Owner of historic Carmel home implores city officials to carefully consider plans for development on her street

Letters to the Editor do not reflect the opinions of The Reporter, its publisher or its staff. You can submit your own Letter to the Editor by email to News@ReadTheReporter.com. Please include your phone number and city of residence. The Reporter will publish one letter per person per week.

Dear Mayor, Members of the Carmel Board of Zoning Appeals, Councilors, and Staff:

My husband, Derek Fakehany, and I have owned 321 1st Avenue Southeast – a 133-year-old home that’s one of the oldest structures in Carmel, and was recently featured in an article in Carmel Monthly – for 22 years. I am writing to join the growing chorus of voices expressing concern regarding the rezoning request pending under Docket No. PZ-2022-000167 Z.

I would like to add another perspective to the discourse around this controversial proposed request, as I am looking through a different prism than some of the residents who have already expressed unease. Additionally, I would ask that, if you allow the rezoning to proceed, you consider taking four specific steps to mitigate the negative impact to owners of historically valuable homes along 1st Avenue Southeast.

The rezoning request seeks to rezone four parcels of land at 111 S. Range Line Road from residential use to mixed use, with a goal of interjecting a 43,000 square-foot, three-story building (including a cigar lounge, offices, and townhomes) adjacent to a quiet residential street – 1st Avenue Southeast – that is lined with historic homes. Some of those homes – like the one my husband and I own – are more than 100 years old and form the historic backbone of downtown Carmel.

Our home was owned by Emma Phelps, one of Hamilton County’s first female farmers, at the turn of the century; by Calvin and Elsie Brown, owners of a restaurant in the 1920s where Muldoon’s currently sits; by Bert and Ella Hoover, who were Carmel movers and shakers in the 1920s; by the Farley Cemetery Association, who operated a funeral home out of our property in the 1930s; by Elizabeth and William Smith from 1936 to 1960; and by other families who cared lovingly for the property.

I would ask that you please give more thoughtful consideration to the negative impact the proposed rezoning and commercial development will have on graceful, irreplaceable homes that have occupied this neighborhood for over a century.

I speak for a number of residents who have lived on 1st Avenue Southeast for decades when I say that the residential redevelopment of our neighborhood in recent years has been concerning. My husband, Derek, and I have spent 22 years investing resources into the historic preservation of our 133-year-old home. We have worked with the Carmel Clay Historical Society, Indiana Landmarks, and Carmel Monthly to spotlight our home’s history, to try to help it survive another 100-plus years.

It has been painful for Derek, myself, and other longtime residents who occupy similarly-aged properties on 1st Avenue Southeast to watch many of the homes on our street – part of the John Phelps subdivision, platted before 1900 – be demolished, with sprawling new homes built in their place. Residential redevelopment has taken a toll on historic properties along 1st Avenue Southeast, causing drainage issues, construction damage, and erosion to the unassuming, gentle charm our neighborhood long had, replacing it with properties that are so enormous that they look like apartment complexes or multi-resident townhomes. The proposed commercial development at 111 S. Range Line Road would be appreciably more painful and damaging than the residential redevelopment has been.

Some of our neighbors have sent you letters of concern regarding the aforementioned rezoning request. However, my review of their correspondence leaves me with the impression that, by and large, it is owners of newly constructed homes on our street who are voicing concern. Moreover, their communications to you seem focused on the fact that they have built what they describe as “significant,” “multi-million-dollar homes” on 1st Avenue Southeast, that they believe have caused 1st Avenue Southeast to be on an “upswing,” with “positive momentum.”

I would like to add another layer of nuance to that discourse. As the owner of a 133-year-old home on 1st Avenue Southeast, who has lived on the street for 22 years, I would respectfully suggest that our street was “significant” and had “positive momentum” long before folks arrived to demolish historic homes and replace them with “multi-million-dollar homes.”

I’ve assembled the deeds and historic information about the homes along 1st Avenue Southeast, and the people who built and cherished them. I could tell you who the owners have been over the decades of nearly every property on our street, what their professions were, where their descendants now live, and their significance to the fabric of Carmel. I would respectfully suggest that the very thing that makes 1st Avenue Southeast an invaluable asset to the City of Carmel is that it is dotted with homes with charm and character, which were once owned by some of the founders of Carmel, and which have been well-maintained for more than a century.

Those historically significant homes on 1st Avenue Southeast should not be marginalized so that a “chain cigar lounge” and more townhomes can be built in a three-story building that looms over century-old properties, causing potential drainage issues, excessive traffic, noise, trash, property damage, and erosion of the ability to peacefully enjoy our homes.

I would request that, if you allow the proposed rezoning and commercial development, you please consider taking steps to mitigate the negative impact to homeowners on 1st Avenue Southeast. In particular, we would be grateful if you would give consideration to:

1. Adjusting the grade of the commercial property to be partially embedded in the ground, to mitigate the negative impact of a three-story commercial property looming over residential homes;
2. Requiring shrubs and/or trees along the southern property line (i.e., along 1st Avenue Southeast) of the commercial development, so that the parking lot is shielded from the neighborhood;
3. Taking steps to ensure that there are appropriate No Parking Zones along 1st Avenue Southeast from Main Street down to Ketchum Dr.; and
4. Ensuring that all exterior lighting on the southern property lien (i.e., along 1st Avenue Southeast) be designed to avoid lighting up our residential neighborhood.

Derek and I, along with other longtime neighbors along 321 1st Avenue Southeast, appreciate that change and development are inevitable and can be beneficial when done carefully. We also appreciate the investment that some of our new neighbors – a handful of whom have taken care to build new homes with respect for existing structures and been conscientious in trying earnestly to not damage nearby historic homes – are making into Old Town Carmel.

However, we would be grateful if you would please take steps to avoid damaging historic homes that contribute beautifully to the fabric of Carmel.

My husband, Derek, has received two bone marrow transplants for blood cancer in recent years. Therefore, due to COVID-19, we have to avoid indoor public places, and, thus, we are not able to participate in public meetings regarding the proposed rezoning and commercial development. However, our lack of physical attendance at meetings should not give you the misimpression that we are not engaged in the proposed rezoning and development. To the contrary, we and other neighbors are engaged, and will continue to respectfully express concern, where appropriate.

I am available to speak at my office, (317) 687-2728; via text on my personal cell phone (317-345-6773), or via email (avanostrand@roweandhamilton.com), if you have any questions regarding this letter.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and your commitment to balancing new development with preservation of Carmel’s rich history.

Respectfully,

Amy Van Ostrand
Carmel