The U.S. Department of Housing and Development recently announced eight new “Promise Zones,” and the near-eastside of Indianapolis was named one of them. Dubbed IndyEast Promise Zone, the area includes East Washington St. east to Emerson, Martindale-Brightwood, several near-eastside neighborhoods north to 25th St., and south to the now-vacant Citizens Coke plant on the southeast side.
At an announcement made at the Legacy Center on April 28, Mayor Greg Ballard, CEO of the Corporation for National Community Service Wendy Spencer, and community leaders gathered to celebrate the designation. James Taylor, CEO of the John H. Boner Community Center, noted that the designation marked “a new chapter for the near-eastside.” The John H. Boner Community Center was the lead applicant for the Promise Zone.
The Promise Zone is a federal program that targets high-poverty urban, rural, and tribal communities throughout the U.S. The federal government partners with local organizations to accomplish certain community improvement goals. The designation is highly competitive — in the second round, the near eastside’s proposal was one of 123 submitted. Other urban designees include Camden, New Jersey; St. Louis, Missouri, and the Oglala Sioux Reservation, South Dakota.
The Promise Zone designation partners the federal government with local leaders who are addressing multiple community revitalization challenges in a collaborative way and have demonstrated a commitment to results. The IndyEast Promise Zone’s partnerships include many community organizations engaged in improving five aspects of life on the near eastside: affordable housing and redevelopment, job creation, economic activity, crime reduction, and education. Along with the Boner Center, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (INHP), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), United Way of Central Indiana, Indianapolis Public Schools, Near East Area Renewal (NEAR), East 10th Street Civic Association, Englewood Community Development Corporation, Westminster Neighborhood Services, and many others will have greater access to grants and assistance. In 2015, 12 agencies are providing preferential access in 37 programs.