Carmel's 116th Street Corridor Is Rebuilding: Roundabouts Open, Dining Arrives, and Nearly 1,000 Homes Are Coming
Two roundabouts opened along the 116th Street corridor this fall, the cave at Merchants Square is getting a phased utility rebuild, a 14-course omakase counter just opened at 1685 E. 116th, and the $300 million Gramercy project is bringing nearly 1,000 homes to the district. Here is what is changing on the corridor, and what it means if you are house hunting around Keystone Parkway or Merchants Square.
By Susan Roberts · Homes by Roberts Realty · November 2026
The 116th Street corridor is the busiest work zone and the busiest opportunity zone in Carmel right now. Two intersections, 116th & Hoover Road and 116th & AAA Way, traded signal lights for roundabouts this year. A multi-phase utility rebuild is underway through Merchants Square. And the housing pipeline around it, from garden-style apartments to townhomes and condos, is adding nearly a thousand units within easy reach of the shopping, dining, and office base that anchors this end of town.
In other words, the same corridor drivers sit in traffic on every day is quietly becoming one of the most mixed-use stretches in Hamilton County: established stores and offices, new restaurants arriving month by month, and a residential pipeline that will change who lives within walking distance of it.
This development update runs through what is open now, what is under construction, what is coming, and what the corridor's new housing supply means for buyers and sellers in the neighborhoods around Keystone Parkway, Merchants Square, and Range Line Road. I represent buyers and sellers on this side of Carmel every week, and I will keep the read local and specific.
What's Happening on the Corridor Right Now
116th St & Hoover Rd: Roundabout Open Through Winter
The new single-lane roundabout at 116th and Hoover was fully closed through late summer for construction, and the city reopened the intersection to traffic on Monday, October 26 with full access through winter. Final construction resumes in spring 2027, at no added cost to taxpayers. For shoppers, that means the intersection is usable now, with one more short season of finishing work next year.
116th St & AAA Way: Signal Replaced by Roundabout
The traffic signal at 116th and AAA Way is now a roundabout, completed in October after a summer closure that began July 20. It is the first phase of a multi-year Merchants Square improvement program running through 2027, which also adds roundabouts at Carmel Drive/AAA Way and Carmel Drive/Kinzer Avenue and extends Kinzer Avenue to connect with Carmel Drive.
Merchants Square: A 13-Phase Utility Rebuild
Beginning in October and November, the city is upgrading water and sewer infrastructure under Keystone Way just west of Keystone Parkway, then working west toward AAA Way, with impacts on Merchants Square Drive, Medical Drive, and Range Line Road. The work is staged in 13 phases specifically so businesses can stay open through the construction. Infrastructure of this scale is what unlocks the mixed-use development planned around it: new utilities have to come before new apartments can.
Safer Crossings at the Roundabouts
Raised crosswalks were installed at roundabouts across the corridor this summer, including at 116th & Hazel Dell Parkway. For anyone scouting the area on foot, the raised crossings make the difference between a retail district you drive to and one you can walk around once you are there.
New Restaurants and Retail Along 116th
Okonori Japanese High Kitchen Just Opened
The biggest new arrival on the corridor is Okonori Japanese High Kitchen at 1685 E. 116th St., which opened this month with a 14-course omakase menu built around seafood imported daily from Japan. Omakase at this level was not something the 116th corridor had before; the neighborhood's dining base is widening from casual chains to genuinely destination restaurants.
Ben & Jerry's Opened Its First New Indiana Storefront Here
Also at 1685 E. 116th St., Ben & Jerry's opened in February 2026 as the brand's first new storefront in Indiana. It anchors the same retail side of the corridor as Okonori and gives the strip a recognizable national draw between the grocery run and dinner.
Merchants Square: Harvest Market & Walk-On's
Niemann Harvest Market, Indiana's first location of the chain, has been operating at about 75,000 square feet at 2140 E. 116th St. since May 2025, giving the district a full-service grocery anchor. Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux opened nearby at 116th and Keystone in 2024. Both are operating through the utility work, which the city staged in phases specifically to protect them.
Keystone at the Crossing: A Flagship Refresh
Just across 116th on the Indianapolis side, The Fashion Mall at Keystone is redeveloping the former Saks space, adding restaurant tenants North Italia and Kitchen American plus home-décor names Arhaus and Design Within Reach, with phased openings running from late 2026 into 2027 and 2028. Reis-Nichols Jewelers is building a flagship showroom at the mall slated to open around the end of 2026, and The Cavity Factory, a cookie shop born from a food truck, opened in July 2026 at 8487 Union Chapel Road. A new 100,000-square-foot office building, One Keystone Crossing, is also expected to open in Q4 2026.
Nearly 1,000 New Homes Within Reach of the Corridor
For the full town picture, home prices, and schools, see the site's Living in Carmel guide and the Carmel community profile. Here is the development pipeline that is changing the map around 116th Street.
Gramercy: A ~$300M, ~1,000-Home Project
Buckingham Cos.' Gramercy, within the Merchants Square district that is getting the Kinzer Avenue extension, plans roughly 342 garden-style apartments along Kinzer Avenue, 167 for-sale townhomes, 24 condos, and 64 renovated apartments. Phases 2 and 3 were slated to start in 2026. This is the single largest residential engine near the corridor.
3rd Ave. Residences: 8 Townhome-Style Condos
The proposed 3rd Ave. Residences would add eight townhome-style condos in a three-story building with basement parking at 360 3rd Ave. SW, adjacent to the Merchant's Bank of Indiana headquarters. Construction was slated to begin in 2026, a compact infill project in the heart of the district.
Icon on Main: 266 Apartments by Midtown
Just off the corridor in the Midtown area, Icon on Main is a roughly $75 million Edward Rose & Sons project with 266 apartments, 22 for-sale condos, retail, and a 560-space garage. Weather delays pushed the 2026 timeline, but the developer is on track for a late-spring 2027 opening.
The Wren & More City Center Finish-Outs
The Wren, the final residential-commercial building of Carmel City Center, was set to complete in 2026. Farther east, developers are still testing the market: Millstone proposed a $41.5 million, 196,500-square-foot two-building apartment project on a twice-stalled Carmel site in late 2026.
What the Mix Means
The corridor's new housing is almost entirely attached product: apartments, townhomes, and condos, not traditional single-family subdivisions. That is by design. It is the walkable, maintenance-light inventory that lets the retail, dining, and office base on 116th support itself, and it opens the door for buyers who want Carmel access at a different price point or with less upkeep.
Development figures come from developer announcements, city newsflashes, and Indianapolis Business Journal reporting as of November 2026; schedules can shift.
What the Development Means for Buyers and Sellers
For buyers, the 116th corridor now delivers something rare in Carmel: choice. Townhomes and condos in this district sell differently than the single-family stock elsewhere in town, and the pipeline of new attached product gives you leverage other price ranges do not have, especially when a builder is carrying carry costs on vacant units. If you want walk-to-grocery, walk-to-dinner, walk-to-office, this side of town is where Carmel's supply of that lifestyle is actually growing.
For sellers, the headline is that your buyer pool is widening. The offices along Keystone Parkway and the retail base at Merchants Square draw people who want to live within minutes of where they work and shop, and every new restaurant and roundabout that opens quietly improves the story of the neighborhood. Well-priced homes here still move; priced-to-the-builder's-incentives homes move fastest.
One honest caveat: construction is front and center right now. Utility work through Merchants Square, the 116th & Hoover finish in spring 2027, and the Kinzer Avenue extension will mean detours and dust for the next year. Buyers should factor that in, not as a reason to wait, but as a reason to negotiate on timeline and check the final walkthrough calendar.
Why the 116th Corridor Is Worth Watching This Quarter
Carmel has spent two decades building its identity around the Arts & Design District, Midtown, and the Monon. The 116th Street corridor has always been the less dramatic sibling: the practical spine where the grocery runs, the doctor visits, and the office commutes happen. That is exactly what is changing. With the roundabouts open, the utility work underway, the dining base expanding, and roughly a thousand homes in the pipeline, the corridor is being rebuilt as a complete neighborhood rather than a pass-through.
If you are weighing a move, this is a good quarter to walk the district on a weekday: grab coffee at Merchants Square, loop the 116th & AAA roundabout, and see which new construction has started along Kinzer Avenue. The corridor tells you more about where Carmel is headed than any listing summary can.
One more thing worth knowing: I keep a running watch on new construction along this corridor, and I work with buyers and sellers on both the Carmel and 116th sides of the line every week. Start with the site's Events page if you are planning a scouting trip, or reach out and I will point you at the exact projects, streets, and price points that fit your plan.
New infrastructure, new dining, and nearly a thousand new homes: the 116th corridor is where Carmel is adding the housing it actually needs, at the walkable density that makes the retail work. That is the kind of change that shows up in your home's resale story years later.
Sources
City of Carmel newsflashes and news releases (116th & Hoover roundabout schedule adjustment, Oct 23, 2026; summer/fall 2026 infrastructure improvements; 116th & AAA Way roundabout kickoff); You Are Current reporting on Merchants Square infrastructure upgrades (Oct 11, 2026) and 2026 development preview; Indianapolis Business Journal (Gramercy updated plan, Icon on Main timeline, 3rd Ave. Residences proposal, Millstone apartment proposal, One Keystone Crossing); WISH-TV and Hoodline on The Fashion Mall at Keystone redevelopment and tenants; Progressive Grocer on Niemann Harvest Market; 6AM City and Do317 restaurant roundups (Ben & Jerry's, Okonori, The Cavity Factory); React and area retail trackers for 2026 openings.
Development schedules, tenant announcements, and construction timelines change frequently and are accurate as of early November 2026. Verify current status directly with the developer, retailer, or the City of Carmel before making decisions. This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial or investment advice.
Curious What a Home Near 116th Would Look Like?
Whether you want a townhome near Merchants Square, a condo close to the roundabouts, or a resale in the neighborhoods just north of 116th, let's put real numbers together. I work Carmel and all of Hamilton County every day, plus Zionsville and Whitestown in Boone County.
