94-unit apartment project under way on Tennessee St.

Saturday, December 15, 2012
With McAnally Center visible in the background, construction moves along Friday on the 94-unit Zinc Mill Terrace apartment complex. The project is taking shape along the north side of Tennessee Street, just south of Veterans Memorial Highway/State Road 240 and across from Greencastle Middle School. Apartments in the first of seven buildings are expected to be ready for occupancy in April or May.

Taking advantage of decent December weather, construction on Zinc Mill Terrace, a 94-unit apartment complex along Tennessee Street in Greencastle, continues on schedule, the developer said Friday.

The ambitious project, approved last February by the City Plan Commission, includes seven buildings along the south side of Veterans Memorial Highway/State Road 240, just west of the four-way stopsign by Greencastle Middle School.

Brazil developer Brad Emmert said Friday that the first units at Zinc Mill Terrace are expected to be ready for occupancy in April or May.

"As long as the weather holds," he smiled under sunny skies Friday morning on Greencastle's South Side.

Emmert expects the entire $5 million project to be completed by August or September.

The first buildings are taking shape along Tennessee Street after site preparation early this fall resulted in major mounds of dirt being moved around on the triangle-shaped 7.66-acre site.

Emmert said one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units will be available, including some that will have a garage.

"We build them. We own them. We rent them," he told the Plan Commission earlier this year, characterizing the apartments as designed for young professionals, teachers, professors and even students.

Units typically carry a rental figure of $750-$800 a month, he said.

Confident in Greencastle, a rebounding economy and his own business savvy, Emmert and his Brazil-based Emmert Group LLC have been active in Greencastle projects since 2007. He also owns the USDA building and the office housing the Department of Children Services on Ridgeland Road.

Emmert has developed several apartment units in Brazil with more under construction in Clay County.

Occupancy there is 100 percent, he said, and "people are begging to get in" to the new units, he told the Plan Commission at its February meeting.

"I really believe the Greencastle market will be better than our Brazil market," he said, indicating the Zinc Mill Terrace apartments will all be "market rate units." In other words, he is not a low-income housing provider and accepts no federal subsidies for the units.

Emmert expects to complete the project in a single phase with it all being finished by late August or early September.

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  • $750 to $800 rental??? Since when has this become the norm for people to except? Are landlords this greedy to charge these horrific prices? Are those the prices of the one bedrooms or what? Yes Greencastle needs new rental housing, but at what price?

    -- Posted by BTruth1958 on Sat, Dec 15, 2012, at 5:43 AM
  • So go live in one of the less expensive places if that's too high for you. There are people willing to pay that for a nice place to live.

    -- Posted by Geologist on Sat, Dec 15, 2012, at 10:14 AM
  • That rent is not unreasonable! You should see some of the places that rent for that amount around town now. The heating in some of the old ones cost more than what these new ones will cost.

    -- Posted by chicken on Sat, Dec 15, 2012, at 5:42 PM
  • Much to high! For this dumpy town no wonder eveyone is moving out of here!

    -- Posted by SarahSears on Sat, Dec 15, 2012, at 10:13 PM
  • So if that's too high, live at Castlebury or leave town.

    -- Posted by Geologist on Sun, Dec 16, 2012, at 3:44 PM
  • Yes, that's what they pay in Avon. But they are minutes from Indy. We're not. A small town charging prices that should come with a large city.

    -- Posted by Mercidos on Mon, Dec 17, 2012, at 5:02 PM
  • It won't last long just another snooty person tryin to think thier big shots just like Moores Bar unfortunately those I walk arround like I'm above you people will soon learn that in a small town uts us little or shall you wanna judge "Low income families that will cont. to support our community and the business owners who care about us and our community not people lil the owners of Moores or the owner of these future wasting your time apartments! I work well over 49 hrs a week raise 3 kids and for anyone to pass judgement your pathetic and to you "volunteerFF you have no right to speak of anyone in this communtiy as ill as you have !!! It's this community giving you a job and our tax money paying for your volunteer fire equipment so be careful how you judge and the words you say about a community that pays for a job you have!!!!!

    -- Posted by Angel6019 on Wed, Dec 19, 2012, at 8:21 AM
  • As someone who has rented most of my life, yes $750 - $800 for Greencastle is TOO high. We are an older 2 income family who would LOVE a chance to live there, but with that price I can only dream.

    -- Posted by putcocvb on Wed, Dec 19, 2012, at 9:19 AM
  • This is wonderful news. Nice to see developers who believe in Greencastle and are investing here. For the folks who have reservations about the cost:

    1. You haven't seen the units yet, so how can you know how much they should rent for?

    2. When they are finished, take a look. If you think they are too high for you, rent some where else in town or switch to a new town.

    -- Posted by louisvilleslugger on Thu, Dec 20, 2012, at 1:11 PM
  • To the people who think the rent is too high: you have to think about what the owner has in the units. They're expensive to build, insurance is expensive, as are proprety taxes and maintenance on the units. And if you think that is too high, Van Bibber isn't too far away....

    -- Posted by Purdue2009 on Thu, Dec 20, 2012, at 4:00 PM
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