Sycamore Spring

North Suburban Indianapolis

Sycamore Spring is a gated development on the north side of Indianapolis, just off 82nd street. They've gotten some things right and come up short on others. A lot of the visual elements are right; compact lots and dense placement of houses with shallow setbacks, an attractive entrance boulevard terminated with a community center, and apparent good-quality construction.

The shortcomings are lack of pedestrian-friendly access to shopping and lack of transit access, but taken in perspective, I suppose that's to be expected in Indiana and especially in Indianapolis. Rather than integrating various price levels of housing, the development is stratified, with dwellings in various price ranges clearly separated into different physical areas. The most affluent section is separated from the rest of the development by a second gate.

All images © 2005 by Robert E. Pence

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The lowest-priced and newest are single-story duplexes where units start about $230K. This part is pretty standard suburban development; dwellings all identical, with deep setbacks and winding streets.

There's the shopping center, but where are the sidewalks?

More upscale


This would be cute on a city lot. I like the traditional brickwork on the windows.

I kinda like this one, too.


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