INDIANAPOLIS — The City of Indianapolis has signed an agreement with JPC Affordable Housing Foundation and Berkley Commons LLC, resolving the City’s lawsuit with those two entities concerning two apartment complexes, Berkley Commons and Capital Place. The settlement is part of a global resolution of three total lawsuits, the other two also against JPC Affordable Housing and filed by Citizens Energy Group and the Indiana State Attorney General’s Office, respectively.
The global settlement includes several key parameters, including:
• Citizens Energy Group has committed that there will be no utility shutoffs at Berkley Commons, Capital Place, Covington Square, and Woods at Oak Crossing.
• All four properties must be sold by year’s end to a new ownership group that is not affiliated with the property owner or related entities. As part of the deal that is being executed between the State and the defendants, JPC Affordable Housing and Berkley Commons LLC will cease to do business or own residential properties anywhere in Indiana.
The deal puts the City in a position to recover up to the full $850,000 it paid earlier this year, out of the proceeds of the properties’ sale.
The City’s lawsuit originated in February 2022 when Citizens Energy Group alleged nonpayment by JPC Affordable Housing Foundation and Berkley Commons LLC and shut off water service to tenants of Berkley Commons and Capital Place apartments. The City intervened and paid $850,000 in an agreement with Citizens Energy Group to restore water service and acquire the rights to seek repayment of that debt.