A $5.5 million plan that would help Hamilton County’s low- and moderate-income residents was approved Aug. 12 during a Hamilton County Commissioners meeting in Noblesville.
Community Development Program Manager Michelle Westermeier said the five-year plan maps out how the county would distribute federal Community Development Block Grant funds, which are intended for housing, economic development, public infrastructure and community services.
Westermeier said the plan for 2024 to 2028 is an application for new grant funding and is a collaboration with the Noblesville Housing Authority, Prosperity Indiana and Usona Development LLC. It identifies priorities for community development and affordable housing and proposes strategies to meet those needs.
“It benefits low- to moderate-income households and families,” Westermeier said. “It’s working-class families, (such as) those in food service, home health care, nursing, office staff, laborers, accounting — a wide range of folks that can live here in Hamilton County and would qualify for benefits through the CDBG program.”
Westermeier said the plan includes data that shows the county needs more affordable housing, along with input from housing providers, local government and social service agencies.
Proposed projects in the plan include capacity building to kick start a Community Land Trust, which would develop rural and urban agriculture projects; commercial spaces to serve local communities; affordable rental and cooperative housing projects; and conserving land for urban green spaces.
A specific proposal in the plan is an affordable housing project to complement development in Bakers Corner, 7 miles north of Westfield.
“With the infrastructure that’s been put in and upgraded significantly, it’s certainly a prime area that we see will need affordable housing,” Westermeier said.
She said the county’s larger communities of Noblesville, Westfield, Fishers and Carmel are encouraged to tie infrastructure projects to affordable housing development, if possible.
The plan will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for review. Westermeier said she hopes it will be implemented by Oct. 1.
