2011 was the starting point of this new Ellsworth Romig Neighborhood development in the mind of Jeff Rider. The Rider Partners team had been developing in the downtown of Lafayette, Indiana since 2009. Standing dead center 8th street , looking south, they saw a topography that was leading the way to the most breathtaking views within downtown. Couple that with its walkable 2 blocks to Main Street and path to Purdue University; they knew there was truly none like it!

A partnership with the city of Lafayette started with a handshake between Mayor Roswarski and owner Jeff Rider in 2012. Blighted homes, an old railway corridor, an abandoned dead end street with overgrown foliage, an outdated underground combination sewer main and a mess of utilities were among the obstacles to work through. The acquisition of close to 4 acres took some time. Jumping through so many hoops and over hurdles meant they had one shot to get this right. They began to realize early on this was a rare, maybe once in a lifetime, opportunity in the community. Respecting the history of architecture types while embracing the true diversity the community is calling for became their goal.

The unprecedented growth in Greater Lafayette and shortage of housing pushed for maximizing the lands’ square footage. Needless to say, the Riders saw a real need for single family homes as other developers were jumping into the larger complex pool. Next, came the design. Sketches and more sketches seemed to be all they were about for a season. “Visualizing is a direct route to our thoughts,” says Brenda Pusey designer at Rider Partners. Instead of trying to make the land fit into the standard mold of gridded streets with allies, they decided to celebrate its uniqueness. “A curved street with elevations climbing both east and south lends to something special, something beautiful, and you don’t get that with simple flat plotted lots. Actually, you don’t get that anywhere within the downtown borders this close to the courthouse. Elevations put homeowners eye level with the architectural marvel of the court house, and leads to each site being distinctive,” exclaims Jeff Rider.