LAWRENCE, Ind — Big changes are coming to the Fort Ben area. Work will soon be underway — near the corner of East 56th Street and North Post Road — on the area’s largest-ever development project.
Appropriately named "The Benjamin," the $78 million project will include a five-story building with more than 220 luxury apartments and 24,000 square feet of retail space for boutique shops, restaurants and parking.
"Basically, we can almost use it as a gateway because you'll be able to see this thing when it's done probably from the point of every entry,” said Heather Millikan, executive director of the Fort Harrison Reuse Authority, the group that's been redeveloping all of the land in the area since the army base closed in the mid-1990s.
The Benjamin is the latest and largest project in Fort Ben history. Since the military installation closed about 30 years ago, the community has been working to redevelop these hundreds of acres into a place where people can live, work and play.
"It could've been a disaster when the army left, but a great group came together and said this is what we need to do," Millikan said.
Developers are re-using much of the old but adding in a whole lot of new, including townhomes, shops, an arts district and a state park — all within walking distance.
There's also an Ivy Tech campus, public library and YMCA.
The Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township will soon build a new administration building there.
Today, there are just eight parcels of land left.
"We're excited for the future. I'm working myself out of a job and I hate that, but I also love what's happening," Millikan said. "I'm a Lawrence girl. I grew up down the street and remember it was an army installation, and what we've done with the land and buildings, we're all very proud."