Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart East Planned Development

The plan for the Elkhart East Planned Development encompassed 1,200 acres located around a new tollway interchange. This site represented the most viable location for a state-of-the-art office/industrial campus in the South Bend/Elkhart, Indiana metropolitan area. The Northland Corporation, the managing member of the Elkhart East L.L.C., owned approximately 800 acres of the site and wanted to bring in other landowner to create a uniform plan with the highest development standards in the area.

The plan reflected a mixed-use development program with strong emphasis on office and light industrial/business park uses. Keys to the success of the plan were: taking best advantage of the extensive tollway frontage; establishing a range of business park environments from "corporate office" to "industrial/distribution" areas; strategic positioning of commercial and hotel sites; and creating effective landscape buffers adjacent to existing residential development. A set of development standards and common site design improvements were also included in the plan to establish a consistent quality of development with a strong regional identity.