INDIANAPOLIS — Mayor Joe Hogsett, city officials, and community leaders recently announced the Mid-North area as the City’s next recipient of the Lift Indy program, a comprehensive community development investment program. Given the scale and complexity of the COVID crisis, as well as the rapid change in the real estate market, this application process pivoted to focus on issues of equity and building capacity within the community development system.
Since 2017, the City of Indianapolis has designated a new Lift Indy area every year through a data-driven and competitive process.
“The Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation (MFCDC) has set the intention to preserve the Mid-North as a diverse and inclusive community,” said Elan Daniel, CEO of the MFCDC. “While real estate values accelerate and threaten displacement of low- to moderate-income households, we are pursuing sustainable ways to help them benefit from the income diversity we hope to achieve. The Lift Indy investments help make our vision a reality.”
The Mid-North area runs from 38th St. to the north and 21st St. to the south, I-65 to the west and Fall Creek Rd. to the east. Neighborhoods in the area include Crown Hill, Highland, Historic Meridian Park, Mapleton/Fall Creek, and Watson Park. The three square mile area is home to about 10,000 residents. Originally farmland, the area featured a few stopping places for travelers, and grew rapidly in the early 20th century when streetcars and bridges crossed Fall Creek. Now, the area is home to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, and Ivy Tech Community College.
Lift Indy-supported projects and programs include:
• Central@29 will be developed by the Community Builders, in collaboration with Mapleton Fall Creek Development Corporation and Raphael Health Center, creating 56-unit integrated supportive housing development with units reserved for families and individuals experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness with supportive services, including comprehensive healthcare services.
• Early Childhood Education Center to be developed by the Mapleton Fall Creek Development Corporation which will include new construction of a daycare facility and a scholarship fund for low-income families to access quality childcare.
• Midtown Indianapolis Inc. will lead a Food Equity & Access Initiative to develop a grocery operation at 38th and Illinois to promote equitable food access and transform local food systems.
• Mapleton Fall Creek Development Corporation will create an Affordable Rental Housing Program which will include 11 affordable units of scattered site new construction
At the announcement Mayor Hogsett was joined by City officials, neighborhood leaders from Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation, Kheprw Institute, Crown Hill Neighborhood Association, Midtown Indy, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, North United Methodist Church, and the Raphael Health Center.
The Mid-North area joins five other Lift Indy designations: Monon16, Old Southside, East 10th Street, Near North, and Martindale-Brightwood. An additional neighborhood will be announced later this month. To read more about the Lift Indy program, visit indy.gov/activity/dmdliftindy.
