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Two housing options aimed at lower-income residents took a step toward fruition Monday with affirmative votes on financing from an Indianapolis City-County Council committee.
The Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee approved an allotment of Community Revitalization Enhancement District funds for a proposed affordable housing complex in the International Marketplace district called Hodges Commons. The committee also approved a payment in lieu of taxes for Forty Six Flats, a planned 173-unit workforce housing development off of Keystone Avenue.
Hodges Commons
The International Marketplace Community Revitalization Enhancement District is in northwest Indianapolis and encompasses Lafayette Square Mall. As part of the revitalization district designation, the Indianapolis City-County Council annually approves funds for the International Marketplace Coalition to spend on the marketing and promotion of area businesses.
This year, the International Marketplace Coalition is asking for $2.8 million from the council. About $1.5 million would fund Hodges Commons, a 78-unit affordable housing complex with one-, two- and three-bedroom units. It would be built north of the intersection of 30th Street and Moeller Road.
Woda Cooper Development Inc. is developing the project with the International Marketplace Coalition. It is expected to be ready for residents in 2025.
The $21.2 million development is named in honor of Princeton, Indiana-born Major League Baseball player Gil Hodges, according to developer representative Nick Surak.
The development will include amenities such as internal bicycle storage, a tenant co-working lounge and a full-time on-site management and maintenance staff.
To finance it, the developer plans to seek a 4% tax credit from the state of Indiana this summer.
Thirteen of the units in the complex would be priced to be affordable to families and individuals making 30% of the area’s median income. Those individuals would receive project-based vouchers from the Indianapolis Housing Agency.
The remainder of the units would be priced for residents making 60% to 70% of the area median income. To receive the tax credit, Woda Cooper would be required to maintain affordability for 15 years. The developer intends to maintain the affordability for 30 years, Surak said.
This is the final year that the International Marketplace Coalition will receive funding as a Community Revitalization Enhancement District project. It is also already defined as an allocation area, so an interested developer could create a project to receive tax-increment financing, said International Marketplace Coalition leader Mary Clark.
Surak said that the International Marketplace Coalition would own 10% of the property, which could provide a funding source for future community development.
Councilors moved the proposal to the full City-County Council, which will meet May 8.
Forty Six Flats
At the site of a dilapidated office park, developers House Investments LLP and the not-for-profit Partnership for Affordable Housing Inc. aim to invest $39.6 million in the creation of 173 units of workforce housing. Matt Gadus, director of Partnership for Affordable Housing, appeared before the committee Monday to request a payment in lieu of taxes.
The site is an 8.6-acre property on the south side of East 46th Street, between Keystone Avenue and Allisonville Road. Several blighted buildings in the area have already been razed, but two will be rehabilitated. Five new buildings will be built.
The amenities building would include up to five apartments plus community gathering space, a fitness area, a business center, a management office and a package area. The second floor of the building would be leased to local businesses, not-for-profits and neighborhood groups.
Other funding sources for the development include a $15.3 million tax award from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, which Merchants Capital has agreed to purchase. The developers have also received $26.8 million in tax exempt bonds.
The city of Indianapolis has also agreed to provide $2.75 million in American Rescue Plan funding. The IHCDA is loaning the developers an additional $1 million.
Ten units will be priced for those making 50% of the area’s median income, which Gadus said would be between $32,000 and $45,000. The remaining 163 will be for those making 60% of the area’s median income, or between $38,000 and $54,000, Gadus told the committee.
A one-bedroom apartment at 50% of the area’s median income would cost about $700 a month in the current market, Gadus added.
The majority of one-bedroom units will be 720 square feet, while two-bedroom units will be 950 square feet.
The developers plan to create sidewalks along 46th Street and Allisonville Road, connecting to Keystone Avenue. The site is less than a block away from IndyGo routes and the future extension of the Nickel Plate Trail.
The committee moved the proposal to the full council for a vote May 8.
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