A replacement for Broad Ripple’s Riviera Building at 6311 Westfield Blvd. moved one step closer to realization after property owner Todd Morris won approval of variances from the Metropolitan Development Commission on May 18 and the City-County Council on June 6. Morris had sought variances of development standards to build the Village’s tallest structure—an 80-foot-tall, 6-story mixed-use development that adds 105 residential units and 5,000 square feet of retail to the Village mix. Morris said groundbreaking would likely occur in Spring 2017, with units ready for occupancy in Summer 2018. “We’ve got to do engineering work on our end and design the final look,” he said. City approval for the variances is contingent on submission of site and landscape plans and elevations for the administrator’s approval prior to the issuance of an Improvement Location Permit. The preliminary site plan by Context Design includes switching Riviera Drive from head-in to parallel parking and adding four parallel parking spaces on Westfield Blvd. The streetscape will be enhanced by street trees along a wide sidewalk to be installed on the north side of Riviera Drive. Morris said he hopes the sidewalk will serve as a connector between the Monon Trail and the proposed Riverwalk to Broad Ripple Park.
