10/3/2005
Media Contact:
Justin Ohlemiller, [317] 327-6709 |
 |
City, Martindale on the Monon development team secure $800,000 grant to bolster revitalization effort
News of financing comes as developers break ground on another new home; progress continues on redevelopment initiative that will address dozens of abandoned houses
INDIANAPOLIS – As construction crews began turning dirt on another new house within the Martindale on the Monon redevelopment area, city officials and community partners celebrated an $800,000 grant that will further bolster efforts to revitalize the near-Northeast side neighborhood through the new construction and rehabilitation of more than 150 homes.
Working in partnership, the city and Martindale-Brightwood, LLC secured the $800,000 grant -- which comes in the form of a no-interest, revolving loan -- from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (HCDA). The loan will finance the construction of dozens of new homes in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, which has faced challenges over the last several years with abandoned houses and blighted properties.
As part of the Martindale on the Monon initiative, more than 50 abandoned or vacant houses in the Matindale-Brightwood area either will be rehabilitated or demolished and built anew. By the end of October, nine new homes will be under construction, including several on vacant lots where run-down, abandoned houses once stood.
"The new, quality homes rising-up in place of the once-abandoned, blighted structures are signs of a new beginning for Martindale-Brightwood," said Mayor Bart Peterson, who has made cleaning-up abandoned houses a top priority of his administration. "The city and the community partners driving this effort are grateful to the HCDA for its support of Martindale on the Monon. This financing could not have come at a better time as momentum toward revitalization continues to build on the city’s near-Northeast side."
Inspired by the success of Fall Creek Place -- a formerly blighted neighborhood just to the West being transformed through the construction and rehabilitation of nearly 400 homes -- Martindale on the Monon is a three to five-year initiative led by Martindale-Brightwood, LLC in partnership with the Martindale-Brightwood Community Development Corporation (MBCDC).
"Existing homeowners, the Martindale-Brightwood CDC, the city, and our corporate partners have all come together to reawaken a great downtown neighborhood," said Mike Higbee, principal with Martindale-Brightwood, LLC. "When construction is complete, this neighborhood will be one of the best places to live in all of Central Indiana with its new homes, the Monon Trail and countless amenities and services."
The first phases of the project are focusing primarily on the 1600, 1700 and 1800 blocks of Yandes Street.
This area was chosen by developers because of its concentration of vacant houses and lots adjacent to well-built, well-maintained homes.
Comprehensive redevelopment strategies, like those being applied at Martindale on the Monon and Fall Creek Place, were studied as part of two in-depth reports created by the city’s Abandoned Houses Work Group, a body appointed by the Mayor to assist the city in outlining long-term plans to tackle the complex
-more-
Martindale-Brightwood
Pg. 2
abandoned houses issue. The reports called for, among other things, a more holistic approach to redeveloping blighted structures, taking into account the need for infrastructure improvements and other enhancements that support neighborhood stability.
In support of Martindale on the Monon, the city recently completed more than $135,000 in infrastructure work in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood to replace crumbling sidewalks and curbs, and chipped in $700,000 of community development funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for down payment assistance for low-income homebuyers.
Like Fall Creek Place, Martindale on the Monon will place an emphasis on attracting households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area’s median income, which is $63,800 for a family of four. To date, eight new homes have been sold, and housing prices range from $129,000 to $190,000.
Along with the City of Indianapolis, other project partners include Citizen’s Gas and Clarian Health Partners, each of whom have provided a $250,000 low interest revolving line of credit. Other contributing organizations include National City Bank, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. For more information on Martindale on the Monon, call 262-9347 or visit martindaleonthemonon.com.
-30-
|
