Noblesville and developer Flaherty & Collins Properties broke ground Wednesday on The Granary, a 223-unit apartment complex rising on the former Noblesville Milling Co. site along the Pleasant Street corridor. The $64 million mixed-use project is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, and city officials are billing it as the first significant private development to follow the newly rebuilt Pleasant Street corridor.
Mayor Chris Jensen said the project represents another major investment in the corridor, according to WISH-TV. The site sits on a three-acre parcel bounded by Mulberry Street to the north, South 9th Street to the east, Walnut Street to the south and South 8th Street to the west — the same ground where the original wheat granary was built in 1904, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. That milling heritage helped inspire the Noblesville Schools' Millers nickname, per the same report from WISH-TV.
Developers said the new building will incorporate architectural elements that complement the surrounding historic district. Beyond the 223 apartments, the project includes about 5,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, plus roughly 300 structured parking spaces serving both residents and the public.
A Trailhead Meant to Redraw Downtown's Southern Edge
Perhaps the most significant piece for non-residents is the trailhead planned at the southern end of the site. It will connect directly to both the Midland Trace Trail and the Nickel Plate Trail, according to Flaherty & Collins Properties, expanding regional trail access across Hamilton County. The trailhead will include public restrooms and lockers, giving pedestrians and cyclists another way to reach downtown and the city's broader trail network.
The Reimagine Pleasant Street initiative that made this possible has focused on improving mobility, public safety, and pedestrian and bicycle access, while also helping connect the Nickel Plate, Midland Trace and Riverwalk trail systems. The $125 million corridor project spans 2.5 miles connecting State Road 32 to State Road 37 and incorporates six roundabouts, three bridges, pedestrian tunnels and trail extensions, according to American Structurepoint, the engineering firm behind its design. City planners have estimated the corridor will divert roughly 20% of traffic off Conner Street, or State Road 32, through downtown, reshaping the south end of the city into more viable commercial and residential frontage.
Amenities Aimed at Filling Out the New Gateway
Residents of The Granary will have access to a saltwater pool and aqua lounge, a fitness center, a game room with billiards, co-working spaces, and a club room with a kitchen, bar and group seating. The building will also offer a pet spa, fire pits, an outdoor kitchen and grilling areas, and bike storage with a bike shop for residents who want to make use of the new trail connections just steps away.
City leaders expect The Granary to become a prominent development at the southern gateway to downtown Noblesville, creating a new entrance to the city's core. Deron Kintner announced during the groundbreaking that Flaherty & Collins Properties would donate $10,000 to the Noblesville Township Trustee's Office for flood relief efforts, per WISH-TV's account of the ceremony.
A Site That Took Two Decades and Two Failed Attempts
The Granary's path to groundbreaking was not straightforward. The site was the subject of two earlier redevelopment efforts: a $12 million, 56-unit affordable housing proposal in 2016 that collapsed after grant denials, and a $48 million Flaherty & Collins proposal in 2021 that was paused pending progress on the Pleasant Street corridor, the Indianapolis Business Journal reported. City leadership deliberately held back the site until infrastructure work along Pleasant Street advanced far enough to support it.
The Noblesville Common Council approved the economic development agreement for the project in August 2024 in an 8-1 vote, authorizing a $13.4 million tax-increment financing bond to support construction. Under that agreement, Flaherty & Collins committed to designating at least 10% of the apartment units as workforce-affordable housing, reflecting the city's effort to balance market-rate downtown infill with housing access.
The numbers have shifted since that 2024 approval. At the time, The Granary was projected as a $67 million development with a target completion of summer 2027; by this week's groundbreaking, the project's price tag had settled at $64 million with a late-2028 completion target, according to the Business Journal's reporting.
Part of a Broader Downtown Building Boom
The Granary joins five other recent major downtown Noblesville mixed-use projects — The Levinson, Lofts on Tenth, East Bank, Nexus and The Village at Federal Hill — which together are adding nearly 800 apartment units to the city's downtown core, per the Business Journal. American Structurepoint's design work on the Pleasant Street corridor itself was named a finalist in August for the Indy Chamber's 49th Annual Monumental Award, recognition tied to the project's handling of complex soil and flood resiliency challenges.
Hoodline previously tracked the corridor's progress as the infrastructure overhaul raced toward its final phases, setting the stage for exactly this kind of private investment. With The Granary now under construction, the reimagined stretch of Pleasant Street has its first major test of whether rebuilt roads and trails can translate into rebuilt neighborhoods.
