Near East Area Renewal is celebrating a major milestone on Monday: Its 100th house transformed from vacant building to family home.
NEAR first started working in the challenged St. Clair Place neighborhood seven years ago. With access to a $4 million east side redevelopment fund from State Farm Insurance, the organization began tackling blight block-by-block.
“When we started in 2007 there was over 43% vacancy in the neighborhood – abandoned lots, abandoned houses, blight,” NEAR Executive Director John Franklin Hay said. “We started working street-by-street to develop these houses for opportunities for rental housing and for home ownership.”
NEAR Executive Director John Franklin Hay goes over a map of all the homes the organization has refurbished to-date. (Photo by Jordan Fischer)
The houses NEAR redevelops are offered to low-to-moderate income individuals and families at below-market rates. The idea is to revitalize a community that has been hard-hit by job losses, drug activity and violence.
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Hay said initially he was worried NEAR would have trouble selling the homes. But, he said, most have sold without ever being listed.
“It’s really built value, it’s really built the opportunity for neighbors to get to know one another and build community and rebuild community,” Hay said. “If that doesn’t happen, then building houses doesn’t matter. We’re really trying to rebuild community. We’re trying to revitalize the neighborhood. And housing is one of the strategies to how we do it. So we feel really good about the 100th house and we’re looking forward to what happens next.”
On Monday, NEAR and Mayor Joe Hogsett will celebrate the organization’s 100th home at a ceremony with its occupant, a 30-year-old artist and teacher at the Indianapolis Art Center.
NEAR is also fixing its sights on its next projects, including the redevelopment of Sherman Park and a planned 20-house teachers village near 10th and Rural streets.
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Hay says Monday’s celebration isn’t just about the work NEAR has done, but all of the partnerships it has enjoyed over the years.
“Us being able to celebrate 100 homes is not just about NEAR,” Hay said. “It’s about NEAR leading the charge but counting on a wide range of community partners that have made that possible, and we’re really, really grateful for that.”
For more information about NEAR, visit their website here.
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