Letter: Sycamore Flats not fit for Zionsville

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Editor,

I saw the article in Current in Zionsville (about the Sycamore Flats development proposal, published April 2) and I’m honestly frustrated and appalled by this appeal to residents because what Glenn Hoge and Tim Dall are proposing looks like what I see everywhere in Carmel.

My husband and I moved to the Village in 2016 because of its charm, character and small-town authenticity. We’ve experienced more than a decade of renting apartments – living abroad in an Asian megacity as well as in downtown Savannah, Charleston and Annapolis. But we had certain criteria in mind for our first house, and Zionsville hit the mark on all counts. Zionsville is a welcome change and we are planting roots, making friends and fully embracing the Zionsville lifestyle. 

Technically, at 34 and 38 years old, we’re millennials and we’re likely the target audience, a “renter-by-choice” couple (although, I don’t see my age group represented in the rendering on page 13). But our “live small” mindset and budgeting frugality allowed us to buy a 1200-square-foot house in the Village. We love it here just the way that it is – with the quiet side streets, generations of Zionsville families and close proximity to nature via our parks and the Rail Trail.

Zionsville’s charm and character are not reflected in the developer’s renderings. What I see does not “mirror separate facades already in the Village.” I see more of what already exists in the Village of West Clay, Carmel Arts & Design District and even in Fishers, where the model is to build dozens of rows of apartments and townhomes – all of which appear as forced, inauthentic suburban-ism and a far cry from what we have in the Village of Zionsville.

Hoge and Dall claim there aren’t any apartment options in the Village. I can name several apartment/townhome complexes that currently exist in and around the Village proper: Carter Apartments, Quail Run Apartments, Manchester Square, Hunters Point Apartments and so forth. Why bring more to our quaint downtown area? The influx of people not just visiting but living downtown will disrupt so much! Moreover, the routes in and out of downtown Zionsville are already congested during rush-hour driving times, creating a problem for Village residents.

The Sycamore Flats development is far too dense and, in fact, is larger than the 150,000-square-foot LIDS building on 106th Street. Plus, there are obvious drainage concerns that could impact the surrounding environment. If you pave and develop all that is proposed, issues will most certainly arise with Lions Park/Elm Street Green and Eagle Creek as our watershed. Conservation groups must be involved in the discussion and planning before the town and community can make a decision.

I don’t deny that there is a lot of possibility and opportunity presented with the land located behind the funeral home, but this is the wrong choice and it’s clearly driven by dollar signs.

Whitney and Jonathan Yoerger, Zionsville


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