West Fork Whiskey expanding in Westfield
Planning ‘live and play entertainment district’
Rather than bring a bar to the neighborhood, West Fork Whiskey plans to bring an entire neighborhood to the bar.
The Westfield-based distillery has announced a partnership with construction company M/I Homes to create a 12 to 18-acre “live and play entertainment district” around its Westfield distillery, which will be dubbed the West Fork District.
Plans for the development, which will extend north and south of the distillery at 10 E. 191st St., include 150 townhomes, walking paths, fire pits, a pond, outdoor concert venue, dog park, whiskey aging warehouse and space for future commercial development, per a news release. M/I plans to build the homes in the same style as the farmhouse chic distillery, which opened August 2022.
West Fork co-founder and CEO Blake Jones said the company hopes to break ground on the project this year. He anticipates it will take at least three months to secure approval from the city of Westfield, which involves meeting with zoning committees and other neighborhood groups.
The townhomes in West Fork District will be for sale, not for rent, and will cater to those prioritize living in walking distance of entertainment and retail spaces, Jones said.
Founded about a decade ago in Indianapolis, West Fork opened its expanded distillery in the Westfield suburbs two years ago, promoting the site as an agritourism facility. Jones and his partners spent nearly a year identifying M/I Homes as its partner for the West Fork District project. M/I Homes has built more than 140,000 homes across 17 markets, according to its website.
While the project’s plans extend well beyond the existing distillery, Jones said the neighborhood should still feel closely attached to West Fork Whiskey.
“I think it’s gonna be pretty unique that it’s gonna be surrounding a specific brand, and that brand kind of taking the lead on how the community comes together,” he said. “We’re really trying to make this as cohesive as possible.”