Carmel culture: Arts & Design District to be city's competitive edge.

IF EUROPE CAN DRAW crowds of American tourists every year to see beautiful art, so can Carmel. And if it takes an architecturally stunning environment to lure top businesses who otherwise might choose a community with seashores and mountains, Carmel can build it.

Those were Mayor James Brainard's visions nearly five years ago when he set out to create Carmel's Arts & Design District, an upscale hub of fine art galleries, a premier concert hall, abundant outdoor sculpture and more. One billion dollars in public and private money later--with more to come--this city of about 69,000 is taking its place on the cultural stage.

The arts serve as the unifying theme for the district, says Brainard, who comes from a family of musicians. "The art goes beyond galleries to designing a city that inspires and motivates people."

New town center. Anchored at Main and Range Line Road in Carmel's Old Town area, the district encompasses 10 to 12 blocks in each direction, set off by three distinctive archways, with a fourth to come.

"We're basically creating a new town center," says Les Olds, director of Carmel's Redevelopment Commission, which has acquired and resold property and is overseeing the public/private developments. Updated infrastructure, lamp posts with district signs and brick sidewalks--to the tune of $10 million--are in place, and several J. Seward Johnson sculptures have been purchased and installed outdoors, with more coming.

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"I like to say he's the Norman Rockwell of American sculpture, very populist," Brainard says of the California artist's painted bronze sculptures. They include a father helping a daughter ride a bicycle, a woman shopping, a girl watering flowers and a man on a bench reading a newspaper.

"People get their pictures taken with them. They're a fun, interactive type of art that expresses who we are as a people," Brainard says. "It's a non-edgy way to start our public art program. Our goal is to have the largest collection of his work, and we intend to get other types of work as well."

New construction, historic look, The first two of several new buildings in the district recently opened: Old Town Shops at Range Line Road and Main Street, and The Lurie Building at 30 West Main St.

A three-story, 49,000-square-foot business condominium with a historic look, Old Town Shops houses Magdalena Gallery of Art and Art & Soul Gallery and Frame, among others.

Among the occupants in the new four-story, 30,000-square-foot Lurie Building is Evan Lurie Fine Art Gallery, which primarily represents European and Latin American artists. "I have a wide variety of art--contemporary, abstract and surrealism," says owner and director Evan Lurie, who was involved in a similar renaissance in West Hollywood, Calif., and has been a consultant to the city of Carmel on the Arts & Design District.

It takes more than art galleries, Lurie says. "To make an arts district successful, you need restaurants, boutiques and night life, too--multiple things for people to enjoy" The community also is attracting visitors by hosting festivals, holiday events, design walks and gallery openings.

Design Center opens next year. The Indiana Design Center, now under construction, is another critical component, Lurie says. "We can do cross marketing with the art and design industries. One will help support the other." The 85,000-square-foot center, with showrooms and multiple tenants representing design lines from around the world, will open early next year.

Another project under way is the $140 million Carmel Regional Concert Hall, slated for a summer 2010 opening. The hall will include a 1,600-seat venue and a 500-seat theater. "There's a big difference between a theater and a true concert hall," Brainard says. "This building will be unique to central Indiana."

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Funding for the hall has come from tax increment financing funds and private contributions. Carmel also commits 1 percent of its annual city budget to the arts.

In all, about 100 businesses are currently operating in the Arts & Design District. The city is also home to the Museum of Miniature Houses, World's Smallest Children's Art Gallery, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Carmel Players and Carmel Arts Council. And the five-mile Monon Greenway passes right through the district, helping support the walkable community Brainard is after.

"We studied art districts around the country and tried to learn from them and create something appropriate for Carmel," Brainard says. "We learned that the key thing is identifying the district."

More projects coming. Next on the city's agenda is development of the remaining pieces of vacant ground in the Old Town area, Olds says. "The redevelopment commission now owns the land or has options on it. We want more retail, business and residential."

One residential project nearby is Guildford Trail Townhomes, which opened its first $350,000 units last April. It will have 36 condominiums in eight buildings when completed. "What we offer is location. We are the luxury option for townhomes in the Arts District," says sales manager Bob Loomis.

"Carmel's niche has been a strong office market, with expansions, relocations and recruiting people from outside the state and internationally," says Jeff Burt, president of the Hamilton County Alliance. "For these kinds of companies and employees, high weight is given to quality of life. Carmel has made a lot of progress in its commitment to quality of life. It's an investment that will pay off down the road."