Tag Archives: workforce housing

Updates under way at Historic Pleasant Street homes

Current News, Noblesville, , ,

Construction crews are about halfway done reviving three HAND-owned houses on Historic Pleasant Street, a $1.4 million development that will create four affordable two-bedroom rental units for working families.

Two of the units will be reserved for residents who earn no more than 60 percent of area median income, or about $58,000 for a family of four. One will be reserved for residents earning up to 50 percent AMI, and one is for residents earning up to 40 percent AMI.

The city of Noblesville donated the vacant houses to HAND in 2022, after the city’s Pleasant Street extension was rerouted to bypass the historic Plum Prairie neighborhood.

HAND’s initial plans called for renovating the homes, but 630 Historic Pleasant (right) will be demolished due to structural damage. That work is scheduled for Jan. 26, and construction of a new home on the site (below middle) will begin soon after.

Meanwhile, renovations continue at 544/546 Historic Pleasant (below left), which will remain a duplex, and at 648 Historic Pleasant (below right), which is being made ADA accessible. The State Historic Preservation Office signed off on the rehabilitation work and the new construction.

HAND’s Plum Prairie development won $880,000 in HOME funding from the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, and Hamilton County awarded the project almost $305,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds.

Additional funding came from Lake City Bank and MIBOR Realtor Foundation’s Economic and Community Development Council.

Construction is expected to be complete by mid-2024.

Brenner Design Architects is the architect for the development. Home Experts Indy is the general contractor.

rendering of remodeled and new homes

Partner Feature: SouthPointe Village meets need for affordable, accessible housing

Current News, Fishers, , ,

How’s this for evidence that Fishers needs more housing the city’s growing workforce can afford? It took RealAmerica Cos. just two weeks to lease up its new 62-unit SouthPointe Village apartment community.

SouthPointe Village’s success is testament to the demand for beautiful, affordable, accessible homes for those who want to live, work, and play in Fishers.

A quarter of the apartments at SouthPointe Village are reserved for residents with disabilities, and the entire property was designed to be accessible. Residents also have access to four on-site service providers that serve the disabled population — a first for Fishers and Indiana.

Fishers was an ideal location for SouthPointe Village because Hamilton Southeastern Schools have excellent programs for individuals with disabilities. But after graduation, they struggle to find affordable housing with services to help them live independently.

“Fishers has great resources, but we don’t have affordable housing for our workforce who support folks with disabilities,” said Kelly Hartman, co-chair of the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability and founder of Outside the Box. “And we don’t have the opportunity to have folks with disabilities integrated into the community.”

RealAmerica stepped in and partnered with four local service providers to provide on-site services at SouthPointe Village for persons with disabilities. Janus Developmental Services, Outside the Box, Insights, and Opportunities for Positive Growth are working together to help residents with life skills, education, employment training, and independent living. Additionally, Janus has on-site offices on the first floor of SouthPointe to provide easy accessibility for residents and their families.

“We’ve had strong advocacy for folks with disabilities, and we know that housing is a critical shortage for those individuals,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Integrated into SouthPointe will be units that are tailor-made for individuals with disabilities, and this demonstrates a sensitivity to the community and the context for why we’re developing these projects. That in itself is a testament to both RealAmerica’s and the community’s desire to develop something that is accretive to our community.”

At SouthPointe Village, 25 percent of homes were aside for individuals with disabilities, and the entire building is accessible (including raised and lowered garden beds, sidewalks around each community amenity, elevators, automated doors on both ends of the building, and more).

Located at 11245 Lantern Road in Fishers’ thriving Nickel Plate District, SouthPointe is in a prime location for persons with disabilities to be close to employment and their families.

Cecilia Coble, former Fishers City Council President and co-chair of the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability, said, “A lot of families, like myself, want to be close to their loved one with a disability. And unfortunately, with the lack of affordable housing, it’s hard for loved ones to be close to their parents and grandparents and remain in the community in which they grew up. So, we’re really excited and proud to be a part of this project with RealAmerica.”  

SouthPointe Village is a four-story, 62-unit property, offering residents two different open-concept, 1- and 2-bedroom floor plans. All apartments include full-sized, in-unit washers and dryers, luxury plank flooring, built-in kitchen appliances, a balcony or patio, upgraded soundproof flooring and windows, ceiling fans, energy-efficient features, and free in-unit internet service.

Other featured amenities include a dog park and pet spa, an on-site fitness room, an indoor playground and reading corner, sky deck, community room with a kitchen for entertaining and gathering, community garden, bike share program, craft room, computer resource center, and 529 plan funding for resident children. 

The official grand opening took place on Friday, Oct. 8, and included speeches from the City Council, Executive Director of IHCDA, RealAmerica President and Owner Ronda Shrewsbury, and service providers. The grand opening included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, vendor fair, apartment tours, and an on-site food truck. The event was well-attended by the community, officials, and residents.  

SouthPointe Village would not be possible without RealAmerica’s proven commitment to quality, affordable housing, the support of the City of Fishers, the City Council, Mayor Scott Fadness, the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, and the service providers’ support and partnership. Additional financial partners include Boston Financial and Merchants Capital. 

For more information about SouthPointe Village, visit homeatsouthpointevillage.com. To learn more about RealAmerica’s services and newest properties, visit www.RealAmericaLLC.com or find RealAmerica LLC on Facebook and LinkedIn.

HAND awarded $2M for planned workforce housing development in Fishers

Current News, ,

The Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority’s Board of Directors voted today to award HAND Inc. a $1.5 million grant from its HOME Investment Partnerships program and a $500,000 loan from its Development Fund to support construction of 11 rental cottages in Fishers.

HAND, a nonprofit community housing development organization based in Noblesville, plans to invest more than $3 million to build Cumberland Cottages. Hamilton County previously allocated $200,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding to HAND for property acquisition.

HAND will continue to seek additional funding for the project, which will also utilize a loan from Citizens State Bank.

Cumberland Cottages is planned for almost 2 acres of mostly vacant land at the southwest corner of Cumberland Road and 141st Street in Fishers. Earlier this year, the Fishers City Council agreed to rezone the property to allow for the development.

Plans call for building four two-bedroom units and seven three-bedroom units in what’s known as a cottage court layout, clustered around shared green space. Six of the 11 cottages will be reserved for residents who earn no more than 60 percent of area median income.

This will be HAND’s first rental property in Fishers. It 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. Construction of a ninth, in Tipton, is expected to start this fall.

“We know that residents throughout Hamilton County need a wide range of housing options—including some affordable ones—and HAND is thrilled to be able to help,” said Executive Director Andrea Davis.

As part of its application for HOME funding, HAND signed service agreements with more than a dozen local nonprofits that may be able to assist residents of Cumberland Cottages. Tenants will receive information about community partners’ services at move-in.

Construction is expected to begin early next year, following the completion of a federal environmental review and the city of Fishers’ approval of the final development plan.

HAND has enlisted the help of several local firms to develop Cumberland Cottages. Project partners include David Rausch Studio, Jung Design, Context Design, Weihe Engineers, and Meyer Najem Construction.