(INDIANAPOLIS) – Indy is placing a four-million-dollar bet on the Old Southside as the city’s next hot neighborhood.
The LiftIndy program earmarks federal housing dollars for neighborhoods which aren’t seeing much development, but whose location and strong neighborhood organizations suggest they should. Metro Development director Emily Mack says by funding a few housing and redevelopment projects, the city hopes to kick-start private development, as successes in one block make the next block more attractive.
The first LiftIndy neighborhood, Monon16 on the near eastside, has added 30 houses and 50 jobs the first year. The program will funnel one-point-three-million-dollars a year into selected neighborhoods for three years.
The Old Southside comprises the area surrounding the South Meridian corridor, from Shapiro’s Deli south to Morris Street. The city will install new playground equipment at Kelly Park, but neighborhood association president Judith Essex says the most significant investment will be new mixed-use affordable housing developments, to help the neighborhood catch up to nearby neighborhoods like Fountain Square.
(Photo: Eric Berman)
