A proposed housing development in Perry Township is making some southsiders worry about the future of their neighborhoods.
Indianapolis-based homebuilder Davis Homes wants to build 137 houses on 61 acres near the southern edge of Marion County. The development at 7500 S. Sherman Drive would be surrounded by neighborhoods on all four sides.
The development commission approved a rezoning petition for the project April 2. The new homes would range from 1,400 to 2,300 square feet and have an estimated average sale price of $400,000.
If the City-County Council also approves the project, the new neighborhood would be called the Trees at Southport Crossing.
Perry Township housing project
What: Trees at Southport Crossing is a 137-home project
Where: 61 acres at 7500 S. Sherman Drive
Pushback: Some neighbors are worried about traffic and flooding. Almost all of the property is a forest. The developer, Davis Homes, would preserve three wetlands on the site.
What’s next? The City-County Council would need to approve the site’s rezoning. A vote could happen as soon as May 5.
Some nearby residents are outright opposed to development of any kind on the land. The area’s city-county councilor also doesn’t like current plans for the project.
Most neighbors, though, appear to have found themselves somewhere in the middle, with concerns ranging from increased flooding risk to additional burdens on community resources.
Jocelyn Mappes, who lives in the McFarland Farms neighborhood to the north, isn’t surprised that a developer would be interested in the land that butts up to her backyard. Mappes, 30, said she expected something like this when she and her husband moved here about three years ago.
“What I didn’t know,” she said, “was the extent of the sensitivity within this area with the environmental concerns.”
That’s because this isn’t a typical piece of undeveloped land. Nearly all of it is a forest, harboring trees and wildlife. Three wetlands serve as a natural flood barrier.
The Indiana Forest Alliance, which has a campaign to protect urban forests, is opposed to the project.
“Do we want a large Indianapolis neighborhood to lose real greenspace?” rhetorically asked Mike Oles, director of the organization’s Forests For Indy Campaign.
At the same time, housing experts routinely talk about the need to add to Indianapolis’ housing stock. Davis Homes has used that sentiment as part of its pitch for the project.
And plans call for walking paths — something even those strongly opposed to the project would like in a part of the city where they say walkability is lacking.
“If that development actually had the walking trails and preserved space for walking,” said Mappes’ husband, David, “that could be better for all of us.”
Plans filed with the Metropolitan Development Commission show at least portions of all three wetlands being preserved. Plans also call for fewer homes than what would be allowed if the site is rezoned. About half of the land would still be greenspace.
“We think that’s exceptional,” attorney Jeff Jinks, who’s representing the family that owns the land, told the development commission.
Jinks did not return a Mirror Indy voicemail left at Jinks’ law firm.
Residents concerned about flooding and limited resources
On the same day that the development commission gave its approval, parts of Perry Township got more than 2 inches of rain throughout the night.
Jen Huber lives on the southwest corner of the property and said her backyard turned into a pond.
Residents say flooding is common any time there’s heavy rain, even with the roughly 11 acres of wetlands on the forest site. Plans from Davis Homes show about 8 acres being preserved.
Flooding is especially bad in the Holly Hills neighborhood, where Huber lives.
“I’ve learned how to manage the water,” she said.
But Huber, 46, is worried about how much worse it could get if more than half of the greenspace goes away.
Leslie Cuma-Fontaine is lucky when it comes to flooding. Even though her home in McFarland Farms borders the forest, Cuma-Fontaine’s yard doesn’t get as much water as her neighbors.
Still, she’s in the camp that doesn’t want any kind of development on the site.
Cuma-Fontaine is concerned about what she sees as a strain on services in her community — everything from ambulances and fire trucks to schools and parks. Those resources are already under pressure, she said, as the southside population continues to grow.
“This project is not just a zoning change,” she told the commission’s hearing examiner in February. “It’s a direct threat to public safety, environmental stability and the long-term well-being of our communities.”
If the housing project doesn’t go forward, Jinks, the attorney, told the development commission that his clients would consider selling the land over to loggers.
That’s not an ideal alternative for Cuma-Fontaine.
“You just don’t see urban forests like this,” she said.
But given the choice, Cuma-Fontaine said she’d rather see loggers than a new neighborhood.
What’s next?
The petition still needs approval from the City-County Council, which could vote on it as soon as its next meeting on May 5.
Typically, a rezoning petition wouldn’t draw much attention from the council. But Michael Dilk, the Republican councilor who represents the area, wrote in a letter to the development commission that the area already has enough residential development.
“This development will only add to the traffic congestion in this area,” he wrote.
If he chooses to, Dilk could delay a vote on the petition until the June council meeting, where there would also be another public hearing.
Through a spokesperson for the council, Dilk didn’t address whether he plans to delay the vote but said he hopes to reach a compromise with the developer in the coming weeks.
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.
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