Hundreds of new homes, market-rate apartments and possibly a new park are in the works for the city’s south side, Mayor Todd Barton said Wednesday during his monthly public forum.
Enhancing quality of life through parks, much-needed housing and expanded retail outlets are a few of the keys not only to attract potential residents, but retain Montgomery County natives.
“There’s plans everywhere. What we’re doing right now is rebuilding those neighborhood parks,” Barton said, adding that the recently refurbished Kathy Steele Park and the upcoming revamping of Francis Wooden Northside Park are just the beginning. “The next big thing that’s happening is we’re really working on that south side development piece. We have to add housing. Bottom line, you’ve got to get housing here.”
Existing and upcoming industries for which Crawfordsville is known, including the Tempur-Sealy site which promises 300 career jobs for Montgomery County residents, are another key when discussing quality of life, he said.
“We’ve got hundreds of jobs open; we’ve got hundreds more coming. We’ve got to build attractive residences,” Barton said. “Right now we’re working with housing developers and we’ve got some announcements coming.”
Though developers capable of building hundreds of homes in a few short years are few far and in between in Montgomery County, Barton said any company which comes in to do so will be looking to hire local.
“They’ll be looking for everybody they can to fill those roles. That’s their biggest concern — can we the local labor we need?” he said.
The plan for additional housing numbering in the hundreds, as well as new parks and upscale apartments, comprise a plan to radically evolve the south side in a short time.
Areas targeted include fields and woodlands east of Home Depot and ACE Hardware, extending south of County Road 150S.
Additionally, Barton said roads will have to be extended in the area, including Purple Heart Parkway east of U.S. 231.
“With the county ... we’re looking at how we extend that further to the east, to open that up for the housing and everything else,” Barton said. “There will probably be a new park in that area as well ... and some market-rate apartments that are coming there too.”
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