Culver Garden Court had a project closing yesterday at the HUD offices in Indianapolis. FINALLY!!! The closing for this project was similar to a closing on a house where the mortgage is finalized, the previous property owner receives a check and the ownership transfer is made. In addition to this, the HUD closing for this project included the finalization of contracts for the construction of the new Garden Court facility. I was back in the office about 4:30 yesterday afternoon and the first round of purchase orders were sent releasing the surveyor, excavator and concrete contractor to begin work.
Culver Garden Court Site Plan
HUD requires the project to break ground within 10 days. This should not be a problem at this time of year. Everyone has been waiting for this project to be released for months. There will be a separate ground breaking ceremony on April 8th at 2:00pm for anyone interested in attending. Odds are there will be actual construction going on in the background at that time too.
The project has a 12 month time line. We anticipate being out of the ground within a couple of months. We should be weathered in before winter allowing interior finishes to be completed regardless of the weather.
You can see a previous entry on Culver Garden Court here.
The Plan Commission met on its regular third Tuesday night last month. Rezoning the newly annexed properties on the south side of Culver was on the agenda. Unfortunately, they did not have a quorum. The meeting was rescheduled for the following Monday (Monday of last week) and the hearing was held then. I was unable to attend the hearing as I had a scheduling conflict. I sent a letter of support (see it here) and I understand the rezoning was passed without remonstration.
I was a little surprised that the Plan Commission did not follow the Comprehensive Plan recommendations which I would have interpreted to suggest this area should have been zoned R-2. The Plan Commission did zone the northern third, which included the McGee Property and the newly subdivided Garden Court Parcel to R-2 as per the agreement with Mr. McGee, but the remaining 2/3rds were zoned R-1. My letter cited various references in the Comp Plan, but my source on the Plan Commission said that the property owners in that section preferred R-1.
Unfortunately, I think this may have been a lack of understanding or foresight on their part. The basic difference between the two zonings is the density requirements and the allowance for multi-family development under R-2. There is very little that can be done under R-1 that can’t be done under R-2. (See the Use Matrix in the Zoning Ordinance here).
A continuing theme in the Comp Plan is affordable housing. The Comp Plan is extremely dated as it was completed over 10 years ago and the housing issue has not been corrected in the past decade. Allowing higher densities in housing is one way that housing can be made more affordable. Higher densities are also a goal of the green movement as it promotes more efficient use of land and infrastructure.
In any case, I’m pleased to see that the Plan Commission has taken the steps to upgrade the zoning in this area and plan for future development. The Town Council has taken steps to extend water and sewer to the northern third of this area. That project will be underway this Spring and was necessary for the construction of the Culver Garden Court. I think this is a positive step for the area and may be the first step towards seeing additional housing starts in Culver.
LaPaz Garden Court Inc. Open House announcement from the Pilot News November 6, 2010
Friday was the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the LaPaz Garden Court. It’s always a great thing to go back and see how the facilities have been decorated, see the residents that have taken rooms and hear from all of those involved. Dr. Ronald Liechty served as Master of Ceremony and as always, made everyone feel good about the work that it took to bring the project to completion.
We completed work on LaPaz Garden Court in mid-October and it is already 2/3rds full. There was actually another resident signing up while the open house was in progress!
We were pleased that the H.U.D. representative for this job attended the ceremony. This is the first time this has happened. We were all pleased that she also had the opportunity to see the good that Garden Court has been able to do. This would not be possible with out the grants from H.U.D.
LaPaz Garden Court is the 6th Garden Court project that Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has partnered with Garden Court, Inc. to complete. While we have also worked on several of their other projects, we have completed six projects from start to finish in Argos, Bourbon, Knox, Plymouth, Mentone and now LaPaz. We hope to be starting out 7th project with them, Culver Garden Court, within the next few weeks.
All of us at Easterday Construction are proud of our association with Garden Court, Inc. and we hope to continue our partnership into the future.
Real Estate Management Flyer describing Culver Garden Court Amenities
The week of 8/16/10 was a big week for the planned Culver Garden Court project. On Tuesday, August 17th, I presented the Minor Subdivision plan for the Wade & Claudia McGee Subdivision to the Culver Plan Commission for approval. Culver allows Minor Subdivisions of property consisting of three or less parcels to be completed with a single presentation. This presentation went smoothly and was accepted by unanimous vote. All members of the Plan Commission seemed pleased that the project was moving forward.
On Thursday, August 19th, Brent Martin, Project Architect, and I presented the Special Use Permit request to to the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA). The BZA had a full schedule and we were fifth of five on the agenda. Brent had the opportunity, whether he wanted it or not, to observe the Culver BZA in action on several things before we presented.
The Special Use Permit covered several items: 1) We applied for the Culver Garden Court project as Apartments which are allowed, but require a Special Use Permit under the existing S-1, Suburban Residential, Zoning District. 2) The 535 sf units are smaller than is generally allowed under Culver’s multi-family housing requirements. Since this is a HUD project and the 535 sf size is a HUD maximum square footage under 202 projects, the BZA agreed to this change and allowed the project to move forward. 3) Culver’s parking space standards require 2 spaces per unit. We were granted a change from the required 26 spaces to 16 spaces. This has proven to be an adequate ratio on previous Garden Court projects.
Culver’s Board of Zoning Appeals is operating with one vacant seat. Fortunately this wasn’t an issue and the Special Use Permit was granted unanimously, 4-0.
Dr. Ronald Liechty and Brent Martin presenting highlights of the Culver Garden Court Plan
On Friday, August 20th, there was a press conference at the Culver Union Township Public Library officially announcing the planned Culver Garden Court. Dr. Ronald Liechty, President of Garden Court, Inc., gave a speech congratulating all involved. Congressman Joe Donnelly spoke as well, giving accolades to Garden Court, Inc. and his assurances that he did all he could to make this project possible and that he knew that it would be a positive addition to the Culver Community.
Congressman Joe Donnelly speaking at the Culver Garden Court press conference
There was a fair turnout for the event. Culver Town Council board members Ed Pinder, Lynn Overmyer and Ralph Winters all attended. Greg Fassett was there representing both Miller’s Merry Manor and also wearing his hat as Culver Chamber of Commerce President. Representatives from the Garden Court, Inc. Board were there as well as several representatives from Real Estate Management Corp. Jeff Kenney, Editor of the Culver Citizen, was there reporting for the Culver Citizen/Pilot News. We ended up with a front page picture and article in the Pilot News, but it didn’t make the website, so I can’t provide a link. There were citizens there as well and Dr. Liechty fielded several questions from the audience regarding this project specifically and Garden Court in general.
We are currently waiting on plans from B.A. Martin Archtects, P.C. in order to begin pricing. We hope to have things together for a closing on this project prior to September 30, 2010 which is HUD’s year end. Unfortunately, we are also waiting on release of the 501(c)3 designation for this project. We cannot close without that. Despite all the talk about efforts to expedite projects, Washington still moves slowly on most of these things… We will be breaking ground on this project as soon as we can get the release.
LaPaz Garden Court Site Under Snow and Concrete Blankets January 31, 2010
We struggled with this project through the winter when just a couple of more good weeks would have kept us going. Then with the wet weather this Spring, our progress on the site was further impeded. The site soils have a lot of clay, so when it gets wet, it stays wet, it’s not workable and doesn’t want to dry out. Despite covering the site with concrete blankets, the underlying ground became saturated and frozen.
Utilities have been an issue too as both the Town of LaPaz and AEP have vacillated on what they wanted regarding the sewer and electric service respectively. The sewer situation has been settled and is in the ground. We believe that the Town of LaPaz made good decisions for both themselves and LaPaz Garden Court. The revised solution provides gravity service to the site and also provides capacity for future expansion in the area. The electric service has basically gone back to the original design after exploring multiple scenarios. We think this just clarified the best route in both cases.
LaPaz Garden Court - View of the Northeast Corner
We’ve made some great strides forward this Spring and early Summer though! We are gaining on our schedule and the project is really coming together. Siding installation has just been completed bringing exterior finishes on the building to about 95% complete. Site work is proceeding. The detention ponds are roughed in and nearly complete. The walks and curbs are in place and the driveways should be started any day.
Inside, all infrastructure rough-in is complete and drywall is complete. Painting and other finishes will be starting within the week. Things are coming together nicely!
Unfortunately we had a break-in , but for whatever reason, the resulting damages and missing materials were minimal. We have secured the building further against similar assaults and have been assured of additional patrols by the State Police. We don’t anticipate this being a problem again as the building is secure and well patrolled.
This is our 7th Garden Court facility (See others here) and we continue to enjoy our relationship with the Garden Court team of B.A. Martin Architect, P.C., Hughes & Associates, Real Estate Management Corp. and Dr. Ronald Liechty representing the Garden Court, Inc. organization. We continue to look forward to Culver Garden Court starting later this year.
