Pedcor unveils plans for new buildings in heart of Carmel

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By Pete Smith

Pedcor Companies unveiled its vision for the completion of City Center Dec. 17, but the plans reveal a long-sought-after hotel at the site still has not been secured.

Pedcor CEO Bruce Cordingley did explain that a place for the hotel remains saved, but it was not one of the new buildings announced this past week. Neither the city nor Pedcor could shed much light on the future of a hotel structure or any potential negotiations with a hotel tenant.

Four of the new proposed buildings in the plan will be located to the south of the current City Center structure and will feature business and office space on their lower floors and apartments and condominiums on their upper floors.

A new 650-space parking garage also is planned directly west of the Nash building, which is currently under construction to the south of City Center on Range Line Road.

The final building would be a new office facility to the west of Pedcor Square on City Center Drive.

All together the buildings represent an investment of $80 to $100 million, Cordingley said, previously noting that he is working with 14 banks to secure financing for the project.

“It’s been a steady progression over the past 17 years or so to build this development, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said. “I am very excited for the progress this city has made to building a center.”

The buildings are expected to be completed in the next three to four years, said Melissa Averitt, Pedcor’s senior vice president for marketing and sales.

“Pedcor Companies is proud to continue to be a part of creating a vibrant City Center, a place where our community can gather to dine, shop, do business or simply reside in the heart of the city,” Cordingley said in a statement.

Other projects at City Center have relied on contributions of tax dollars to reach completion, such as the Nash Building. But the amount of money Pedcor might request for any new buildings has not been determined, Averitt said.

A ratio of 5-to-1 private-to-public investment as reported in other media and attributed to Cordingley is not Pedcor’s goal moving forward, and it was applied only to the development of the Nash building, Averitt said.

But Averitt said the outlook is bright and she has little worries about finding tenants for the new buildings. She noted that 90 percent of the current City Center residences are occupied and that business interest in the commercial space was so great that the company did not even need to market the property.

“A lot of people are now reaching out to us because of the location,” she said.

“It’s a great testament to what we have done and what Carmel has done,” Cordingley said of completing and leasing City Center during the recent economic downturn.

Building descriptions

The Baldwin: Four stories; first two stories commercial, top two stories residential

The Chambers: Likely the first of the buildings to be constructed, it would be four stories; first two stories commercial, top two stories residential

The Holland: Five stories; first story commercial, top four stories residential

The Wren Towers: Six- to seven-story tower; first two stories commercial, upper stories residential; top two stories could later be converted to hotel space

Parking Garage: Four to five stories; first floor commercial

Pedcor Square Building Five: About 20,000 square feet of office space and connected to underground parking garage

Note: The buildings are named after famous British architects, but Cordingley said he welcome ongoing input.


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