Avon Town Council approves Satori Pointe project

AVON, Ind. (WISH) — The Avon Town Council voted and passed the Satori Pointe project Thursday night. The vote was unanimous after Greg Zusan recused himself from the vote.

The same town council voted down a similar proposal in April. They were set to vote on this measure on Oct. 13, but had to cancel the meeting due to lack of quorum.

• Avon apartment proposal stirs controversy over school money
• Avon Town Council rejects 270-apartment plan at Satori Pointe
• Developer presents new proposal for Avon’s Satori Pointe property
• Satori Pointe vote postponed due to anticipated lack of quorum at Avon Town Council meeting

The apartment complex would be built at Satori Pointe, on the land in front of the Hendricks Regional Health YMCA.

The property is part of a 25-year TIF district, which allowed Hendricks Regional Health to invest about $5 million to develop the infrastructure and build the facility for the YMCA about eight years ago. Within a TIF district tax dollars do not pass through the entities like the schools, libraries, police and fire departments.

Some worry building any residential units there would have a negative financial impact on the Avon Community School District, because it could increase the student population without any additional tax dollars.

In a statement Avon Community School Board president Kim Woodward told 24-Hour News 8:

 “The ACSC board is always interested in growth in our community. Growth, and the new enrollment it brings, help our schools stay strong. Funding for schools such as Avon has been reduced due to tax caps over the past seven years and we take every opportunity to do more with less. In this vein, our board opposes residential development in TIF districts because it curtails transportation and other funding. We remain open to any discussion that might alleviate this funding shortfall.”

By that Woodward, is referring to a monetary offer from one of the two parties involved in the property, either the owner Hendricks Regional Health or the developer proposing the project, CRG Residential of Carmel, but HRH said it’s already expecting to take a loss on the sale of the property.

“This is not a windfall for the hospital, by any stretch. Our main concern is what project can we put into Satori Pointe that, first of all, we would be proud of as an organization, because it is our property. It’s our dirt, so to speak. And then what the community would be proud of and what they would need and I think the CRG Project, that is going to the town council, I think it fits that bill,” said Gary Everling, Hendricks Regional Health vice president and chief strategy officer.

CRG Residential refused to comment on the proposal or pending vote at all, but Avon schools officials said the company did offer the district $55,000 to help off-set the loss of funding through the TIF district.

 “While we appreciated the offer it did not mitigate the multi-year impact of lost property taxes. As we are taking the same policy stance in Plainfield with our objection to residences in TIFs there, we could not accept this offer,” said school spokeswoman Stacey Forcey-Moore in a statement to 24-Hour News 8.

Still the Avon planning commission and HRH said the CRG project is a win-win for those concerned about the school district.

The original plan for the property was to build 160 apartments without any bedroom cap along with retail space along U.S. Highway 36. CRG wants to build more units, 270 luxury apartments, but with a two-bedroom cap. The high-end units would cater to millennials and empty-nesters.

“In both of those camps, you generally have high income folks, who don’t have kids and are wanting to find a place to live in Hendricks County and spend money in Hendricks County and we think it’s a great economic development opportunity,” Everling said.

It’s that discrepancy between the number of apartments units that’s bringing this proposal to the town council. Council members will vote on a ordinance to change the PUD, or planned unit development, to allow the 270 apartments to be included rather than the already zoned 160.

If they reject the request, CRG Residential could return to the table a third time with a new proposal.

If they approve it, it’s likely it will take several years to build the development, meaning residents won’t move into the apartments until nearly half-way through the life of the TIF district.

We will make sure to keep you updated on the result of the vote Thursday night on 24-Hour News 8.