Looking out from his front porch, Richard Dufour can see how his neighborhood is changing.
To the right, an empty plot of land where a developer wants to build townhomes that would stand 40 feet tall.
Behind him, nearly an entire block owned by a developer who wants to tear down 10 vacant houses and then sell the properties.
“We’re gonna be in a shadow,” Dufour said.
Dufour, 59, lives in Stringtown, a westside neighborhood dating back to the mid-1800s that borders the White River and is walking distance to the Indianapolis Zoo and IU Indy. The neighborhood’s location has attracted real estate investors.
In the broader near west side of Indianapolis, up to 1 in every 5 homes is owned by an investor, according to the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana.
Some Stringtown residents have spent months organizing against developers. Others have shifted their focus to getting something in return from developers for the neighborhood.
Among the popular arguments against the projects: The only people who would benefit are other investors.
“They’re speaking on behalf of whatever profit they can make off of increasing property values here from this development,” Dufour told a zoning board in October about the townhomes project.
Paul Ragan, who’s part of the Stringtown Neighborhood Association, lives next to where the townhomes would be built. He doesn’t like the project. But Ragan, 70, thought there could be a silver lining for Stringtown if the developer agreed to fix up an alley and pay for repairs to a few houses in the neighborhood.
“We just wanted to get something out of the deal,” he said.
The different approaches to neighborhood development have created tension among neighbors. There’s a new organization — Stringtown Now — to rival the existing neighborhood association, with each side accusing the other of not doing what’s best for Stringtown.
Meanwhile, the developers are moving forward.
Developer: Townhomes would ‘look really good’ for community
Lurvey Loft Townhomes would sit on a small strip of land at the corner of West New York Street and North White River Parkway Drive West. The site has been vacant for at least 50 years.
The developer, Carmel-based SC Bodner Company, is naming the project after the late David Lurvey, a developer who at one point owned dozens of properties in Stringtown. The townhomes would be for sale, but it isn’t clear yet how much each would cost.
Ben Crawford, development manager for SC Bodner, told Mirror Indy after a zoning board meeting in October that he understands some of the neighbors’ concerns about the project.
“But,” Crawford said, “I think the development is gonna look really good for the community.”
The Stringtown Neighborhood Association doesn’t agree. The group once supported the project, but that was because the developer was going to help the neighborhood with alley and home repairs.
Now that SC Bodner has agreed to drop the height of the townhomes from four to three stories, Frank Staples, the neighborhood association president, said the commitments went away.
“I still oppose it,” Staples, 46, told Mirror Indy. “I don’t want nothin’ there.”
Crawford said he didn’t know enough to comment on the commitments.
Neighbors split over demolition plans
Just south of where the townhomes would be, it’s less clear what will happen to almost a whole block of land.
Indianapolis-based Brougher Developments LLC owns around 30 properties on Saulcy and Astor streets.
Brougher has been trying to demolish 10 vacant homes there, but a public hearing on the company’s request has been delayed four times. City staff have recommended denying the petition.
The next hearing is supposed to be at 10 a.m. Nov. 14 at the City-County Building, 200 E. Washington St. A meeting agenda hasn’t been posted yet.
David Kingen, who’s representing Brougher, told Mirror Indy in September that the developer eventually wants to sell the properties.
Sam Brougher, who started Brougher Developments LLC, was featured in an IBJ article from 2018 about the future of development in Stringtown.
He was planning to invest $15 million in the neighborhood over five years, building 40 to 50 homes priced at $250,000 to $350,000.
“It’s really a no-brainer,” Brougher said of the neighborhood’s upward potential. “I’m very excited about it.”
As with the townhomes, Stringtown residents are split.
Staples said the neighborhood association is OK with the homes coming down. He said they’re beyond repair and are a health hazard.
That position is a problem for some residents, including Jessy Baum.
Baum, 39, helped launch Stringtown Now earlier this year to push back against the developers that she feels the neighborhood association has become too comfortable with.
Does the neighborhood association president live in Stringtown?
The back-and-forth between both sides of the development debate has become personal.
Baum says Staples isn’t a credible neighborhood association president because, as she and others have claimed, he doesn’t even live in the neighborhood.
Staples chuckles at the allegation.
“I’ve heard it several times,” he said.
Staples said his primary residence is in Stringtown, but that he’s married and stays with his wife outside of the city sometimes. Voting records show Staples is registered to vote at an address in Stringtown.
Staples has his own problems with Baum, who’s lived with her husband in the neighborhood for about four years. The two used to be involved in the neighborhood association.
“They’re against development,” he said. “They’re renters.”
Where both sides seem to have some level of agreement, though, is their skepticism of real estate investors moving into the neighborhood.
“We’re trying to figure out these developers ourselves,” Staples said, “what they want, what they’re trying to do.”
For her part, Baum has used Google Maps and public records to document who owns land throughout Stringtown. The results live on an oversized map, showing where the investors are.
“We can’t ever get out from underneath renting,” Baum said, “because they’ve purchased everything.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
Stringtown History
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