Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard spoke to the largest crowd ever gathered for a State of the City address last week.  The speech outlined his vision for the city including a strong infrastructure, walking areas, public transportation, and a community unified with its downtown. 

Brainard, who was recently criticized for budget shortfalls on two major projects, would like to see more people walking instead of driving and would like to give families the option.  He would like to design Old Town in a way where people can walk or make short trips. 

Another initiative involves creating a public transportation system in a couple of years.  The plan outlines using shuttles from area hotels to Old Town and Clay Terrace and back.   He wants to keep drawing new businesses to the city’s center and thinks the added density would speed up the creation of a public transportation system.

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Type:  Traditional

Age:   Built in 1995

Location:   Near US 31 and State Road 32

Neighborhood:   Willow Creek

Square footage:  4058 including 1428 square feet in the unfinished basement

Rooms:   This four-bedroom home has a large kitchen, two-story entry, family room, formal dining room, separate living room, sunroom, and master suite with vaulted ceilings, private bath and an expansive walk-in closet.

Strengths:  This home has a spacious wood paneled sunroom, large fully fenced backyard, back deck, and a desirable cul-de-sac lot.  The basement could be finished for a reasonable price to add 1400 more square feet of living space.

Challenges:  This home is the largest and arguably one of the nicest in the subdivision. The upstairs carpet color in some rooms is not neutral and may not appeal to the average buyer.

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $235,000

The Carmel Redevelopment Commission has leased half of the second floor of the Laurie Building located at 30 W. Main Street in Carmel.  The five-year lease began on October 1^st, but the staff will not move in until December 1^st. 

The Carmel Redevelopment Commission will pay $4983.12 plus a $202.17 maintenance fee per month for the 2622 square feet.     

The city of Carmel spent $1.2 million in cash and backed a $2.9 million loan to construct the Laurie building.  The building which was opened in the fall 2007 was built by Carmel Arts LLC, which is an extension of Indianapolis-based Stenz Construction.

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Cleveland based developer Fairmount Properties backed out of the $100 million Fishers Town Center deal, initiated a year ago, because of the struggling economy. The project included several hundred thousand square feet of office, retail and residential space off of 116^th Street on the west side of I-69.  The developer was unable to acquire about 125 properties needed before it could begin construction.

Town officials will hold a three-hour meeting Dec. 11 at the Fishers Public Library to hear opinions on what residents would like included in plans for the development. Two other meetings will be in January. The town could then change existing plans or consider scrapping the project.

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Type:  Ranch

Age:   Built in 2002

Location:   Near State Road 32 and Springmill Road

Neighborhood:   Quail Ridge offers residents well maintained common areas, ponds, and a community playground.

Square footage:  1440 square feet

Rooms:   This three bedroom ranch has two full baths, an open floor plan, large great room, dining area, kitchen with quality oak cabinets, and a master suite with a walk-in closet.

Strengths:  This home has a private backyard that backs up to a wooded area.  There is a brand new sprinkler park within walking distance from this home.  This home is in good condition and has great curb appeal.  

Challenges:  According to the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors, the average days on the market for a home in the $100-150K price range in this area is just shy of three months.

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $130,000

Tonight at 6:00 PM, the Carmel City Council will meet to discuss a $50 million increase in the Keystone Avenue roundabout construction project.  The project was originally supposed to cost $90 million to be fully funded from the state.  Last week, four-term Republican mayor, Jim Brainard, announced that the project will be closer to $132 million -$140 million. 

Some members of the Carmel City Council, who have seldom said no to the Mayor’s multi-million dollar projects, are resisting the proposed additional funding.  Although no vote will take place tonight, Mayor Brainard says he will give a presentation on the Keystone project cost increase. 

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Type:  Lake Front

Age:   Built in 1971

Location:   Lamb Lake in Trafalgar, Indiana, a 45 minute drive to downtown Indianapolis

Neighborhood:   Lamb Lake is a 500 acre private lake with access limited to 300 homeowners

Square footage:  4805 including 1435 in the finished basement

 Rooms:  This four-bedroom home has three full baths, views of the lake from nearly every room, two full kitchens with appliances, vaulted great room with a wood-burning fireplace and wall of windows, sun room with gas fireplace, master suite with sitting area open to the back patio, master bath with marble shower and private laundry, oversized 2^nd and 3^rd bedrooms with sitting area and shared Jack-n-Jill bath, walk-out lower level with 4^th bedroom and family room, and over 800 square feet of covered porches. 

Strengths:  Aside from the impressive lake views, this home offers 350 feet of shoreline, 1.42 acres of woods and waterfront, parking to accommodate up to 18 vehicles, an oversized 3-car garage, 200 feet of dock, two covered slips and power lifts, tie offs for 10 boats and swimming picnic and camping areas.  It is secluded from the road and is located in a cove with a “no wake” zone. 

Challenges:  This is a high price point for Trafalgar and buyers interested in purchasing second homes are a bit tougher to find in the recent market. 

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $1,200,000

Fishers and Carmel have announced Trick-or-Treat hours for Halloween. Trick-or-Treat hours will be on Friday, October 31, 2008 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Please review the following safety tips for Halloween:

• Give and accept wrapped or packaged candy only.

• Only go to houses that you know the owner.

• Have children bring treats home for adult inspection before they are eaten.

• A parent or adult should accompany children when they are trick-or-treating.

• Carry a flashlight.

• Stay within your neighborhood; only visit homes you know.

• Use make-up or face paint instead of masks. If masks are used, make sure the child has good visibility.

• Choose costumes that are flame retardant.

• Wear light-colored clothing, short enough to prevent tripping. Add reflective tape to dark colored costumes.

• Watch for vehicle traffic and use caution when crossing the street.

Police cars will be patrolling the neighborhoods to ensure everyone’s safety. If you see or find anything suspicious, please call the Fishers Police Department at 773-1282, Carmel Police Department at 571-2580, or Emergency 911.

Carmel Indiana is named an IACT Green Community by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.  The designation was awarded at the 2008 Indiana Association of Cities and Towns (IACT) Annual Conference & Exhibition.

In order to be named as an IACT Green Community, Carmel had to meet a minimum score on a question survey in areas of operations, purchasing, measuring success and sample projects.  Scoring considerations were given to the size of the community and the likelihood it would or could implement certain programs.

Carmel had previously received two other environmental awards this year including the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Award and the Governors Award for Environmental Excellence in Pollution Prevention.

Type:   Traditional

Age:   New Construction

Location:   161^st Street and Carey Road

Neighborhood:   Oak Manor offers a community pool and clubhouse.

Square footage:  5065 including 1720 in the finished basement

Rooms:  This four bedroom home has a main floor office, upstairs bonus room, finished walk-out basement with a full bath and room for a home theater, master suite with sitting room, pond views, and a three-car side-load garage.

Strengths:  This is a builder’s spec home that has never been lived in.  It is an attractive value and could not be rebuilt for the same price.  In my opinion, the property tax cap will help these suburban neighborhoods immensely and may improve the monthly payment by as much as $500. 

Challenges:  There are vacant lots in the neighborhood so a potential buyer will have to deal with future construction traffic.  The supply of area homes in this value range has forced builders to price homes aggressively.  Home resellers need to keep close tabs on the builder market to price their home competitively. 

WHAT’S IT WORTH?    $495,000