Near North Corridor Named Lift Indy Neighborhood
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has named the Near North Corridor one of two new Lift Indy areas for 2021. The city says the neighborhoods will each receive an estimated $3.5 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development block grant funding over the next three years.
Lift Indy is a community development investment program intended to support revitalization in Indianapolis neighborhoods. Hogsett said the program was expanded from one to two neighborhoods to help address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since 2017, the City of Indianapolis has designated a new Lift Indy area every year through a data-driven and competitive process,” said Hogsett. “This year, we took a unique approach to expand the program and adapt the application process to focus on projects that best address a response to COVID-19. There’s no doubt that our neighborhoods are resilient and will bounce back, and we’re excited to name the Near North Corridor as the first recipient of the current process.”
The Near North Corridor joins three previously designated Lift Indy neighborhoods, which include Monon16, the Old Southside, and East 10th Street.
The Polis Center at IUPUI and the Department of Metropolitan Development worked together to analyze data and potential factors to measure the impact of the pandemic on neighborhoods across Indianapolis.
To identify the Lift Indy areas, the city says it used data provided by the Reinvestment Fund to identify locations where multi-year funding would drive market activity and investment while maintaining affordability.
“This investment by the City in affordable housing, job training, and supportive services will not only help address the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on some of our community’s most vulnerable citizens today, but will help ensure that the Near North of tomorrow is a place of diversity, inclusivity, and opportunity, tomorrow,” stated Michael Osborne, president of Near North Development Corp.
Projects and programs supported by Near North Lift Indy include:
- The Excelsior – 80 units of affordable workforce rental housing and a neighborhood services center at 22nd & Illinois.
- Capitol Gardens – a 108-unit mixed-income apartment project, 30 townhomes for home ownership, and more than ¾-acre of community gardens and greenspace.
- We Bloom’s Recovery Café Indy – a peer recovery community providing wholistic and inclusive support to individuals desiring to heal and grow through any recovery challenge by offering connections to community-based resources, recovery circles and classes, including the development of a culinary and barista training program.
- Expansion and enhancement of the Indiana Plan program – providing of pre-apprenticeship training, mentoring, and job placement services to increase opportunities for minorities, women, and disadvantaged individuals in the skilled union construction trades.
- A homeowner repair loan program and homebuyer education administered by INHP.
Osborne discusses details of the projects and investments associated with its Lift Indy program designation.