No opinion yet on proposed new development in West Lafayette

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Tippecanoe County Area Plan staff members are considering plans for a development with 266 units and 497 bedrooms. The location targeted is a 19-acre parcel off Cumberland Avenue, just beyond the West Lafayette Walmart.

Drawings call for about two dozen buildings. Proposed plans show a variety of building types with anywhere from one to three bedrooms. The one-standard is the British or European upscale design style, targeting both students and employees at the nearby Purdue Research Park.
    
It's the same target demographic for the controversial Scheumann Properties duplex rezoning request on County Farm Road that was withdrawn last month.    

"Where that project truly was sprawl, it was too far away from the bus system, utilities would have to be extended to the site, it was an increase in density on the suburban fringe, this is more of an in-fill site," said APC Assistant Director Ryan O'Gara.

The Cumberland Proper development does not have an official staff opinion yet.

O'Gara said planning staff want to see two changes.

First, they want money set aside to make bus station improvements once Cumberland Avenue is extended. Second, they want doors added to the units along Cumberland to allow easy access to trails and sidewalks.

"They're important enough for (APC staff and city staff) that we want to make sure that we're going to be looking at this project for a long time and we want to make sure we get it right," said O'Gara.

Getting it right will be even more vital because plans call for Cumberland to extend to the new U.S. 231 currently under construction. The Cumberland Proper project may be the first of several over the next few years.

"I have no doubt that when 231 and Cumberland are finished, that this will be, to a certain extent if you build it they will come, and once those facilities are in place, I think development pressures will start to drift to the west," said O'Gara.

The Area Plan Commission is scheduled to consider the planned development request during its normal meeting Nov. 21. However, it will not be at the normal time. Because it's the day before Thanksgiving, the APC meeting will begin at 5 p.m.