INDIANAPOLIS — Martindale-Brightwood will be the second neighborhood to receive assistance from the city's 2021 Lift Indy community revitalization program, Mayor Joe Hogsett said Thursday.
The northeast-side neighborhood will receive $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME Investment Partnership Program and Community Development Block Grant funding over the next three years.
The money will support programs that promote employment and financial coaching, home repair and affordable housing.
“These funds will go toward a variety of resources aimed at keeping residents in the homes they own and in the community they love,” Hogsett said. “This year, we took a unique approach to expand the program and adapt the application process to focus on projects well-positioned to help residents affected by the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.”
Each year since 2017, the city has used data to select Lift Indy neighborhoods. The Near North Corridor was previously selected for 2021, and previous Lift Indy neighborhoods include Monon16, the Old Southside and East 10th Street.
The city expanded Lift Indy in 2021 due to the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the program will focus on neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The Polis Center at IUPUI provided data and potential factors to measure the impact of the pandemic on neighborhoods in Indianapolis.
“Like so many neighborhoods, we are grappling with the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc and uncertainty on many of our families, said Barato Britt, President & CEO of the Edna Martin Christian Center.
Martindale-Brightwood is bounded on the north by 30th Street, on the east by Sherman Drive, on the south by 21st Street until it meets Massachusetts Avenue and south on Massachusetts to 10th Street, and finally on west by the Conrail tracks, according to the Polis Center.
The neighborhood was one of many affected by interstate construction in the 1960s and 70s, which displaced approximately 17,000 Indianapolis residents.
Projects in Martindale-Brightwood receiving Lift Indy support include:
- The Edna Martin Christian Center will lead the Martindale-Brightwood Education Zone Housing Village Initiative, which will provide services and programming, such as employment and career coaching, financial coaching, credit and asset-building programs and adult education programs.
- A homeowner repair program will be led by the Martindale-Brightwood Community Development Corporation. It will provide long-term residents with resources for roofing and gutter repairs; sidewalk, porch and patio repair; accessibility, siding repair and replacement; window repair and replacement; insulation; and HVAC replacement and repair.
- The Edge Fund - Mortgage Refinance Loan Program led by Renew Indianapolis will preserve affordable housing for current homeowners.
- Renew Indianapolis will also lead a New Construction Homeownership Program, which will help house 10 low-income households.
“We are honored and delighted to be a part of the Lift Indy process to revive and restore development in Martindale Brightwood,” said Amina Pierson, Executive Director for the Martindale Brightwood Community Development Corporation. “These grants will allow us to uplift and stabilize the neighborhood, providing critical resources as neighbors recover from the pandemic.”
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