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DIOCESE OF GARY, IN
Residential
Market Potential, Merrillville Site
As part of a team led
by Ernst & Young/Kenneth Leventhal LLP, S.
B. Friedman & Company and Goodman Williams Group prepared a
market study and recommended a development program for a 270-acre
parcel in the southern part of
Merrillville
,
Indiana
.
The market for senior
housing was found to be fully tapped at the time, so attention was
focused on for-sale residential uses. The study revealed that demand
was growing in higher income segments than were traditionally
attracted to
Merrillville
. As a result, a development at the site needed to provide a higher
price and quality product than was currently offered in the community.
It was determined that a traditional neighborhood design that
incorporated mixed uses, open space amenities, and a walkable site
lay-out would best position the site to attract a higher income market
niche.
Results: The recommended
development program was a mix of single-family, townhouses, and
duplexes. To respond to slow absorption in the market, it was
recommended that mixed-housing-type blocks be created so that
infrastructure could be developed incrementally while making all of
the planned housing types available to buyers from the outset. A
higher amenity level was proposed to help set the stage for later
scaling-up of the price point of the development to compete in
attracting the increasing population of higher income buyers.
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