McCORDSVILLE — McCordsville has grown from about 1,100 residents in 2000 to more than 11,000 now. It's poised to grow even more once its signature development opens this year.
McCord Square at Pendleton Pike and County Road 600 is envisioned as McCordsville's future downtown, complete with restaurants, a new police headquarters, and more than 200 housing units.
McCordsville town manager Tim Gropp tells WRTV the project's developer is hoping to move its first residents in next month.
"It's a brand new part of our town," Gropp said. "We built a downtown from scratch."
McCord Square is directly across CR 600 from McCordsville's oldest neighborhood.
Bill Benson bought his home in old McCordsville in 1981, seven years before McCordsville incorporated as a town.
"It was what we called the village of McCordsville with 250 families," Benson said. "We do daily get phone calls and e-mails of people wanting to buy our property."
Benson said he does not mind McCordsville's rapid growth as long as it is done tastefully.
"Being the next Fishers can be a benefit and not just a downfall if it's done in the right way," Benson said. "When we bought this house, it was out in the country, but the city has come to us."
Gropp believes McCordsville can grow to 20,000 residents by the end of the decade. He said the town's goal is to blend the traditional town with the development ignited by McCord Square, not overpower the old with the new.
"You don't want to lose who you are, Gropp said. "We understand we're a transforming community. We understand that we want to balance the history."
McCord Square will also feature an Indiana University Health clinic and an office building anchored by NineStar Connect.
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