Kaitlin Lange | IndyStar

Dwight Adams, dwight.adams@indystar.com

When Adam Nisley moved to the Carmel area in 1970, his parents rented a house in the Auman Addition, located just east of what would become City Center.

Half a century later, he's spent essentially his entire life in the neighborhood. As an adult, he bought the ranch house back and lives about 20 houses away from his sister. The neighborhood is home — a reminder of what Carmel used to be — and he'd like to stay there.

He's not the only one. There's Karen Carter, who has lived there since the mid-90s. And Rick Elkins, who has lived in the neighborhood for two decades.

But developers have different plans for this once sleepy community.

Carmel leaders have invested millions into redeveloping the city's core, making it more walkable. In doing so, downtown Carmel has become a more attractive option for those with money to spend.

And that, in turn, has spurred developers to buy up older homes in the area, demolish them and use the land to build pricey new multi-story homes.

The result is class gentrification. Carmel style.

Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

It's creating an odd dynamic in the community, as newer homes purchased for over $700,000 mix with ranch homes built in the 1960s.

What was once a working class neighborhood is now becoming more upscale, and some neighbors fear it won't stop until the shift is complete and the neighborhood they once knew ceases to exist.

Those who stay are deluged with flyers from developers asking if they want to sell, and left feeling like they no longer belong in a neighborhood they lived in for decades.

"You don’t feel like you’re a part architecturally of the neighborhood any longer," said 66-year-old Rick Elkins. "There is a sense that the newer occupants that are moving into the bigger homes are going to be looking forward to new neighbors with similar homes."

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On the other hand, neighbors say those who decide to leave aren't offered enough money to easily find a home elsewhere in Carmel, where the median home price is $354,500, according to Zillow.

Retiring baby boomers want to stay in Carmel: But they can't find places to downsize.

Mayor Jim Brainard sees the change as a positive: The larger, more expensive homes mean more taxes, and he says can bring up property values.

"(People say) 'They're going to force me out.' No, not unless you sell your house," Brainard said. "You're welcome to stay there forever."

But Tracey Nix, a Real Estate broker who is passionate about ensuring attainable housing options, worries that the gentrification will further deplete an already low attainable housing supply.

"What's happening in the Aumen and Oswego area," Nix said, "is we are depleting attainable housing and replacing it with upscale housing, making it even more difficult for the average person to live in Carmel."

Changing demographics

Before Brainard took office, Carmel's downtown wasn't much of a downtown. That started changing when the Monon Trail opened from from 96th Street to 146th Street, running right through the center of Carmel.

By the late 2000s, Camel's Arts & Design District was completed and construction was underway on City Center. Over the next decade developers started buying out homes near Rangeline Road and replacing them, making their way less than a half a mile east to the Auman Addition.

It could eventually lead to the demise of one of the more working class communities in Carmel and further diminish the supply of cheaper houses in Carmel.

Nix referred to it as "gentrification on steroids," because the houses are being built for upper-class folks.

The small census block between the corner of City Center Drive and Rangeline Road on the Northwest and 116th Street and Keystone Parkway on the Southeast has the lowest per capita income — just under $27,000 — of any other area in Carmel, based on five-year census estimates.

It's unclear how much of that is due to the nearby Gramercy apartments, but the new large houses are undeniably attracting a much different clientele than the once blue collar neighborhood used to see.

Already, the average income per person has increased 55% over five years, a much faster rate than that of Carmel overall.

That's caused some perceived tension. Elkins said he overheard a new homeowner ask a contractor how much longer until the rest of the homes are torn down.

"It made me feel like how long till we get rid of the rest of the riff-raff?" Elkins said. "If I had to sum up how I feel is we’re kinda being looked down upon."

Disrupting the neighborhood

Apart from feeling as though they're being pushed out, the construction and changes are disrupting the neighborhood's way of life, they argue.

Construction is constant. And because the houses are taller, and oftentimes take up more space in the lot, there is less open grass and sky. The serenity Elkins used to have of sitting in his back porch isn't there anymore, he said.

The houses that haven't been torn down yet present a different issue. Many have been swiped up by investors who are now sitting on the empty properties. They mow the grass, but do little else to keep the lots looking presentable, said Elkins and neighborhood resident Karen Carter.

"For us residents who live here and take care of our home, we’re stuck with people who don’t care," Carter said. "Because they bought the property to make an investment."

Meanwhile, Nisley wonders if the increase of standing water in his front yard drainage ditch is due to the construction of his neighbor's home, which has a basement. The sump pump almost constantly pushes out water. He also fears it'll only become worse when they put in a pool.

Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

City Engineer Jeremy Kashman said it's difficult to determine if new homes are affecting neighborhood drainage, but the city performs individual lot reviews to ensure new houses are abiding by current standards.

"With much of the newer development happening within the last 2 years, it may be that the weather played a bigger role than new housing," Kashman said in a written statement.

Low prices

People such as Carter and Elkins say they would consider selling — if they were offered a higher price.

But they said developers have been making some offers that are too low. Drees Homes, for example, bought two houses for $120,000 and a third for $160,000 on Oswego. After they tore down a house and built a bigger one, they sold those plots for more than $620,000 each.

"Some of these residents have lived here for a long time, and they’re having to medically go into the nursing home, so the kids sell the property to get rid of it," Carter said. "It's developers taking advantage of a situation."

Drees did not return request for comment.

Those who own their own houses may avoid making necessary upgrades because if they choose to sell to developers, those upgrades won't increase the purchase price.

"Sellers aren’t going to be reimbursed for any improvements they make, because their purchase is to demolish the home and build a brand new one," Nix said. "That leaves anyone who wants to stay in the neighborhood in a tough position."

Elkins, for example, said if he is going to stay here for 10 more years, he needs to update a sewer line. But he wouldn't get that money back if he eventually sells.

"I equate it to lighting money on fire," Elkins said.

Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar

'I couldn't be happier with my situation'

The original neighbors aren't monolithic when it comes to their views on the new construction.

Laurie Combs, 60, used to own an older home she grew up in the neighborhood. But she was throwing money away on maintenance costs.

A few years ago she made a deal with Sigma: They would take her extra land to make three new houses, and the developer would build her a brand new home.

"I wanted to stay in the neighborhood." Combs said. "I've grown up there. I love it."

For her, the option of rebuilding was a way to maintain the neighborhood she loved and prevent it from becoming a row of apartments.

Dave Berman, chief operating officer of Carmel-based Sigma Builders, said his company aims to redevelop vacant land. All three of the houses Sigma bought came with multiple plots of land that the company turned into multiple houses.

In two of the scenarios, homeowners didn't want to sell the land without selling their own house.

Ultimately, Sigma decided to tear down all three houses, since the city hadn't deemed any of the houses a "character" home.

"Our approach is one that is a long-term local approach, supporting the community, supporting the mayor’s vision, working closely with city council," said Berman, who emphasized the company's local ties. "For us it's about a sustainable approach. We’re not a builder who wants to come in and devalue property and leave."

He also said their development helps increase property values.

He can't, however, speak for all developers. And those houses Sigma builds are still much different than the houses that have been there for decades.

It's not a situation unique to this neighborhood: It's already happened in other communities surrounding the Arts & Design District and, with a seller's market, it's likely to spread.

"It's not that I'm against development or growth," Carter said. "There's a time when you say, 'Hey, we need to slow this down.'"