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INDIANAPOLIS — The construction of condos and apartments is booming, rising on empty spaces in downtown Indianapolis.
The Ardmore project is the latest to break ground. The city is using it as an example.
In exchange for receiving $7.2 million in tax dollars from the city of Indianapolis, the Ardmore has agreed to make available affordable units in what is called "workforce housing." That means developers will take into consideration a family's household adjusted median income or "AMI."
For example, a family of four with a household income of $61,750 could afford to move into the Ardmore.
Developers said 38 of the 186 units will be available to working families as a result of the Ardmore accepting tax dollars.
"We need to provide housing for everybody In downtown Indianapolis," Craig Von Deylen, a representative of the Ardmore, said. "There are a lot more people working here than just bankers and real estate developers. And having that housing available to them it's really important to them because then they're adjacent to the workplace can have a more effective lifestyle."
Ardmore is a five-story apartment building under construction located at the plaza on Pennsylvania Street at the southwest corner of New York and Delaware streets. It's expected to open in 2020.
Since 2016, the City-County Council has encouraged developers wanting tax breaks to make available workforce housing.
Six projects have agreed to the concept of workforce housing. As a result, they've received between $2.6 million and $9.3 million in tax incentives.
"We are using it when talking to the developers when they say it's difficult to do a project we point to this project and say it's been done it's going to be done successfully," City-County Council President Vop Osili said. "So if they can do it so can you. It comes to eliminating excuses and reasons why projects can't get done they did more city financing. No, no, no, it can be done and if you're going to do something it's got to be attainable and achievable for everybody."
The city says the AMI is based on information provided by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The federal agency establishes a range based on household size and income level every year.
