Homes, in addition to one- and two-story townhouses, the new neighborhood would also include 18 acres of land that would be given to the city to be developed into a park.

The 18 acres of park land was not something that had been negotiated with the city, Greenwood Planning Director Bill Peeples said.

Greenwood City Council president Mike Campbell described the new proposal by Westport Homes as interesting, but said he would need to learn more about what the developer is planning before he decides if he will support the rezoning request.

In August, city council members cited a variety of reasons for opposing the rezoning, including the proposed lot and home sizes were too small and others felt the land should be used for a park instead. Residents spoke against the project, saying they felt the area was more appropriate for a park and expressing concerns about increased traffic and more children in local schools.

The new proposal increased the number of homes on the property. Now, a mix of one- and two-story buildings would contain 156 townhouses. The two- and three-bedroom townhouses would range from 1,050 square feet to 1,600 square feet and would each have an attached, two-car garage, according to documents filed with the city by Westport Homes.

Construction of the neighborhood, to be named Fieldstone, is planned to take four to five years, with work being done in two phases of about 80 townhouses each, the documents said.

If a development plan for the neighborhood is approved, Westport Homes would give the city about 18 acres of land on the southeast portion of the property to be used for a public park, the documents said.

Greenwood Parks and Recreation Director Rob Taggart said it was too early to comment on the specific proposal, but said that area has a shortage of park land.

A donation of park land is unusual, but happened once before when Noblesville-based developer C.P. Morgan donated 43 acres of park land to Greenwood in 2004 while developing the 985-home University Park subdivision, off Main Street west of Graham Road. In that instance, the developer also paid for park equipment to be installed. In exchange for donating the park land, C.P. Morgan was not required to pay recreation impact fees, which the city charges to developers to fund the creation of new parks. Should the Fieldstone project go forward, that could be an option for them as well, Peeples said.

Before the proposal is considered by the city council, it will need to first be approved by the city’s technical review committee and the plan commission, Peeples said.