HAND awarded $2M in funding for senior housing in Tipton

Preliminary Tipton site plan

Noblesville-based HAND Inc. plans to invest $2.1 million to build a nine-unit rental property in Tipton for low-income seniors.

The nonprofit housing and neighborhood development organization will receive $2 million from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority’s Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Development Fund programs; it also will utilize a bank loan.

HAND’s Tipton development is planned for about an acre of vacant land on Southwood Drive, just east of Tipton High School. The property is in an existing residential neighborhood where construction stalled. Residents of the area asked HAND to consider building there to address the need for more affordable senior housing in the Tipton County seat.

“Across rural parts of Indiana, there is a shortage of safe, decent and affordable housing,” said Indiana Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, who serves as IHCDA’s board chair. “This funding will not only support the creation of affordable units, but [it also will] leverage additional investment into Tipton County.”

Tipton Mayor Don Havens credited synergies promoted by Tipton Care Coalition for this investment. “Over the past few years, this local coalition led by Dr. JoAnn Burke and Bill Gossard … has prioritized affordable senior housing for Tipton,” Havens said. As a result, Indianapolis-based TWG also is developing a $7 million, 49-unit senior apartment building there. “$9 million total investment is phenomenal for a community the size of Tipton.”

The Southwood Villas development will be HAND’s first in Tipton County. The 16-year-old organization already owns eight rental communities in Hamilton and Boone counties—in Carmel, Cicero, Noblesville, Sheridan and Lebanon—leasing almost 140 affordable apartments to low-income residents.

 “HAND is excited to become part of the Tipton community,” said Executive Director Jennifer Miller. “We look forward to working with our new neighbors.”

Plans call for constructing three single-story buildings, each with three 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom rental units. Residents must be at least 62 years old and earn no more than 60 percent of area median income. Rents will be based on income and family size.

The development will address key housing issues and goals cited in Tipton’s 2012 Comprehensive Plan by providing safe and suitable housing opportunities for the growing senior population. The rental housing options will help with alleviating concerns about housing accessibility, property maintenance and affordability that older adults often experience.

Founded in 2003 as Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development Inc., HAND has invested more than $21 million in suburban housing.