The Proscenium

Background

Novo Development Group desired an all-encompassing design for The Proscenium, a 7-acre, $60-million, mixed-use development to provide a lively downtown area and cultural center for Carmel, Indiana. The site chosen for The Proscenium was a former industrial warehouse site that had been used for a variety of commercial uses over the years.

Challenge

The goal of the development was to provide a suburban superblock infill, bringing a walkable urban grid to the Indianapolis suburb and revitalizing Carmel’s booming downtown. The careful planning of this project needed to be centered around a vibrant combination of live, work, and play—with construction of a variety of buildings and recreational facilities to fill those purposes. The buildings of this new cultural center were to reflect the city’s architecture and enhance existing Carmel city elements.

Solution

Woolpert provided full-service architecture, civil engineering, landscape architecture, structural, MEP, and survey services for this project. The project team managed public relations and conducted meetings related to the construction.

When planning The Proscenium’s architectural details, Woolpert architects aimed to reinforce existing traditional and neoclassical aesthetics in the Carmel city center while blending classically proportioned contemporary façades with historic ones.

Four of the five buildings sit on a podium deck above the garage, which created issues for the comprehensive site design, utility services, and building electrical and plumbing distribution usually concealed under earth, including a large exhaust system for the underground garage. However, Woolpert engineers successfully provided electrical design for all the buildings and site utilities, including the garage exhaust system. Woolpert also played a role in relocating a Duke Energy electrical transmission line that the utility company resisted relocating.

Woolpert performed roadway design work for two of the main collector streets on the project: Veterans Way and Executive Drive. Roadway extension design was performed in conjunction with the city’s design efforts to perform major corridor streetscape improvements around the perimeter of the project.

Outcome

Woolpert brought the project through inception, planning with the city of Carmel, design development, permitting, and construction. Woolpert’s in-house multidisciplinary design team solved many complications before they became issues for the client. Providing all necessary disciplines from a single firm proved invaluable due to the extraordinarily high need for detailed coordination for this project.

The Proscenium occupies a gateway position at the south entrance of the city’s new downtown district near the corner of Carmel Drive and Rangeline Road. The development will attract people to the growing cultural center, allowing them to live life “at center stage” (as the name implies).

The development includes 225 luxury one- and two-bedroom residential units and high-end amenities designed to appeal to the walkability and social needs of the millennial generation, including a fitness club; bike centers; pedestrian plazas; a coffee bar; and a tavern and nightlife activities. The Proscenium also includes 20,000 square feet of retail space and 60,000 square feet for office use, centered around a 1.8-acre public green space. The podium-style parking garage beneath the development maximizes amenities and avoids an above-ground parking structure while retaining utility and accessibility.

The heart of the neighborhood is the Green, anchored by a tavern and flanked by restaurants, boutique retail, and front-stoop condos and apartments. With two-level outdoor seating, the tavern attracts residents and the greater community, keeping the streets full of life well into the evening.

Woolpert was honored with an International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) award for the design of The Proscenium at the 57th IMCL conference. For its 2021 urban design awards, the IMCL sought well-designed, suburban revitalization projects that embodied a natural fitness to purpose and that were socially and environmentally responsible. These projects, including The Proscenium, took advantage of the opportunities of urban life, while reflecting, respecting, and enhancing their place, culture, and community.

Benefits

This development combines the ease of upscale living with the luxury of retail shops and dining options right outside residents’ front doors. Perfect for young professionals or active, mature adults, The Proscenium enables its residents and visitors to enjoy life with the convenience of having it all just steps away. Carmel will benefit from the economic and recreational vitalization of a new downtown.