Apartments, dance group headquarters planned for 42nd and College

The project spearheaded by Midtown Indianapolis Inc. would utize both the northeast and southeast corners of 42nd Street and College Avenue. (Image courtesy of Google)

A local community economic development group is in the early stages of transforming two corners at a prominent intersection in Meridian-Kessler, planning an affordable housing development and a new commercial building that would serve as a not-for-profit’s headquarters.

The tentative plans from Midtown Indianapolis Inc. focus on the northeast and southeast corners of 42nd Street and College Avenue. Midtown is working with Indianapolis officials on the project, since the city owns the land in question.

The northeast corner, with the address of 4201 College Ave., is the current site of an Indianapolis Police Department station, which is used by the department’s public engagement office. The southeast corner serves as a surface parking lot comprising 4185, 4191 and 4197 N. College Ave. The lot is immediately north of Indianapolis Fire Department Station No. 31.

Under Midtown’s plans, the site north of 42nd Street would be home to an apartment building with first-floor retail space, while the parcels south of 42nd Street would be used for a multi-use building. It would host the not-for-profit arts organization Kids Dance Outreach, including at least two dance studios and administrative and storage space. It would also have a couple dozen apartment units.

Midtown envisions the two buildings having anywhere from 75 to 90 studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units—including as many as 68 apartments on the northeast corner—although firm numbers have not been finalized. The apartments would be for individuals and families making 30% to 120% of the area’s median income.

City development officials see the tentative projects as an opportunity to create more affordable housing along the city’s main transportation arteries. IndyGo’s Red Line runs along College Avenue past the two corners, with a dedicated stop just north of 42nd Street.

If the project proceeds as planned, Midtown would receive the property through what’s known as a qualified corporation transfer—a tool deployed by the city to help community development corporations repurpose land. A purchase price for the parcels, which total 1.48 acres between the northeast and southeast corners, has not been finalized.

The city’s Metropolitan Development Commission would be required to approve a property transfer, after the city and Midtown reach a deal on the land—either through a direct property transfer or an option to purchase agreement. Any such agreement is expected to have provisions that ensure the property is redeveloped, otherwise it could be taken back by the city.

“This project shows that we’re not just thinking about affordable housing in our downtown area, with our newer [tax-increment financing] projects,” Rusty Carr, director of the city of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development, told IBJ. “This is about putting underutilized government property back to work for our residents and neighbors.”

The project is still early in the design stages, meaning an all-in development cost has also not been finalized—nor has an agreement with the development firm that Midtown Indianapolis plans to partner with on the project.

The apartment project is still considered tentative, officials said, because its construction would rely on Midtown receiving low-income housing tax credits from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority to help finance its construction.

“This has been a five-year conversation that [has] sought to take some underutilized, inactive parcels not on the tax rolls now, and use it to serve not only a community-serving not-for-profit, but to increase access to safe and affordable housing for individuals of all incomes,” said Michael McKillip, executive director of Midtown Indy. “We’re thinking very holistically about affordability here.”

McKillip said Midtown hopes to apply for the tax credits during a funding round in 2024. The most aggressive timeline would see Midtown and the project developer delivering the first units by early 2026.

“We think we will have an extremely competitive project, and we hope that the IHCDA will agree,” McKillip said. “But these things take time.”

The Kids Dance Outreach building would have a 4,100-square-foot primary studio, as well as a smaller studio about one quarter the size. It would also feature an 1,100-square-foot retail space at the corner of College and 42nd Street, along with additional apartments on upper levels.

The arts education-focused Kids Dance Outreach, which offers free programs to its participants, would have an option to either purchase their space within the project or to rent their space, but McKillip said the group has “prioritized ownership of their space.” The Kids Dance Outreach portion of the project cannot move forward without the apartments component, but would be developed without using funds from tax credits which are earmarked for housing.

He said talks with KDO have been underway since 2018, when the group first asked Midtown to help it find a site within the neighborhood from which it could operate.

“Our services are focused on building the capacity of the nonprofits that are located in or who desire to be in our community and ensuring their plans and services are a good fit for our community and its neighborhoods,” McKillip said. “When the plans of such organizations align with our mission to provide affordable housing in proximity to transit and where we can alleviate obsolescent, vacant, or underutilized property we may opt to partner directly” with them.

Mónica Muñoz, executive director of Kids Dance Outreach, told IBJ that the downtown-based organization has seen a 40% increase in participation since 2018. In the last school year alone, the group has increased programming hours by 60%.

But the organization doesn’t have its own space, but instead has a patchwork of performance areas that she said “can no longer sustain the demand for services.” The new space will allow for the organization to not only have a permanent spot, but also offer certain social services to members of the Midtown community.

“While we currently hold some programming at the Athenaeum downtown, securing a permanent space for our children downtown is not an option,” Muñoz said. “As a result, we have created a unique opportunity that allows us not only to meet the needs of our organization but also to help transform the adjacent neighborhood and the city of Indianapolis,”

On July 6, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved a request from the city to rezone the land required for the projects. The zoning was switched from a special-use designation to MU-1, which provides for mixed-use development.

The MDC also approved the city’s request for a variance of development standards to allow the height of the KDO headquarters building to reach 70 feet, instead of the standard 45 feet.

The City-County Council is set to consider final approval of the zoning request at its Aug. 14 meeting. The MDC’s decision on the variance is final.