Fresh Thyme to Anchor Broad Ripple Development
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFresh Thyme Farmers Market has finalized negotiations to bring a store to Indianapolis' Broad Ripple neighborhood. The store will anchor a $37 million project that includes more than 100 apartments and a parking garage. Original plans for the development included a Whole Foods grocery store. The project also includes space for future retail and a police department substation.
Carmel-based Browning Investments is leading the Broad Ripple project. Vice President Jamie Browning says Fresh Thyme is the “best fit” for the development. The store is expected to open next year.
Sources: Browning Investments LLC, Sheehan Property Management Inc. and Fresh Thyme Farmers Market
February 19, 2015
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Browning Investments, LLC., and its partner Sheehan Property Management, Inc., announced today they have finalized lease negotiations to include a Fresh Thyme Farmers Market specialty grocery store in the Broad Ripple apartment and retail development to be completed on the north side of the Canal where today stands a deserted gas station. The announcement comes more than a year after Browning Investments was granted rezoning and just months after tax-increment financing was approved for the development.
The Indianapolis-based developer and its property-management partner and apartment developer Sheehan have been in lease discussions with a list of specialty grocers over the past year, and selected Fresh Thyme Farmers Market because it was “the best fit for today’s urban-village community, like Broad Ripple,” said Browning Investments Vice President of Development Jamie Browning.
“From the start of this project, we promised a specialty grocery-store option to the people of Broad Ripple, and we’ll be delivering on that promise with Fresh Thyme,” said Angie Wethington, vice president of asset management at Browning. “It serves as an energizing addition to the north side of the Canal, which residents and city officials have indicated Broad Ripple is in dire need of.”
Fresh Thyme will serve as the anchor to the larger $37 million project, which will in total cover a 1.9 acre parcel of land with a 151-unit apartment community and a parking garage, and is anticipated to bring 140 new job opportunities to the area. Sheehan Property Management says the 33,500-square-feet Fresh Thyme grocery store also will bring enhanced daytime traffic to the area.
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is a full-service specialty retailer which focuses on offering fresh, healthy natural and organic food, all at value pricing. “Healthy Food. Healthy Values” is the company’s motto, which begins with its signature produce department, featuring an extensive offering of locally and organically grown fruits and vegetables. Fresh Thyme is scheduled to open a total of 60 stores by 2019, five of which are currently operating in Indiana: Fort Wayne, Lafayette and three in Indianapolis. Two additional Fresh Thyme locations are opening summer of 2015, in Carmel and Fishers.
“We’re very excited to be joining the vibrant Broad Ripple community and to be a part of this unique multiuse development,” said Chris Sherrell, chief executive officer of Fresh Thyme.
“It’s a perfect fit for Fresh Thyme because residents in this area tend to lead an active and healthier lifestyle and have an appreciation for natural and organic food.”
The store is tentatively scheduled to open in the late spring of 2016.
ABOUT BROWNING INVESTMENTS, LLC.
Browning Investments, LLC., has been engaged in the acquisition, ownership, development, construction, leasing, management and disposition of investment real estate properties, since 1977. The company arranges project financing using equity capital from internal sources, private placements and joint venture relationships, along with mortgage financing from a variety of major institutions around the country, including banks, insurance companies and pension funds. Browning is comprised of a core group of experienced real estate professionals with extensive and varied experience in the commercial real estate industry. Browning Investments, Inc. is guided by an entrepreneurial ethic and has demonstrated the ability to respond quickly to the ever changing economic conditions with the ability to take advantage of opportunities, regardless of their complexity.
SHEEHAN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT, INC.
Sheehan Property Management Inc., located in Indianapolis, is a results-based company that specializes in providing superior property management services. Sheehan achieves this level of service by providing the quality personnel, knowledgeable and dedicated, to meet client’s financial objectives, while maximizing community’s physical condition and curb appeal.
ABOUT FRESH THYME FARMERS MARKET
Fresh Thyme Farmers Market is a new full-service specialty retailer focusing on fresh, healthy, natural and organic offerings, all at amazing values. The store’s signature offering is an extensive produce department with organic, local fruits and vegetables. Fresh Thyme’s full-service offerings include a natural meat department, healthy deli foods to go, bakery goods, 400 bulk food bins, natural and organic groceries, dairy and frozen, as well as vitamins and body care products.
Sources: Browning Investments LLC, Sheehan Property Management Inc. and Fresh Thyme Farmers Market