How Broad Ripple's latest development helps affordable housing
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The project includes first-floor retail. Rendering: Courtesy of Versa developers
Developers broke ground Thursday on a new luxury apartment and mixed-use project in Broad Ripple that city officials are celebrating as a win for public safety and affordable housing.
Driving the news: The $70 million Versa project, on the site of the old Kroger on Guilford Avenue, is expected to be completed next year.
Details: Versa will bring another 233 apartments to a neighborhood already experiencing a redevelopment boom.
- It will feature "top-tier amenities" including a game room, fitness center, co-working space, pet spa, dog park, pool and aqua lounge.
- Rent for the apartments is expected to range from $1,150 to $2,200 per month, the IBJ reports.
Meanwhile, Indiana has an affordable housing crisis.
- Statewide, there are only 38 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income households, according to Brendan Bow, policy analyst at the Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy at the IU Public Policy Institute.
- For a family making Marion County's median household income of $54,000, affordable housing would cost $1,350 or less per month.
What they're saying: City officials say increasing all housing options at a time when rent prices are climbing and the vacant housing supply is low can help ease the shortage because it could free up more affordable units elsewhere.
Of note: The developers made a $550,000 donation to the city's Housing Trust Fund, which provides housing assistance in the form of low-interest loans and grants.
- In return, the city is providing nearly $6 million in tax incentives.
The other side: Many Broad Ripple residents have been calling for a stop to apartment building in the already densely populated area.
Reality check: Jordan Dillon, executive director of the Broad Ripple Village Association, said the city is looking for increased density along the Red Line and future rapid transit lines.
- "If you look at the apartments that are in the area, they're full or close to full," Dillon said. "So, the desire is here."