When IKEA announced late last year it was coming to Fishers, there was a media swarm around Mayor Scott Fadness.  There were many questions hurled at the mayor, but my question centered on what happens next….in other words, how does the city see the area around IKEA developing  You can view the video at this link.

The mayor was careful in his answer, explaining that the city would take its time and carefully review the development of that area.  I had been tipped-off the night before that IKEA was likely to make this announcement so I did some quick research.  I found that once IKEA builds a store, the immediate neighborhood around it develops very quickly.

Lindsey Erdody of the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) takes a detailed look at the city’s plans to take control of the development of the area around IKEA in the October 31-November 6 edition.  Sunbeam Development has carefully planned the future for that area, with Navient and Forum Credit Union headquarters as long-time parts of the Sunbeam property in Fishers.  Top Golf will be added soon.

Lindsey reports on comments made by Ken Kern of Sunbeam, reacting negatively to the Fishers  City Council actions to take careful control of development of the Sunbeam property near I-69. City Councilmen John Weingardt, Rick Block and Todd Zimmerman are all quoted in the story (and got their pictures in the IBJ edition).  They all say Fishers wants a very special kind of development in the area around IKEA, after seeing how haphazard growth around other IKEA locations didn’t make the immediate area of those cities more attractive.

Anyone with an interest in how Fishers expects to develop in the area around the under-construction IKEA location should read this story.  You can access the story at this link, but be aware you may have trouble accessing it online if you are not a subscriber to IBJ