Locale is convenient to shopping, PFW and Ivy Tech

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — A developer is looking to extend Evard Place Apartments, adding 46 units to the existing 40 units on Evard at Maplecrest roads.

The Fort Wayne Plan Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposal on June 12. Efforts to reach principals with Solid Rock Properties, the developer, were unsuccessful.

The 46 units are planned for a 5.2 acre grassy corner at Evard and Maplecrest Roads currently to proceed.

The new units will be close to Purdue University Fort Wayne, Ivy Tech and commercial shopping centers. According to the Evard Place website, the existing apartments were built in 2020. All utilities are included in the rent and pets are allowed. Apartment amenities include air conditioning, cable or satellite, a dishwasher, double paned windows and an eat-in kitchen, besides a garage. A three-bedroom unit rents for about $1,900 a month.

The project that will ultimately provide nearly 90 two and three-bedroom apartments will help fill a need for infill, a term used for vacant lots or “underutilized parcels within areas that are primarily built out.”

According to the U.S. Census, Allen County’s 2022 population, which includes Fort Wayne, is about 391,500, a jump of about 6,000 people since April 2020.  Projections according to the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business indicate the county will grow by nearly 50,000 people or 19,107 households in the next two decades.

Nearly 50% of that market is expected to be multi-family rentals, while about 40% will be single family homes. To fill the need for multi-family rentals, developers appear to be jumping in to the ring, sometimes with negative results.

In May, City Council declined to approve two multifamily developments. Huntertown-based developer Skyler Vendrely proposed 40 one-bedroom apartments at Lake and Reed on 1.86 acres.

A 10-home townhome complex submitted by Rakesh Khatri on South Bend Drive across from Canterbury School and adjacent to an older subdivision was also denied.

There have been plenty of other developments proposed for apartments and mixed housing. Major Allen County developers are combining townhome development with single family homes.

“Overall, the multifamily rental market in Allen County and Fort Wayne has strengthened over the past decade,” the All in Allen report reads on page 34. “Positive trends in asking rents, occupancy, and absorption indicate broad demand for multifamily housing. As with observations in the for-sale housing market, data indicate that additional multifamily housing development should be encouraged. This would create more housing choice within the region and decrease the market pressure being felt at lower price points that may be increasing the level of cost burden occurring among low income households.”