Phone: (317) 674-8108 Fax: (317) 674-8610
Fill out the form below to register for HAND’s 2023 Suburban Housing Conference at the early-bird rate of $75 until April 1.
The conference, presented by Hamilton County Community Foundation, is scheduled for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday, May 3 at the Embassy Suites in Noblesville.
HAND’s 2023 Suburban Housing Conference is scheduled for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, at the Embassy Suites in Noblesville.
Registration will open March 15.
Sponsorships are still available for the event. Click here to see a menu of options, and contact Andrea Davis for more information.
Stay tuned for more details!
When: The open enrollment period for the Noblesville Housing Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher wait list will be from 9 a.m. Aug. 31, 2022 until 4 p.m. Sept. 9, 2022. This wait list is not created on a first-come, first-served basis. All pre-applicants will be sorted by preference and then by lottery.
How: Pre-applications will be accepted online only. Only one pre-application per household will be accepted. Duplicate applications will be rejected. Paper pre-applications will not be available and applicants will not be able to apply in person, unless a reasonable accommodation is requested. To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact the Housing Authority at (317)773-5110 ext. 4 or list@gonha.org no later than 4 p.m. Sept. 5.
Where: Pre-applications can only be submitted ONLINE to www.waitlistcheck.com/IN2939 with the use of any computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet with internet access.
Information needed: Before you begin the online application, gather the following for all household members:
• Names
• Birthdates
• Social Security numbers
• Income amounts and sources
• Emergency/Alternative contact information (optional)
An email address will be required. If you don’t have one already, the application process will allow you to create a free Google Gmail address. Your application ID will be emailed to you soon after you complete your pre-application online.
Language assistance: If you need assistance in another language, Google Translate will assist you during the application process.
Income Limits: HUD requires all HCV participants to meet income requirements when they begin participation in the program. At least 75% of new admissions must be Extremely Low Income (ELI). The table below indicates the current ELI income limits and maximum income limits by household size:
Preference and Lottery Selection Process: Placement on the Waiting List will be based on local jurisdiction preferences and will be selected and ordered using a random lottery system. Preference is given to extremely low-income households, elderly, disabled, veteran households, those who live or work in Hamilton County, or those who live or work in the counties adjacent to Hamilton County (Boone, Clinton, Hancock, Madison, Marion and Tipton). Families with children are encouraged to apply. There is not an advantage to applying early, as the selection is through a lottery process.
Checking application status: After the pre-applications are sorted by preference, the online system will randomly select 200 of the pre-applications using preference points and a lottery system. To check the status, applicants can go to either www.waitlistcheck.com OR www.assistancecheck.com with the username and password they created when they completed their pre-application. The selection will be made and application statuses will be posted by Sept. 27. ACTIVE means the application is on the wait list, and INACTIVE means the application was not selected. Applicants that are not selected will need to reapply when the list reopens.
Submission of a pre-application does not guarantee placement on any Waiting List or an offer of a Housing Choice Voucher. If there are any questions, please call 317-773-5110 or email LIST@gonha.org.
Tipton Mayor Tom Dolezal cut the ribbon at HAND’s newest rental property on May 24, signifying the end of construction at Southwood Villas. Work on the five two-bedroom, one-bath homes began last fall.
The development, located on Southwood Drive just east of the Tipton High School football field, made use of five vacant residential lots on a cul-de-sac.
All residents must be 55 or older and earn less than 60 percent of the area median income for Tipton County. South Bend-based Bradley Co. is processing applications; residents should be able to move in this month.
Funding for the $1.6 million project was provided by the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority (IHCDA) and Lake City Bank.
The project has been in the works since 2019, when IHCDA awarded HAND $2 million to build nine units on the site. The scope of the project was later reduced after neighbors objected and a judge ruled that the planned duplexes could not straddle plat lines.
About 30 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at Southwood Villas.
The development team included Meyer Najem Construction LLC, Weihe Engineers, and Brenner Design Inc.
Many thanks to Chrissy and Rick Ramsey of RC Fine Portraits for the photos below:
Attendance at HAND’s 2022 Suburban Housing Conference more than doubled from the previous year, as local leaders gathered to see the latest Hamilton County housing research and explore ways to address the need for more affordable options.
Over 175 people registered for the May 4 event presented by the Hamilton County Community Foundation, including more than a dozen elected officials. In welcoming guests to the conference, County Commissioner Christine Altman stressed the importance of having a full continuum of housing options to meet the needs of the county’s growing workforce. If businesses can’t find employees they need here, eventually, they will look elsewhere.
“If we’re not growing, we’re dying,” she said.
And Hamilton County is becoming less affordable to more people, according to the results of a new housing study released at the conference. Consultant Katie Wertz of Indianapolis-based Greenstreet Ltd. walked attendees through the research, which shows that stagnant incomes and growing home prices are creating affordability problems for most income groups – especially for those households earning less than $98,000 per year (120 percent of area median income).
Hamilton County Economic Development Corp.’s Mike Thibideau led a panel discussion about creating a housing continuum, soliciting insights from Noblesville’s Director of Community Development Sarah Reed, Fishers’ Director of Planning and Zoning Megan Vukusich, and local developers Tony Bagato of Lennar Homes and Justin Moffett of Old Town Companies.
Westfield Washington Township Trustee Danielle Carey Tolan delivered a lunchtime keynote, sharing her observations from the trenches. Township trustees provide financial assistance to residents in need, and the Hamilton County Trustees Association, which Tolan leads, has been administering the county’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program for those impacted by COVID.
“I’m not responsible for fixing every person’s problems when they walk through my door. They have to do that work,” Tolan said. “However, if my community can’t even provide a range of opportunities to improve their lives, then I cry for my community. … We are a resource-filled county in terms of smarts and wealth – it is time to reexamine our priorities and then act on them.”
The conference’s afternoon sessions included three workshops that explored specific strategies that could help improve the housing outlook: Community Land Trusts and Housing Trust Funds, Public-Private-Philanthropic Partnerships, and Land-use Strategies to Increase & Diversify Housing.
Tom Kilian, president of the Hamilton County Community Foundation, closed out the day.
Other conference sponsors were the Noblesville Housing Authority, Hamilton County Trustees Association, Family Promise of Hamilton County, Woda Cooper Cos., David Rausch Studio, PNC Bank, and Breathe Easy Hamilton County.
Table sponsors were the City of Carmel’s Division of Planning & Zoning, Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity, Invest Hamilton County, Kittle Property Group, Multifamily Construction Services, RealAmerica, ULI Indiana, Weihe Engineers, and Brenner Design Architects.