Holland Park
The hub of the neighborhood's wheel-and-spoke plan, with ball fields and open space.
Sunblest · Fishers, IN
The wheel-and-spoke 1970s neighborhood a walk from downtown, now in its addition years
Sunblest — often Sunblest Farms — is one of Fishers' oldest modern subdivisions, built mostly between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s between 116th and 126th Streets. Its streets radiate like spokes from Holland Park at the center, the trees are full grown, and the houses are at the age where kitchens, primary suites, and garage-side additions are the dominant project. It is also close enough to downtown that trail and greenway rules can reach it.
History & architecture
How Sunblest was built
Sunblest was platted and built out from the mid-1970s through the early 1990s, when Fishers was still a town of a few thousand people.
The plan is unusual for its era: a wheel-and-spoke layout with Holland Park at the hub rather than the loop-and-cul-de-sac pattern that dominated later Fishers subdivisions.
Its location between 116th and 126th Streets put it within walking distance of the old town center, which is now the Nickel Plate District.
For decades it served as an entry-level neighborhood in Fishers; appreciation and downtown redevelopment have since pushed values well past that role.
The housing stock is now old enough that renovation, not new construction, is the main form of change here.
- Predominant era
- Mid-1970s through early 1990s
- Lot pattern
- Regular platted lots on radiating streets, mature trees
- Typical districts
- R3, R4, or R5 depending on the section, with platted setbacks controlling
- Typical project
- Kitchen and primary-suite additions, garage conversions, rear expansions
Landmarks & shared spaces
Places that anchor Sunblest
Nickel Plate Trail access
The converted rail corridor is close enough to make trail-adjacent parcels subject to the overlay.
Downtown Fishers
Walkable civic and dining core immediately south of the neighborhood.
Businesses & districts
Where Sunblest gathers
116th Street corridor
Everyday retail and services along the neighborhood's southern edge.
Nickel Plate District restaurants
The downtown dining cluster within walking distance.
Zoning & overlays
Common zoning codes in Sunblest
These are the base districts and overlays we see most often on Sunblest lots. Always confirm your parcel's district and overlays on the Metro zoning map before design decisions get expensive.
R3Residential District (R3)
12,000 sq ft minimum lot, 90 ft width. Front 25 ft local / 40 ft other, side 10 ft (5 ft with a side- or rear-load garage) and 20 ft aggregate, rear 30 ft. Height 35 ft, 40% impervious — up to 50% abutting Geist.
R4Residential District (R4)
10,000 sq ft minimum lot, 80 ft width. Front 25 ft local / 40 ft other, side 10 ft, rear 25 ft. Height 35 ft. The common district for 1980s–1990s Fishers subdivisions platted before the PUD era took over.
R5Residential District (R5)
7,500 sq ft minimum lot, 70 ft width, front 25 ft local / 40 ft other, side 10 ft, rear 25 ft, 50% maximum impervious area. The tightest single-family district in the UDO.
Overlays that apply here
NPT-OL
Nickel Plate Trail Overlay
Layered over base zoning along the Nickel Plate Trail corridor, including single-family lots that back or face the trail. Overlay architecture and landscape standards supersede conflicting base district rules.
GW-OL
Greenway Overlay District
Applies near mapped greenways and parks. Base dimensional standards still apply, with added ground-cover and erosion control for land disturbance and trail connectivity requirements on new subdivisions.
Permitting path
- 1A compliant addition, remodel, or accessory structure is an Improvement Location Permit — an administrative Department of Community Development review with no public hearing.
- 2Where the parcel sits in a recorded subdivision plat, the platted setback controls over the UDO table. Read the plat before trusting the district minimums.
- 3Relief from a setback, height, or impervious standard in a base district is a development standards variance at the Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals.
- 4In a PUD subdivision, the governing standard is the adopted PUD ordinance. Deviating from it can mean a PUD amendment through the PUD Committee, Plan Commission, and City Council rather than a simple BZA variance.
- 5City approval and HOA approval are separate. Fishers publishes a Homeowners Association Guide making clear that a permit does not satisfy private covenants, and an architectural committee approval does not satisfy the UDO.
Why it matters
Sunblest's place in Fishers
Sunblest is one of the few Fishers neighborhoods old enough to have mature tree canopy and a genuine established character.
Its proximity to downtown makes it the most walkable conventional subdivision in the city.
It represents the pre-PUD era of Fishers development, so base-district standards and platted setbacks — not a PUD ordinance — usually govern.
The 1970s and 1980s housing stock here is the city's core market for whole-house renovation.
Events & festivals
What happens in Sunblest
Holland Park recreation season
Spring through fall
Ball field and park programming at the neighborhood's center.
Fishers Farmers Market
Saturdays, seasonal
Walkable from much of the neighborhood at the downtown amphitheater.
Designing here
What this means for your Sunblest project
- Pull the recorded plat. In a subdivision of this era the platted setback frequently differs from — and controls over — the UDO district table.
- 1970s and 1980s framing, insulation, and window openings usually need upgrading at the same time as an addition. Budget for the transition detail where old meets new.
- Mature trees are the neighborhood's best asset and its biggest construction risk. Plan for root protection and, where possible, keep foundations outside the critical root zone.
- Split-level and tri-level plans are common here and require careful floor-level reconciliation when adding on — a half-level jog usually reads better than forcing a single plane.
- If the lot is near the Nickel Plate Trail, confirm whether the overlay applies before selecting exterior materials.
- Coverage is rarely the binding constraint on these lots; rear setback and easements usually are.
FAQ
Questions about Sunblest
Keep exploring
Other Fishers neighborhoods
Sources
- City of Fishers Unified Development Ordinance (Encode Plus)
- Fishers Department of Community Development — Planning & Zoning
- Fishers Board of Zoning Appeals
- City of Fishers Homeowners Association Guide (PDF)
- Fishers PUD boundaries (city GIS open data)
- Neighborhoods.com — Sunblest Farms, Fishers
- Indianapolis Encyclopedia — Fishers
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