Study shows need for affordable and upscale housing in Greater Lafayette region
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The Greater Lafayette Region has unveiled the results of a study that shows a demand for both affordable and upscale housing. The “Greater Lafayette READI Housing Study” was conducted by Iowa-based RDG Planning & Design and highlights the challenges and opportunities in the housing market throughout the six-county region.
RDG Partner and Project Lead Charlie Cowell says the region is facing similar challenges as in other parts of the Midwest, but its existing collaboration and partnerships created through the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI, put it ahead in terms of taking action to overcome them.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Greater Lafayette Commerce CEO Scott Walker said the biggest takeaway for him was the opportunity to boost housing at multiple income levels.
“We’re probably living in houses that are less expensive than the national average, and that provides an opportunity for both workforce housing projects that could go up,” he said. “But it also then indicates that if some of some of us that are living in housing that may be less expensive than the national trend, if there was attractive housing projects underway for us, we could move up as well. And that would create more of that workforce housing availability, too.”
The Greater Lafayette Region covers Benton, Carroll, Fountain, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White Counties. The region received a $30 million allocation for READI funds in December 2021.
The 157-page study shows population growth and an expanding economy creates a pressing need to address attainable housing shortages. But, the need for mid-to-high-end housing is also on the rise, which could help return lower-priced properties back to the market.
The study also says more innovation is needed in the way lot developments are financed, such as new concepts in site preparation, land development and redevelopment, which could reduce the risk faced by developers, especially in rural areas.
Researchers also found a tightening in the overall supply of rental housing in the region. The study identified strategies to alleviate the shortage such as developing tools to help communities identify and assist with site development, filling the financial gap faced by developers, and establishing rental rehabilitation programs.
Walker said he hopes policymakers in the region will take the study and use it to work with developers to find ways to bring more housing projects to their communities.
“Developers should feel that they can work with our elected officials in the cities and the county and counties in our region and be able to put projects in the ground,” he said.
Delphi Mayor Anita Werling said in a news release that housing has consistently been her city’s biggest need, and the study provides data to support that theory. She said the city is already seeing results with developers coming to the table, noting a $12 million apartment project set to break ground this year in the city’s downtown.
Looking forward, Walker said officials are making plans to put the suggestions outlined in the study into practice.
“We’ll be looking at opportunities to bring in specific resources to help all of our surrounding member counties to address those challenges and create that infrastructure that’s needed or development,” he said. “It’s the challenge is that if we do this right, we’ll succeed for the long term.”
You can connect to the full study by clicking here.