Tag Archives: affordable housing

Wanted: 100 neighbors who support #housing4all

100 hands for HAND logo
Current News

HAND Inc. launched its annual 100 Hands for HAND fundraiser on June 28, inviting community members to donate $100 in support of the nonprofit’s housing programs.

The Noblesville organization is celebrating in 20th anniversary this year as it begins work on two new rental properties that will add 15 units to the 142 it already leases to low- and moderate-income residents.

Housing costs continue to rise faster than incomes, making the work HAND does more important than ever. The need just keeps growing.

So this summer, we’re asking 100 supporters to lend a hand by donating $100 to HAND.

Will you make a gift that will impact your community and help us pursue #housing4all?

To celebrate our anniversary, anyone who gives to the 100 Hands for HAND campaign will receive a free ticket to our 2023 Stay Home for HAND fundraiser on July 29. And that unlocks access to an awesome online silent auction!

Give now:

Construction set to begin in Fishers

HAND staff and board members
Current News, Fishers, ,

Almost two years after being awarded $2 million to build an 11-unit rental community in Fishers, HAND Inc. hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at the site June 15 to celebrate the start of construction.

The project had been on hold due rising construction costs, but HAND was able to proceed thanks to a $1.4 million low-interest loan from IMPACT Central Indiana, the impact-investing affiliate of Hamilton County Community Foundation and Central Indiana Community Foundation.

HCCF's Tom Kilian speaks at the Cumberland Cottages groundbreaking ceremony.

HCCF President Tom Kilian Jr. spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, heralding the opportunity the project is creating for working families in Fishers. Inclusive economic growth is one of the foundation’s strategic priorities.

HAND Executive Director Andrea Davis also addressed the crowd, thanking construction and design team members Meyer Najem, David Rausch Studio, and Weihe Engineers for their commitment to the project despite the delays.

Fishers-based Meyer Najem is the general contractor on the $4.6 million project. Rausch, based in Zionsville, is the architect, and Carmel-based Weihe handled civil engineering.

In addition to IMPACT Central Indiana, funders include the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, the Hamilton County Community Development Block Grant program, and the Crosser Family Foundation. Citizens State Bank provided initial project funding.

Six of the 11 units will be reserved for residents earning up to 60 percent of area median income, a population that is funding it increasingly difficult to afford to live in Hamilton County. The remainder will be available at market-rate rents.

Founded in 2003, HAND is based in Noblesville. It leases a total of 142 rental homes to low- and moderate-income residents in Hamilton, Boone, and Tipton counties. Cumberland Cottages will be HAND’s first property in Fishers.

Members of the Cumberland Cottages design and construction team are ready to get started.
From left, County Commissioner Steve Dillinger and State Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn joined HAND’s Andrea Davis, Fishers City Councilor Crystal Neumann, County Councilor Sue Maki, and Fishers City Councilor Jocelyn Vare at the groundbreaking ceremony on June 15.
Funding partners Peter Nelson from IHCDA, Tom Kilian from HCCF/Impact Central Indiana, and Aimee Jacobsen from the Noblesville Housing Authority joined the fun.
HAND staff and board members
HAND staffers Kelley Romweber and Rebekah Metzger joined board members Nick Surak, Brittany Heidenreich, ED Andrea Davis, and board members Lauren Guynn, ME Barwacz, and Kert Toler for a photo at the site.

200+ attend May ‘Housing our Workforce’ conference

Current News, Housing Conference,

More than 200 central Indiana community leaders gathered at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Noblesville on May 3 to hear from experts working to address a growing need for suburban workforce housing.

HAND’s 2023 Suburban Housing Conference, presented by the Hamilton County Community Foundation, was the Noblesville-based nonprofit’s ninth annual event. It attracted elected officials, political candidates, municipal planners, housing developers, funding partners, nonprofit executives, community activists, and others concerned about the widening gap between household incomes and housing costs.

HCCF President & CEO Tim Kilian set the tone for the educational day, which began with a panel of local developers discussing how they navigate obstacles like high land costs and restrictive zoning ordinances. Invest Hamilton County CEO Mike Thibideau led the discussion among developers Marchelle Berry from Radiant CDC, Alison Birge from Village Capital Corp., Nate Harris from Buckingham Cos., and Bryan Stumpf from 11th Street Development.

“Quick Hits on Housing” included an update on how housing-related bills fared in the just-completed General Assembly, from Prosperity Indiana’s Andrew Bradley, as well as an overview of the regional housing study the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization is working on, from the MPO’s Andrea Miller. Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman provided a brief update on the county’s plans to invest $5 million in federal ARPA funds to acquire land and build infrastructure for an attainable housing development.

Over lunch, Chris Watts, Vice President of Public Policy at the Indiana Association of Realtors, provided a real-time report on state and local real estate trends as the market recovers from its 2022 slowdown. One fascinating data point: In 2023, Hamilton County has had more million-dollar home sales (58) than home sales under $200,000 (38).

After lunch, attendees dug into three breakout session topics: Community Land Trusts, Modular Construction, and Creative Partnerships.

The event would not have been possible without the support of its sponsors. In addition to the Hamilton County Community Foundation, sponsors included:

Keystone: Merchants Bank of Indiana and Noblesville Housing Authority

Supporting: Breathe Easy Hamilton County, Family Promise of Hamilton County, Intend Indiana, PNC Bank

Table: C&H Capital LLC, Church Church Hittle + Antrim, City of Carmel, City of Westfield, Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, Glick Philanthropies, Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity, Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, Invest Hamilton County, Kittle Property Group, Lake City Bank, Multi-Family Construction Services, MIBOR REALTOR Association, Old Town, Stenz Construction, Woda Cooper Cos., Westfield-Washington Township

Half-Table: Brenner Design, Duke Energy, Meyer Najem Construction

Snack: Peterson Architecture

Tipton senior rentals ready for residents

Current News, Tipton, ,

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.

Sign: There's no place like home

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:

The five units at Southwood Villas each have two bedrooms and one bathroom.
The kitchen and living area have vaulted ceilings
Bedrooms have ceiling fans and lots of natural light.
All appliances are included, including a washer and dryer.
All units have a patio in addition to a front porch.

Conference highlights need for range of housing options

2022 HAND Suburban Housing Conference attendees
Current News, Housing Conference, housing study, , ,

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.