McCORDSVILLE — Officials in McCordsville have approved a plan that will guide them through the development of a town center over the coming years.
The town council voted 4-1 on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to adopt the plan, which calls for commercial, residential, mixed-use and community space developments on more than 100 acres east of Mt. Comfort Road and south of State Road 67. Officials expect it to develop over the next two to three decades with early estimates placing public investment at $42 million and private investment at $173 million.
A town center will develop a unique identity and character for McCordsville while creating connectivity and experiences and diversifying the town’s tax base, proponents say.
Ryan Crum, director of planning and building for McCordsville, said the plan is structured to guide a long-term vision.
“To some extent this is a guidebook for us, as we look at implementation, as we look at zoning for that area, so it gives us a vision and a blueprint to where we want to head,” Crum said. “It’s us taking control of our destiny to some extent.”
Town council members Larry Longman, Tom Strayer, Branden Williams and Barry Wood voted in favor of the plan while Greg Brewer voted against.
“It’s never a bad idea to have a vision and throw it out there,” Wood said.
Brewer reiterated concerns he’s had over the endeavor.
“I still have reservations on this project,” he said. “I think sometimes we might be a little ahead of the game. I don’t deny that you have to have a vision and plan for the future, but I don’t know if this is the time for it.”
Leaders continued to stress that the plan, prepared by Fortville-based Context Design, does not dictate precisely how the town center project will unfold and that it will likely change as developers get involved.
Brewer described the plan as a marketing document to guide conversations between town staff and developers.
“It’s not like in six months there’ll be shovels and backhoes out there building a town center,” Brewer said.
The town center plan outlines more than 900,000 square feet of building space, more than 840 residential units and more than 2,000 parking spaces.
McCordsville has been envisioning a downtown or town center for years and has been working on the latest plan with Context Design since 2018. A steering committee and public input has helped guide the process.
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