Kokomo

Though it’s a decades-old Kokomo neighborhood, Bon Air is gaining new relevance thanks to its proximity to the city’s largest new employer – twin battery manufacturing plants that will build electric vehicle batteries once construction is completed in 2025 and 2027, respectively. “Bon Air is selling because of the battery plant,” says Amy True, managing broker and owner of True Realty. “It’s just very convenient to what’s happening right now.” The new battery plants – a joint venture between Stellantis (Chrysler) and Samsung – are directly across State Road 931 from Bon Air. The Kokomo City Trolley Yellow-Green Line runs along Morgan Street between Ivy Tech Community College and Downtown Kokomo on weekdays. Bike lanes along Morgan Street and Apperson Way help give the neighborhood a Bike Score of 60/100. Bicyclists also don’t have to venture far for a repair or a new ride at Victory Cycle, which has been a neighborhood landmark since 1940. Kokomo’s cinematic claim to fame is as the home of a bar that plays “both kinds of music – country and western,” setting up a memorable fish-out-of-water scene in comedy classic “The Blues Brothers.” A real-life version of that fictitious setting is here: The Kokomo Country Palace. Unlike the made-up Bob’s Country Bunker, there’s no need for chicken wire to protect bands from rowdy patrons – Kokomo Country Palace is a welcoming place featuring beginner’s line-dancing classes. Local dining options include Martino’s Italian Villa and Kokomo Fish Chicken and Gyros. A Save-A-Lot in the neighborhood is the largest grocery store on Kokomo’s North Side. Bon Air Park provides another example of the neighborhood adapting to the times—the park is home to the Kokomo Parks and Recreation District Pickleball League. Bon Air Park is one of three Kokomo parks participating in the summer Recreation Adventure Program. Offered while school is out of session in June and July, the program features arts and crafts, games, sports and other supervised activities for Kokomo children. Nearby Northside Park is home to Hunger Skatepark, which is open to skateboarders, BMX riders and rollerbladers. Most Bon Air houses are one-story cottages or bungalows built between 1940-60. “Houses in Bon Air are smaller and more affordable than some other parts of Kokomo,” says Cyndi Dieterman, agent with The Key Group. Some of those houses need repairs while others are ready for move-in. Sales in the neighborhood range from $30,000 to around $190,000. Students attend kindergarten through fifth grade at Bon Air Elementary on the neighborhood’s north side, then remain on campus to attend Bon Air Middle School for the next three years. Both schools provide each student with a personal computer and have a C-rating on Niche. High schoolers attend C-plus-rated Kokomo High, which offers 24 Advanced Placement courses. Bon Air is just minutes from Kokomo Speedway, which has been part of Indiana’s fabled dirt-track racing scene since opening in 1947. Racing legends Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Tony Stewart are among the competitors to race the quarter-mile clay oval. Racing season runs from April through October. Tornado season is always a time to pay attention in Kokomo – particularly in a neighborhood like Bon Air, where few houses have basements. Since 1951, 27 tornadoes have touched down in Howard County, including an F4 tornado in 1965 and EF3 tornadoes in 1998 and 2016.

Cedar Crest is a residential neighborhood of mid-century houses close to Kokomo’s largest employers and shopping centers. And with two new battery-producing plants scheduled to become fully operational in 2025 and 2027, demand is only expected to increase in Cedar Crest and other neighborhoods on Kokomo’s east side. “It’s been selling really well,” says Amy True, managing broker/owner at True Realty, “because we are low in inventory, and that’s close to everything in our area.” Cedar Crest is 2 miles southeast of downtown Kokomo, situated just east of Reed Road (State Road 931) and just north of Chrysler’s transmission plant and GM’s electronic components plant. The newly constructed Stellantis-Samsung battery plant is about 4 miles north of the neighborhood. Many streets in the neighborhood are named after GM car models – Buick, Cadillac, Corvette and Pontiac – but are lined with sidewalks that make the neighborhood friendly to pedestrians and dogwalkers. Kokomo’s largest retail centers are either across the street or down the street from Cedar Crest. Markland Mall sits directly across Reed Road. Sam’s Club and Meijer are directly adjacent to the neighborhood. Boulevard Crossing, which has a Kohl’s, Old Navy and T.J. Maxx among other stores, is on the neighborhood’s southwestern corner. Kokomo Town Center, anchored by AMC Classic 12 Theater and chain dining options like Buffalo Wild Wings, is across Reed Road from Boulevard Crossing. Houses in Cedar Crest were primarily built between the late 1950s and mid 1970s, seizing on the neighborhood’s proximity to the plant that manufactured the world’s first successful car radio. “It’s always been a quiet neighborhood with brick ranch homes,” True says. “It’s desirable because it’s quiet, and because of proximity.” Houses range between $115,000-235,000, with those on the higher end tending to have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Cedar Crest is in the Kokomo-Center Township School Corporation. Students are zoned to attend Elwood Haynes Elementary and Maple Crest Middle School, both of which receive a C-rating on Niche. Elwood Haynes, named after the Kokomo inventor who first created stainless steel, follows in the footsteps of its namesake with its fifth-grade robotics team. Students can also apply to attend C-plus rated Sycamore Elementary and B-minus rated Central Middle School. Sycamore and Central are both authorized International Baccalaureate schools, as is C-plus rated Kokomo High School. Mohr Park, located in the southwestern part of Cedar Crest, has two playgrounds, a picnic pavilion and basketball court. There is also a fenced-in dog area that is the lone dog park on Kokomo's east side. Mohr Park is one of three Kokomo parks to participate in the summer Recreation Adventure Program. Offered while school is out of session in June and July, the program features arts and crafts, games, sports and other supervised activities for Kokomo children. Mohr Park is also one of the rotating parks featured in the parks department’s Water Spray event – a weekly free event co-sponsored by the Kokomo Fire Department, which gently hoses down grateful residents on hot summer afternoons. Multiple houses in Cedar Crest were damaged or destroyed in a 2016 tornado, which explains why the neighborhood features a handful of houses built some 40 years after most of their neighbors. Tornadoes are a spring and summer concern in Kokomo, with 27 twisters striking Howard County since 1951, including a Category F4 storm in 1965.

Country Club Hills is home to a namesake country club that's been here longer than any houses – players first hit the course using their hickory-shafted niblicks and mashies in June 1904. The neighborhood developed around the golf course more than a half-century later. Some 60 years after that development, people still find it a desirable place to call home. "People have been flocking to the Kokomo area because the cost of living is so low compared to surrounding counties," says Cyndi Dieterman, agent with The Key Team. "The city is big enough to have everything, but not so big that it takes two hours to get from one side to the other." Houses in Country Club Hills reflect the most fashionable styles in early 1960s architecture. "You're going to find a lot of mid-century ranch homes. A few of them are on the golf course," Dieterman says. "It's a very nice area. For the age of the subdivision, people have taken very good care of those homes." Ranches and bilevels in Country Club Hills range between $105,000 and $216,000. Country Club Hills' proximity to schools makes it appealing to families. Parents can walk their children to Boulevard Elementary, which is across Berkley Road from the neighborhood. The school is just across the football field from Kokomo High, which has more than 1,500 students from across the city. Country Club Hills students also attend Maple Crest Middle School, about 1.5 miles east of the neighborhood. Boulevard and Maple Crest receive C-grades on Niche, while Kokomo High has a C-plus. Sidewalks along the winding streets and cul-de-sacs of Country Club Hills make this a walker-friendly neighborhood. There is also a path to the south of the neighborhood along Lincoln Road, and bike lanes along West Boulevard in the northern half of the neighborhood. The Kokomo City Trolley's Orange Line runs along West Blvd. and Lincoln Rd. Monday through Friday. A vehicle is helpful to get around the rest of Kokomo from this neighborhood near the city's southwest corner – just minutes from rural Howard County's farm fields. The members-only Kokomo Country Club, which features a par-70 course and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, is a longstanding Kokomo greenspace. The public can enjoy Country Club Hills Park, which features a playground, basketball court, softball practice field and private rental building. Korner Kitchen South on West Blvd. serves a mix of American and Mexican breakfast and lunch dishes ranging from biscuits and gravy to burritos. Country Squire is a nearby carryout spot specializing in broasted chicken, pork chops and seafood. Nearby PASTArrific Italian Restaurant and Piano Bar has served the area since 1987. A Kroger in the Maple Crest neighborhood is the closest grocery store to Country Club Hills. High school sports are the heartbeat of Indiana's smaller cities and farm communities. Kokomo is no exception to the rule. Country Club Hills is ideally situated for catching a Kokomo High football game or track meet at Walter Cross Field or a softball game at the Wildkats' brand-new artificial turf diamond. However, fans must travel to Downtown Kokomo for youth basketball games. The Wildkats play at the historic Memorial Gym, which seats more than 5,000 fans. A row of high-tension power lines runs through the middle of the neighborhood. Residents with yards underneath the lines can expect to hear a faint electrical buzzing sound that can grow louder shortly after rainfall.

When Darrough Chapel was founded near its namesake (and now long-gone) church in the 1890s, locals may have considered the unincorporated area 3 miles east of town to be out in the sticks. These days, it stands on the city’s edge -- the last residential neighborhood before Kokomo gives way to the vast farm fields of eastern Howard County. That combination gives Darrough Chapel a small-town feel of familiarity despite being a neighborhood adjacent to two of Kokomo’s biggest shopping centers. “There’s not a lot of sale history in that neighborhood,” says Lindsay Ousley, Realtor with The Wyman Group. “People kind of hunker down and stay there.” Darrough Chapel is the bridge between State Road 931 and the U.S. Route 31 bypass, which was built in 2013 to alleviate the then-notorious congestion of what was once known as “Stop Light City.” Around the same time, Darrough Chapel was finally connected to Kokomo’s sewer system even though it was not incorporated into the city. “Its location close to the bypass elevated the value of that neighborhood,” Ousley says. It’s also roughly halfway between the GM and Chrysler plants to the south and a pair of new plants that will manufacture batteries for electric cars to the north. Darrough Chapel is adjacent to shopping centers on Markland Avenue, making it one of the most convenient locations in Kokomo. Meijer, Sam’s Club and a Walmart Supercenter are all located here. For the crafty, there’s even a Hobby Lobby and JOANN Fabric. There are multiple chain restaurants in this part of Kokomo, but only one restaurant in Darrough Chapel: El Arcoiris Ice Cream. The name – Spanish for “Rainbow” -- could apply to the menu, which features a wide spectrum of flavors: tamales, elote, chicharrones and other savory items in addition to sweets like pan dulce, mangonadas, and of course, ice cream. Championship Park is another byproduct of the U.S. 31 bypass. Opened in 2021, the park has four collegiate baseball/softball fields and four junior baseball/softball fields, meaning noise pollution in Darrough Chapel comes in the form of metal bats pinging home runs. The park is home of the KUBS (Kokomo United Baseball Softball) youth programs. The Howard County Veterans Memorial offers a place of somber reflection next to Championship Park. The monument, originally dedicated in 2000, was updated with a statue to honor six Kokomo servicemen killed in Iraq. Whether it’s a bungalow, cottage or ranch, nearly every house in Darrough Chapel is one story with an average home size of around 1,200 square feet. The average lot is around 5,500 square feet – about one-eighth of an acre. Most houses in the neighborhood were built prior to 1950. Darrough Chapel’s streets, barely wider than many neighborhood driveways, also reflect when they were built – before anyone could envision SUVs. Houses in the neighborhood range between $40,000-$180,000. Darrough Chapel’s school has been converted to Darrough Chapel Head Start, a preschool for 3- and 4-year-old students. Darrough Chapel Head Start rates 4 of 4 in the Indiana Paths to Quality. Students are zoned to attend Elwood Haynes Elementary and Maple Crest Middle School, both of which receive a C-rating on Niche. Elwood Haynes, named after the Kokomo inventor who first created stainless steel, follows in the footsteps of its namesake with its fifth-grade robotics team. Students can also apply to attend C-plus rated Sycamore Elementary and B-minus rated Central Middle School. Sycamore and Central are both authorized International Baccalaureate schools, as is C-plus rated Kokomo High School. From spring through fall, residents can expect to see a steady stream of out-of-towners coming to Championship Park, which hosts travel baseball and softball tournaments most weekends that whether permits. Tornadoes are a spring and summer concern in Kokomo, with 27 twisters striking Howard County since 1951. The 2016 tornado damaged and destroyed several homes in the Cedar Crest neighborhood, which is just southwest of Darrough Chapel.

Downtown Kokomo is a primarily commercial neighborhood that is also home to many city and Howard County agencies. However, there is also a pocket of historic houses and several newly developed townhomes catering to those looking for something closer to an urban vibe in this north central Indiana city of nearly 60,000 residents. That figure is significant. Kokomo's population increased by 31% between 2010-2022, marking the city’s largest growth spurt since the 1950s. DJ Butcher, an associate broker with Fortune Inc., is among that number. The Kokomo native left town in 2010 before returning eight years later. “When I left, there was nothing here downtown for anyone to do. When I came back in 2018, it felt like it was a whole different city,” Butcher says. “I never went downtown when I came back to visit. There was no reason to. Now I work downtown, and I love it.” A vibrant shopping and dining district has keyed Downtown Kokomo’s revival. “The community is keeping these mom-and-pops thriving,” Butcher says. The neighborhood has late-19th century charm, but buildings are either renovated or new constructions that fit in with the established architecture. There are shopping choices as varied as boutiques (Annmarie’s, Esther’s Place and Olive Tree), comic shops (Comics Cubed), toy stores (Kokomo Toys and Collectibles) and record stores (American Dream Hi Fi). The Sun King brew pub, a smaller sibling of the Indianapolis microbrewing titan located inside the former Kokomo rail depot, features seven in-house brews and 21 brewed in Indy. Nearby 3 Amigos, Marble The Steakhouse, Missy’s Family Restaurant and Oscar’s Pizza are among Kokomo’s most popular restaurants. It’s possible to travel in any direction from Downtown Kokomo on the Kokomo City Trolley Line, which has five different routes. The trolleys – really buses designed to resemble streetcars – run from 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. on weekdays. Like many downtowns, Kokomo’s is a highly walkable and bike-friendly area. The Wildcat Creek Walk of Excellence, a 4-mile trail along its namesake creek, cuts along downtown’s southern boundary and connects with neighborhoods to the east and west. “People use it all the time,” Butcher says of the Walk of Excellence. Foster Park is directly across Washington Street from Downtown, and hosts many of Kokomo’s events, festivals and concerts in addition to featuring a playground, pickleball and tennis courts, basketball courts, softball diamond and skatepark. Downtown Dog Park, just across Wildcat Creek from Downtown, has a fenced-in and dog-friendly play area. Recreational opportunities abound at the Delmar E. Demaree Family YMCA, which opened its new building in 2016. The Y offers basketball, swimming, volleyball, pickleball and fitness classes. The Haynes Apperson 5K race, one of many events in the annual Haynes Apperson Festival, runs through Downtown Kokomo the final weekend of June. The festival, held at Foster Park, commemorates the Haynes Apperson automobile – the first successful gasoline-powered car in the US, which was made in Kokomo. Foster Park also hosts the weekly Kokomo Summer Concert series. Across Wildcat Creek, fans can catch the Kokomo Jackrabbits at Kokomo Municipal Stadium. The Jackrabbits play in the Northwoods League, which is a summer wooden bat league for college players. First Friday events are held monthly in Kokomo’s downtown square, which is also the site of the annual strawberry festival in early June. Downtown Kokomo’s houses are almost entirely located on the neighborhood’s east side in the blocks between Market Street and Apperson Way. Though there are relatively few homes, there’s a wide array of styles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries – a mix of Arts and Crafts, American Foursquares and bungalows. Several larger houses are divided into duplexes. Houses near downtown typically range between $150,000-250,000, but they don’t often hit the market. On Market Street, a row of townhouses constructed in 2017 is priced between $250,000-350,000. Kokomo-Center Township Consolidated School Corporation receives an overall C-plus rating from Niche. Students living downtown would attend Bon Air Elementary from kindergarten through second grade before moving to Pettit Park Elementary for third to fifth grade. Both schools have a C-rating. Students are zoned to attend C-rated Bon Air Middle School. However, all Kokomo students are eligible to apply for Central Middle International School, which is located downtown. Central, which has a B-minus rating, has been an authorized International Baccalaureate school since 2013. All Kokomo students are zoned to attend Kokomo High, which is in the southwest part of the city. However, Kokomo High’s Memorial Gymnasium, which was completed in 1949 and seats more than 5,000 fans, is downtown on the Central Middle School campus. Wildkats basketball games are a big draw here -- and in 2024, Flory Bidunga became the third Kokomo High player to ever win Indiana’s prestigious Mr. Basketball award, which was established in 1939.

In Fairlawn, there are ample reminders of Kokomo’s past. A large, abandoned factory on the neighborhood’s west side is where the Haynes Automobile Company produced America’s first commercially successful cars until going out of business in 1925. Fairlawn is the neighborhood that grew up around that factory, and most of its homes date to the 1910s and ‘20s. “Usually buyers are seeking affordability,” says Amy True, managing broker and owner of True Realty. “And Fairlawn has old-home charm in most cases.” Though the factory that was once Fairlawn’s lifeblood hasn’t been in production for decades, the neighborhood is close to Chrysler’s transmission plant and GM’s electronic components plant – both are 2 miles south. Fairlawn is also about 4 miles south of the Stellantis-Samsung battery plants opening in 2025 and 2027. “It’s definitely centrally located, and close to the (State Road 931) bypass that can take you south, or north to all the plants that are being built,” True says. Public transit is also available on weekdays. The Kokomo City Trolley Blue Line crosses through the neighborhood on Markland Avenue, and the Red Line runs up Home Avenue. For bicyclists, joggers and walkers, the 5-mile-long Industrial Heritage Trail runs along the former rail line that once shipped cars from the Haynes Automobile factory. Century-old bungalows are commonplace in Fairlawn, as well as a handful of two-story Craftsman-style houses. However, not every house in the neighborhood is from the early 20th century. In parts of the neighborhood, it’s possible to find ranches built in the 1980s and 1990s. “If it’s a newer home, it will be priced less than it would be in a newer neighborhood,” True says. Fixer-uppers in the neighborhood range from $10,000-60,000 while turnkey houses can range from $65,000-180,000. Like many of the neighborhood’s houses, Barker’s B&K is a blast from the past – a vintage early 1960s drive-in and root beer stand serving coney dogs, breaded tenderloin and other items as well as fan-favorite strawberry shortcakes for dessert. Located just outside of the neighborhood, Artie’s Tenderloin has been cooking Indiana’s signature dish since 1938. Kokomo Ale House is a much newer Fairlawn-area eatery earning a reputation for its burger menu. An Aldi at Markland Mall is the nearest grocery store, with Meijer, Target and Walmart also close by. Students are zoned to attend Elwood Haynes Elementary and Maple Crest Middle School, both of which receive a C-rating on Niche. Elwood Haynes, named after the Kokomo industrialist and inventor who started the Haynes Automobile Company, follows in the mechanically minded footsteps of its namesake with its fifth-grade robotics team. Students can also apply to attend C-plus rated Sycamore Elementary and B-minus rated Central Middle School. Sycamore and Central are both authorized International Baccalaureate schools, as is C-plus rated Kokomo High School. Kokomo High offers 24 Advanced Placement courses. Just north of the neighborhood, Meridian Park features a playground, covered picnic shelter, basketball court and paved walkways on a 1-acre lot. There is also a playground just off the Industrial Heritage Trail on the south side of Defenbaugh Street. Fairlawn is less than a mile from Kokomo Municipal Stadium, which hosts the Kokomo Jackrabbits of the Northwoods League – a summer wood-bat baseball league for college players. The day after Thanksgiving, the ballpark is converted into “The Frozen Sandlot” and used as an ice-skating rink until early January. It’s also a little more than a mile from Kokomo Beach Family Aquatic Center, a city-run water park that also offers swimming lessons. The Kokomo Community Garage Sale is also hosted in the Kokomo Beach parking lot the weekend after the pool closes for the season in September. Tornadoes are a concern in Kokomo. A 2016 twister caused more than $10 million in property damage, destroying homes and businesses in neighborhoods just south and east of Fairlawn. In total, 27 tornadoes have touched down in Howard County since 1951, though none have caused fatalities since a Category F4 tornado that devastated Kokomo in 1965.