Austin Landing housing project estimated at $35M


IF YOU GO

WHAT: Miami Twp. zoning board meeting.

WHEN: 7 p.m. tonight.

WHERE: Miami Twp. Government Center, 2700 Lyons Road.

Construction on an estimated $35 million residential housing development with more than 270 units at Austin Landing is expected begin next spring.

The Flats at Austin Landing will be a four-story building featuring 274 upscale apartments, a four-story attached parking garage, an amenities center and two courtyards, one of which will a house a swimming pool, its developer said Monday.

The development is planned for 4.33 acres and will occupy a 242,000 square foot space south of the Hilton Garden Inn, said Dirk Beck, vice president of construction for The Fortus Group, an Indiana-based developer which will own and manage the project.

Plans for The Flats, which are scheduled to go before the township’s zoning board tonight, include some studio apartments, but the vast majority of the units will feature one and two bedrooms, he said.

“We’re gearing it toward young, upscale professionals,” Beck said. “There’s going to be a lot of amenities to it.”

Those amenities will include a 5,000 to 7,000 square foot center featuring a health club and a lounge area, Beck said. Plans call for the private parking garage to allow for 293 spaces with additional spaces to be shared with other Austin Landing businesses, he said.

Construction of The Flats will be done in phases, with the first expected to done by the spring of 2016. By that time, the amenities center and the courtyard are expected to be complete, Beck said. The estimated project completion date is the spring of 2017, he said.

While some specifics are still in the preliminary stages, plans call for the units to range in size from 500 to 1,100 square feet, said Kyle Hinkelman, Miami Twp.’s assistant director of planning and zoning.

About 53 percent of the units will be one bedroom while 41 percent will include two bedrooms, Hinkelman said. Plans call for 10 units to be 497 square feet, said township Planning and Zoning Director Chris Snyder, and will likely be used for “corporate housing.”

Specific price ranges have not been set, Beck said, but preliminary pricing calls for leases ranging from $800 to $1,675 a month. Plans call for a dog park and the development would be required to provide a connection to Austin Landing’s bicycle hub, Hinkelman said.

Leasing for the development, Beck said, will be handled by the Buckingham Companies, an Indianapolis commercial real estate firm. A preleasing process for anyone interested in living there is likely to start next year, he said.

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