INDIANAPOLIS — The need for affordable housing in Indianapolis is large and only continuing to grow, especially on the northeast side. A new affordable housing complex is hoping to help address the issue.
"It represents a chance at stability, opportunity, and perhaps most importantly, dignity," Mayor Joe Hogsett said at Tuesday's ribbon cutting.
Indianapolis' latest affordable housing complex, Forty Six Flats, is now officially open on the northeast side.
“We started this in 2017 and here we are today," Matt Gadus, Principal of House Investments, exclaimed.
House Investments, along with Partnership in Affordable Housing, Inc. (PAH) and the City of Indianapolis, collaborated on the $41 million project.
“It’s evident by the demand," Gadus said. "We leased this property up in five months, so there’s a need for affordable housing.”
“It was really important that every unit be affordable housing because of where it’s located," Auboni Hart, Chief Communications Officer with the Department of Metropolitan Housing, explained.
The new complex sits right off Keystone Ave on 46th St. The city told WRTV that the need for affordable housing there is growing.
“There is a lot of housing that is going up that is very luxurious, and it's very beautiful, and we love that," Hart said. "But we wanna make sure that when we’re paying attention to one group of people, we’re paying attention to another group of people, paying attention to everyone.”
WRTV visited several other apartments in the area and found the average price for a one-bedroom apartment was around $1,100. At Forty Six Flats, one-bedroom units start at $804.
“This makes sure that we are servicing those individuals that just need a little bit of assistance right now," Hart said.
The complex is made up of 173 units. The units are all reserved for those who make 50-60% of the area's median income. The complex also includes 14,000 square feet of commercial space meant to help support neighborhood revitalization.
“[It's] turning a vacant, blighted, 100,000 square foot office space into 173 homes for families here in Indianapolis," Gadus said.
The city acknowledges this is one step, but hopefully not the last.
“Our teams are doing everything they can to hopefully bring on more [projects]," Hart explained.
Gadus said, as of right now, Forty Six Flats is completely leased. However, he did tell WRTV there is a waitlist people can join for the future.
