Good evening.

I will now call to order the Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee to order for Monday, November the 17th.

We'll begin with introductions of my colleagues on the first row.

Thank you, Madam Leader.

Derek Cadill, District 23.

Thank you, Madam Leader.

Michael Paul Hart, District 20.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Paul and A, District 22.

Thank you, Madam Leader.

Kristen Jones, District 18.

Thank you, Madam Leader Brienne Delaney, District 2.

Thank you, Madam Leader Nick Roberts, District 4.

Thank you, Madam Leader Ron Gibson, District 8.

Good evening.

Thank you, Council or Madam Leader, Councillor Jared Evans, representing District 17.

Thank you, Counselors.

My name is Maggie Lewis, District 5.

We do have a full agenda this evening.

Counselors, there are snacks in the back for your convenience.

Also, for our presenters, we ask that you be as precise as possible this evening.

Again, we have an extremely full agenda this evening.

Would you like to introduce yourself, sir?

Thank you, Madam Leader.

Lee Y Robinson, District 1.

Apologies for being 30 seconds late.

I'm being timely.

First item on our agenda is proposal number 309, reappoints David Baker to the Indianapolis Historic Preservation Commission.

If you would like to come forward and state why you're interested in uh continuing to serve in this capacity.

Good evening, and thank you for having me here tonight.

Before we I retired in 2018, I worked for the Preservation Commission for 35 years as its staff administrator.

Then after the uh death of longtime Commission member Jim Kinley three years ago, I was appointed to finish out his term.

I can say that it's been a great honor to, after working all those years for the Preservation Commission, to now sit on the other side of the table and serve on the commission.

If I'm reappointed tonight, I certainly would be honored and look forward to serving another term.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for being present.

Are there any questions from counselors?

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal 309?

CNN, I entertain a motion.

So move, Madam Chair.

Second.

The motion has been properly moved and second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

The motion carries thank you so much for your willingness to serve.

The next item on our agenda is proposal number 311.

Reappoints Kathy Good to the Marion County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.

Ms.

Kathy.

Good evening and thanks for having me.

Um it has been a pleasure to serve the last several years on the Marion County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals.

I think it's a very important board that uh taxpayers and assessors have the outlet to come together, present their cases, and um be heard.

So I would like to continue.

Thank you so much.

Questions, comments from counselors.

Counselor Evans.

Thank you, Leader.

Ums if you I just want to ask a real quick question.

Could you speak to the process when someone files for um to have their assessment appealed?

Yeah, they um file an appeal with the assessor's office at that time.

They have an informal hearing with the assessor's office, and both cases both um the taxpayer and the assessor's office have a hearing officer, and they get together to go over the information.

So a lot of times it's resolved right there, but if it's not, then it um they have the opportunity to file on to the uh property tax assessment board.

And we hear evidence from the um taxpayer and from the assessor's office and make an independent decision based on what's presented.

Okay.

And is there a fee or anything associated with the process?

There is no fee.

I'm just I'm thinking through because I've had a few residents reach out to me about their uh property taxes.

So thank you so much.

Additional questions from counselors.

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal number 311?

Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion.

So move, madam chair.

Is there a second?

The motion has been properly moved and second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

The motion carries.

Thank you so much for your willingness to serve.

The next item on our agenda is proposal number 313.

Reappoints Kathy Warpool to Warpool to the Board of Business and Neighborhood Services.

The floor is yours.

Hi, good evening.

Um I also worked for the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services and uh the Department of Metropolitan Development for about 10 years.

And when I left, I got asked to come and serve on the Board of Business and Neighborhood Services and have uh very much considered that an honor that I was asked to come back and do that.

Um and my uh lens as uh an architect helps provide some good feedback uh to to the staff and to the community.

So I would uh be honored to continue to serve.

Thank you so much.

Questions, comments from counselors, counselor Delaney.

Uh just wanted to say that I've known Keith for about 15 years and served on a board with her, and I can't recommend her highly enough.

So thank you, madam chair.

Thank you.

Counselor.

Additional comments, counselors.

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal 313?

Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion.

So the motion has been properly moved, second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

The motion carries thank you so much for your willingness to serve.

The next item on our agenda is proposal number 332, except the Marion County recorders sworn statement and approves the recorder's request to use money to pay for other office expenses, including special property fraud alert, veterans honest promotion, including non-political billboards, radio and TB ads, and special events during the 2026 fiscal year.

Thank you.

Good evening, Madam Chair and esteemed members of the council.

I'm Faith Kimbral, you're Marion County Recorder, and with me is Chief J.R.

Ryder.

Good afternoon, Council.

As you already stated, we are just looking for approval approval of our sworn statement to basically invest some funds into a uh Indiana Trust account and use that interest money to pay for non-political billboards, radio and TV ads for property fraud and veteran affairs, veteran honors publicity for our constituents.

Yeah, these funds will help us continue the goal to continue to educate as around a million um residents of uh here in Miami County.

So the extra funds and inches will allow us to do that.

Thank you.

Questions from counselors, Councillor Delaney.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Where have the money previously been located?

Just in our fund.

And now you're moving it to uh of interest bearing accounts.

Yes.

Correct.

Okay, thank you.

Yes, you're welcome.

Councilor Gibson, did you have a question?

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

I I I'm excited about this.

Uh well, not what the transaction is reasonable and necessary, but I just uh excited because you're working with veterans.

Uh I'm a veteran, so I just want to say thank you for the addition of education here.

Can you tell me what kind of education you're doing with the veterans?

Absolutely.

So most veterans do not know that their military DD 214 release papers can be um recorded in the Marion County Recorder's office for free.

Um and so yes, see you didn't know that, right?

So that's another part of the outreach is to let people know about the services that the office uh offers the veterans and residents at large.

Well, thank you.

I need to take you up on that.

No, seriously.

Yep, it's a very important document.

Additional questions.

Any questions from anyone in the audience regarding proposal number 332?

CNN, I'll entertain a motion.

The motion has been properly moved and second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

The motion carries thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The next item on our agenda is proposal number 333, approves the 2026 budget as a downtown economic enhancement district.

Ms.

Schaefer, the floor is yours.

Good evening, counselors.

I promise to keep it brief and I will keep that commitment.

Uh, just as a matter of uh recapping this last year, knowing that it's the first year for the downtown economic enhancement districts uh existence.

Those board members convened initially in January, and we came before you at the beginning of the year to approve this year's uh fee structure that then appeared on property tax bills for the first time in spring of 2025.

That meant our first distribution of funds was in July.

Um and those projected expenditures that we gave you were at the beginning of the year.

We're to cover the last six months of this year and then the first six months of next.

Because of cash flow, that's the way the district will function through the 10-year life uh of the district.

At the same time in 25, uh, we launched a public dashboard in order to report out on those key metrics throughout this, both communication and transparency has been a real priority for us.

As we look ahead to 2026, um, just as a kind of groundwork, this is what that district looks like.

Um, we know that on an annual basis, some of these property types will change, some of the uh eligibility into paying fees will change.

So that map that you have in front of you is what that district currently looks like.

We can be pretty confident if we go to the next slide in what the figures and budgeting that we're doing right now, even with some of the unknowns that we'll get to in a minute, what that looks like knowing that in 2025, those projections remained pretty aligned with what we initially thought.

I think we originally had about a 4.5 million dollar budget that came to you once adjustments were made.

We saw the billing in the special cycle being at about 4.5 million dollars.

And then in the first in that first distribution, we received about 2.2 million dollars.

We know that that second property tax bill will probably be a little lowered.

Some of that is due to adjustments and assessed value, some of that is due to the payment cycle.

And so we think in our first year, we'll probably collect closer to 4.2 million dollars.

The biggest change as we then look into 2026 is really changes in assessed value.

If you want to go to the next slide, please is changes to assessed value in the downtown area.

In 2025, the overall assessed value in downtown was $2.68 billion.

Due to some changes in the state's and DLGF's cost tables, those uh assessed values have gone up to $3.3, almost $3.4 billion.

Um, if we go to the next slide, you'll see that that's not unique to downtown, although based on those cost tables, it certainly impacts uh center township and downtown buildings disproportionately.

What that means for the EED as we look forward is that we actually had that the board itself had to lower the assessment rate.

Um, if we'll go to the next slide, please.

That uh last year that rate that was set uh in accordance with the initial ordinance uh passed by you all was at that 0.1681 rate.

If we did that based on eligible AV, that would actually put us over our capped amount.

So this year, that uh EED rate will be set at 0.1638, which then brings in an estimated revenue of 5.49 just at $5.5 million.

I will note that we assume that there will be a variety of changes made as people see that increase in assessed value as they work through that county process, and that's why when we're talking about our actual expenditures, we're trying to be really thoughtful in how we um and how we budget and how we think about the next year.

The next slide really just breaks down that um those that rate and the overall associated fee by property class type.

I'm happy to answer questions about that, but for the sake of time, I'll move on to the next slide, which covers the biggest changes when it comes to how we're spending how we're planning to spend those funds in 2026.

Everything you see in front of you is really based off of feedback that we received from the economic enhancement district board as well as direct community feedback prior to having our initial uh budget meeting with the EED board, we did have a public meeting uh at a community space in downtown.

We met with property owners and talked about the various um priorities, challenges, ways that they were seeing the the um dollars being put to use and things that could use adjustments in the future.

Additionally, we've worked really hard to push CSA, which is an out-of-the-box technology solution that is skinned specifically for downtown that allows us to hear directly from property owners from downtown users about what is needed in the downtown area.

So a couple of highlights.

Overall, the clean team and those street level operations will stay uh about flatlined from this year.

The biggest increases or changes that are in the budget in front of you include continuing a partnership with HVAF.

We have been a uh first, we've been a work site for people going through their programs for several years that had been paid for by the Lilly Endowment, and we really felt like continuing to support their work when it comes to homeless outreach was a priority for the EED board and for downtown as a whole.

So we have uh added a $1,000 stipend per qualified individual into this budget this year.

We've also increased uh dollars for IMPD's homeless homeless unit staff, um, increased the number of outreach specialists in the downtown area in partnership with Horizon House.

We've increased the the line item for safety ambassadors compared to last year, in part because as we continue to have different types of events, we continue to hear that there is a desire for more flexibility with hours.

When that program was really originally imagined, it was really about that kind of nine to five audience.

And with so many other things happening in the downtown area, we're consistently hearing that it's nice to be able to have their presence on nights and weekends, and we want to be able to continue that.

Additionally, you'll see that our plan is to maintain funding levels for Q1 and Q2 dollars that are coming in in 26 will have to pay for those that first six months of 27 operations and the incorporation of a tactical reserve fund to support future low barrier shelter operations.

With that, uh Madam Chair, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

Questions from counselors.

Oh, you must have really been good.

Madam Chair, if it's okay, just really quickly, I would just like to acknowledge that uh one of our EED board members just joined us.

Uh, Greg Henneke represents uh downtown area, he and his wife are property owners in the area, and he's joining us this evening.

Wonderful.

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal number 333?

Greg, do you have anything to add?

Sure.

Well, it's certainly nice to be here, and thanks for the work that you guys all do.

I know it's hard run in this city.

Uh that's for sure.

Um I'm really proud of what's been accomplished so far by a downtown Indy under Taylor's leadership, great leadership.

And it's nice to be able to have this money to keep things going.

Uh was it the uh blow barrier shelter uh groundbreaking was a couple couple weeks ago?

A little chilly that day.

But it's exciting.

Uh it's a great place for it's uh it's um right across from the another facility that's very complimentary, and I think it's really gonna make a difference when that all gets up and running and gets people the care they need.

So thanks for uh uh supporting this.

I appreciate it.

Thanks for being here.

Again, questions, comments from counselors are anyone in uh in the audience.

CNN, I entertain a motion.

The motion has been properly moved and second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

Motion carries.

Thank you so much.

The next item on our agenda is proposal number 334, amends various sections of the code to reflect unsafe building and permitting process changes within a department of business and neighborhood services.

Madam Director, the floor is yours.

Sorry, doing a quick hug on the way up.

All right, Abby Brands, director of the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services.

Uh, there are a lot of ordinance changes, but uh, I think pretty straightforward, so I'm just gonna go through section by section.

Um these things need to be approved before the end of the year because of uh state law that changed and is going into effect in January.

Um, predominantly for the ex uh the private provider process that was related to House Bill 1005, which essentially allows individuals doing class two projects, which are residential projects.

Um, for obtaining a building permit, they can use a private party to do that plan review and a private party to do that inspection process.

And it's laid out in state statute how we have to abide by that.

Um, and because of that, there are certain things we needed to tweak with what was in our current ordinance.

And then section 19 is specific to unsafe building, but I'll explain that more when I get to that.

So you guys know I talk fast, so I'm gonna talk fast.

But please feel free to stop me.

Uh section one is cleaning up definitions.

Um, a lot of this is just pointing back to statute where we need to for reference.

Um, we're also clarifying a couple things that at best um led to misinterpretations and at worst created loopholes, um, such as accessory structures for any kind of pool or where townhouse fits between class one and class two because it could be considered multifamily or single family.

Section two is who can open a permit.

Um, this is partially in response to House Bill 1005 and trying to create some loopholes, but essentially creating some checks and balances so that we have a direct connection to the property owner.

We've seen a lot of house flipping organizations uh open structural permits as the entity that owns it, but they're not actual licensed contractors because they have that loophole.

So this ensures that either the uh the owner or an employee of that owner or a general contractor can open that permit.

Um so just removing that kind of entity loophole.

They can still, if you're a house flipping organization, you can open a permit.

Um you just need to have a general contractor that's working with you or licensed contractor.

Section three, uh, with the new law, there's specific details and timelines that constitute a complete application.

Um we have to receive an application.

We have like three days, I believe, to say it's complete or not.

If not, we have to say explicitly what's not complete with it.

Then we move forward.

Um, and so we are going to start asking more questions on the front end.

Uh, I think this is a good thing because it will avoid delays later on in the process if we're asking you, bless you.

If we're asking you, is this an IHPC district?

Do you have a COA?

Is this in flood?

Do you have a flood permit, etc., etc., etc.

Umltimately, this will also help us in our streamlining efforts that we're moving forward with 2026 and some of our permitting processes.

And we believe if there are further changes in state statute, it will allow us to respond more quickly to what we're being asked to do.

Section 4 was an antiquated section specific to receiving applications by fax.

I don't know the last time we received one by fax, but I can assure you it was not recent.

Section five ensures that when permits and plans are posted at job sites, if they were obtained using the private provider process, that all information, all responsible parties' information is included in that posting.

Section six is related to permit extensions and expirations.

My deputy and I have been going to different builders and architects and engineering firms and doing lunch and learns.

Basically, kind of a white glove service where we talk about the things that we're getting ready to recommend going into 2026 as far as ways we can streamline processes, getting their initial feedback, but then also gathering feedback generally about things we might not cover.

And one of the things that we've heard is related to permit links.

Like right now, right now it's six months.

People are asking for a year.

And so this codifies a year.

It also makes it so that the administrator can extend that beyond that timeline.

So for projects like IU Health, we know that's not a six-month project or a year project.

So why don't we just open it as a larger permit?

This allows that.

Seven is maintaining up-to-date contacts.

In the next section, I'll explain a little bit more why, but essentially we want to have as much information as we can have for private providers to know exactly who's going to be working on that project, which brings me to section eight, which is the fact that we are creating an entire new permit type that will be a one-stop permit.

So it's one application that will serve as your ILP, your structural, and any associated craft permits with that that allows that private provider piece so we know exactly who's being a part of that project.

And so that will look will require, as you're putting that application together, who is your electrician, what is their license number, who's your plumber, what is their license number, who's your GC.

And so we think that will make things easier as far as collectively knowing who's all on a project.

Um obviously maintaining up-to-date contacts back in section seven ensures that if a contractor falls off of a project for whatever reason, we're not holding them accountable months later if there is a compliance issue, and that we know who to contact if there are compliance issues.

Sections 9, 10, and 11 are specific to completion cards.

So when you get a permit, you also get a completion card, and that is our trigger to know that your project is over and you need a final inspection.

I have no idea why these were codified in ordinance as the specific form.

But given the changes in state statute, we need to be a little bit more flexible about what these look like.

I honestly don't think the form is going to change much, but we have to create a new kind for private provider, and because that will pertain to multiple permit types, it's going to have to be a very specific completion card type.

And again, we don't foresee this being the last change that comes from the State House, so trying to remain flexible.

Sections 12 and 13 are specific to private provider completion cards, mainly just stating that like there is a but there is an acceptance process that's outlined in statute, but we're codifying the need for a specific completion card.

Um then section 13 just adds a reference to that new language.

Section 14 is specific to inspections.

So the first change just gives us, I'm sorry, the first change gives us the ability and the flexibility to schedule inspections.

We'd like to offer more digital solutions for people versus just the IVR.

Um the second change is acknowledging that these kinds of inspections might not uh or are not required for the private provider workflow, but highlights that per state statute, we still have to receive their inspection report in order to close out that permit.

Section 15 is the same as sections 9, 10, and 11.

It's just specific to electrical craft permits.

Section 16 is inspection requests by property owners, so this grants the flexibility of a property owner to request an inspection during construction.

It's not uncommon for us to get emails from property owners saying, like, I don't know if my engineer or my contractor is doing the right thing, can someone help me?

This allows us to go out and check on that.

We struck the language about charging, not to say that any time someone requests one of these, we'll charge them, but we did add that reinspection fee.

And so if there is an instance where we're coming out multiple times to inspect like a specific scenario, um, that just allows us the opportunity to charge that fee, but I don't think that's going to be a common thing with this specific thing.

This is truly just so people can request things during the process.

Property owners can request inspections during the process.

Section 17 is acknowledging new language regarding the private prior private provider completion card and is ensuring that that new section is referenced for the purposes of building code enforcement.

Section 18 is acknowledging that there are certain fees and penalties outlined in statute for this new private provider process.

Those are likely to be tweaked further by the legislature based on some of the conversations I've had.

Um so we're just pointing it back to the state statute source.

Finally, section 19.

So this is specific to unsafe building.

Many of you will recall there was a bill in the state house earlier this year that kind of targeted unsafe building programs across the state.

Working with the bill's author, we were able to get that killed because there were several things where it would have completely defunded these programs across the state.

But we provided recommendations that we felt met Senator Freeman's uh concerns while also being uh working well for us.

So essentially what this does.

If you receive a uh a notice of a repair order, repair order's been opened on one of your vacant properties.

You currently have 10 days to request a hearing to dispute that to talk to the administrative law judge.

This opens that to 90 days.

You currently can only risk request a hearing at that beginning stage, or once you come into compliance.

This allows you to request a hearing any time a penalty has been assessed.

You can go before that ALG and dispute it.

Um currently, if you buy a property during tax sale, there's that redemption period, right, where the former property owner has the ability to pay the redemption fee and get their property back.

So during that time, a tax sale buyer cannot touch that property.

During that time, if it's vacant, there could be penalties that get assessed to it.

And so this allows that property owner to come and request a hearing and say, hey, I was in a redemption period, I wasn't able to make any updates to it, and we can waive those fees.

Finally, what I think is going to be the most impactful.

We are codifying our ability to waive liens and refund penalties.

If a project, if a property comes into compliance during the life of a case.

So by state statute, we can open a repair order for two years.

Let's set two years is up, we open a new one, or we open a demo order, or it's coming to compliance.

Right now, you have to request a hearing, and the ALJ isn't forced to necessarily do anything.

He can uh issue refunds, and he typically does, but it's in that 60 to 70 percent range.

So this would mean that you own a vacant property, you come into compliance with that repair order within two years.

Uh you do not need to request a hearing.

We will just automatically waive your liens and refund it.

And so I believe that this should lead to greater uh incentive for people to come into compliance, certainly within the life of the case versus dragging on to multiple cases.

That's it.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

Questions, comments from counselors.

Counselor Hart Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you, Director Brands, for the the presentation.

Go into section seven.

Okay.

Um I guess my concern here is and and maybe you can help you know clarify the point is you know, I've had instances in the past where you know I've had uh a builder have a permit for a structural permit that then they've had a stop work order on.

But then the department uh permit um a land improvement permit at the same time while there's a stop order in place.

If all permits are under the same permit type, uh how is that for section seven?

Maybe I got the wrong or sorry, section eight.

Section eight, hold on.

Oh no, so this is specific to private provider.

So the private provider permit, if you go look at the state statute, it allows a uh an individual or an entity to use a private provider for plan review and for inspection services for a class two structure.

And because of that, because it covers an ILP and a structural permit and craft permits, instead of forcing people to go do multiple things, it's far easier for us if we package it all into one thing.

And so who's doing the work, who are the craft vendors, sub vendors, etc., and then you just get one permit for this process, which is what the author intended it to be was that you get a permit a lot faster.

Okay, and so they get a stop order on the structural portion of that.

Does that then void the entire thing?

Um I think it would depend on the scope of what the stop work order is.

But no, the intention wouldn't be, I mean for a stopwork order to occur, that means somebody would have to uh send us a complaint that we go and verify.

And let's say the stop work order is specific to I don't know, pouring a foundation, right?

Then this the uh electrical, the plumbing, that probably wouldn't have started yet because that wouldn't have happened.

I think we're pretty good about for the most part when there are certain things of like, you know, you can still continue work on the inside, but your COA hasn't been approved, so you can't keep doing work on the outside.

I think that'll be the intention behind if we do have to have any enforcement for these.

Okay, and then my second question is on section 17.

I think I've got this one right.

Okay.

Um it was on it sounded like it was on regarded communication was the improvement here.

Uh, because the note I wrote down is this do we have the technology in place?

Uh that's what it was.

If like stalled communications on uh contractors, because I've had the case where I've had constituents call me and say, hey, it's taking me forever to get my permit, I don't have it, and then you know I call and then their contractors never receive uh responded back to what the city has asked them to do, right?

Uh and I think a lot of that can be improved by you know uh a transparent notification process.

Um where are we at on that?

So we rolled that out um last year for I think drainage permit types and some other permit types.

I don't think we rolled it out to every permit because we wanted to see how it went.

Um, but that's something we can certainly roll out to every other permit type.

But yeah, it's uh um it's a uh an automatic email that says, hey, your permit's still in review.

Yeah.

What's the frequency on the current setup?

How how how long would they wait before that goes out?

I'd have to go back.

I know it's scripted for a certain amount of time, but I can't I don't remember off the top of my head.

Okay.

I want to say it's 10 days, but I could be wrong.

I can get you the actual number.

Okay.

You don't have to give me the number just from feedback.

That's just something I could see being helpful.

Appreciate it.

Okay.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Additional questions.

Counselor Gibson.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh, Madam Director, uh, appreciate you uh running through all the changes here.

All these changes for is um on safe building and permitting processes uh are we the final pill body here?

I mean, I guess the final approval process here, or you got go back to your board.

No, you're the final.

Yeah.

Okay.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Additional questions, comments from counselors.

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal number 334?

CNN, I'll entertain a motion.

The motion has been properly moved and second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

Motion carries.

Thank you so much, madam director.

The next item on our agenda is proposal number 335 approves a payment in lieu of taxes, a pilot as provided by IC 36-3-2-12 for an affordable housing project and finance in part with low-income housing tax credit known as Capital Station Apartments.

Good evening, uh, Madam Chair, members of the council.

Uh my name is Ashley Miller.

I'm from the Department of Metropolitan Development, and I will be introducing the developers who will be presenting on their pilot ordinance requests tonight.

So, first up is uh Kevin Deegan with uh United Church Homes to speak on Capital Station.

Thank you, Ashley, and thank you, Madam Chair and Counselors uh for having me here.

Um excuse me, as I battle a little bit of a cold.

Um, as mentioned, Capitol Station Apartments is located at 7828 Madison Avenue, about eight and a half miles south of where we are right now.

Um it is a property.

Can you slide?

I'm sorry, I don't know who's controlling.

If you go to the next slide for me.

Um the property was originally constructed uh almost 30 years ago in 1996.

It contains 49 affordable seed in your housing units and one unit for our manager.

It has been built and owned and operated by a 501c3 organization, United Church Homes, since original construction.

And since construction, the property has always been 100 percent tax exempt until the recent financial closing, which necessitates this request.

Um the next slide has some statistics about the building, which I will gloss over, though you're happy to uh question or read through at your leisure.

Um the next slide is a little bit of information about my organization.

Um I'm the vice president of affordable housing preservation.

My specific task is to take our existing nationwide affordable housing portfolio, uh find capital and resources to preserve and maintain that affordability for the long term.

We say in perpetuity, but in all likelihood they are termed at 30 years with land use restriction agreements or 20 years with um housing and urban development section eight HAP contracts.

Both are both of which are relevant to this discussion here.

Just some statistics that United Church own homes um owns 58 affordable housing communities in 15 states, as well as manages for other nonprofit owners an additional 16 apartment communities in numerous other states.

I don't know the exact number offhand.

Um on the next slide, um I'm sorry I went the wrong way.

Um some details here on the affordable community that affordable residence that this community and United Church Homes serves.

Uh as you can see here, the affordable housing that we reference here is capital A affordable housing, meaning it is defined as rent restricted housing, backed up by a legal document that has compliance reporting and long-term use restrictions.

Uh for Capital Station, due to the low-income housing tax credit award received through IHCDA, um which we applied for several years ago.

The units are restricted at various income levels, none of which are higher than 80 percent of the area median income.

Though as you can see, the majority are at 60 percent of area median income or lower.

This requirement lasts for a total period of 30 years, but it is trumped by a deeper income requirement with housing and urban development by way of our project-based Section 8 HAP contract, which we were awarded and granted and closed on in March of 2025, so earlier this year.

Per the rules of that housing contract with house with the HAP contract with housing and urban development.

All the residents that live at Capitol Station will have no more than 50 percent of the area median income.

These are also senior residents, meaning they are all 55 years of age or older.

And in reality, that 50 percent AMI maximum limit is uh far too high for what the actual residents on our property currently make.

The average resident as of Friday is around 33 percent of area median income.

So we are housing fixed income seniors that are making somewhere between 12 and 18,000 per year.

Um the next slide uh is we can skip over briefly.

It's a brief description of how we got here from a property that is 30 years old and the process of which we raise the capital to put in uh over $7 million of funds to modernize and rehabilitate this property so that it's in good quality, safe operating condition for the next 20 or more years.

Um, I want to talk again a little bit about the resident impact here, and you'll see in bold that there is no impact to the residence portion of the rent.

The way that the rents are paid on these Section 8 HAP contracts is there is a resident portion, which is restricted, as we described, as a percentage of their gross monthly income, and there is the HUD portion.

So when we talk here about four lines down, I'm sorry, four bullets down, that the HUD approved rent increase of $321 per unit per month increase.

That is the Federal Government's portion of the rent.

Our residents have not and will not see an increase in their portion of the rent unless their gross monthly income increases, which in that case it will increase pro rata only up to that 30%, I'm sorry, to that 50 percent maximum.

So realistically, the seniors don't have a lot of upward income mobility, so the resident rent is unchanged and will always be tied to their gross monthly income, not to exceed 50 percent of their of the AMI for the the median income for the area.

So the total rent for the resident will stay flat.

Um then again, highlighted in yellow, you can see that you know no resident will ever make more than 50 percent of the area medium, more than 50 percent of the median income for this area for the next 20 years, the term of our Section 8 HAP contract.

Um for the additional 10 years after that, if the contract is not renewed, which it would fully be our intent as a mission-based nonprofit committed to affordable housing, would be to renew that Section 8 HAP contract for an additional 20 years, at least for an additional 10 years, the low-income housing tax credit levels set forth by IHCDA would then take effect.

Um, but again, the residents that are currently in place uh are well beneath those limits.

On the next slide, excuse me.

I will go quickly through here.

It's just a brief description of the various capital sources that were identified and closed on to generate the funds needed to do this substantial rehabilitation project at Capitol Station.

We have put in over 130,000 per unit in order to modernize and rehabilitate this property.

Uh and as a point of note, when it was originally constructed in 1996, it cost around $30,000 per unit.

So we have spent roughly three times that number to maintain and modernize this property, so it's in fantastic operating condition for the future.

Um the next slide, I wanted to talk briefly about the additional services and amenities that we provide to our residents.

These namely take the place of uh service social services that are administered and run by our on-site full-time service coordinator.

This is uh a position that has always been in place and is in place in as many of the properties in the United Church homes portfolio that we can afford to make that happen.

But at Capitol Station, we have had the fortunate uh situation of having an employee that's been a full-time on-site service coordinator for more than seven years.

And there's a brief SNP of the programs that have been put on by this service coordinator through the first half of just this year.

Um as you can see, we average about two events per month.

Um we will be aiming to increase that because portion of our application to HUD for this rental increase was a specific set aside of funds for social services, um, and those funds will be spent to enhance and increase the volume of programs that we offer for our residents.

And those funds will be spent to enhance and increase the volume of programs that we offer for our residents.

These are open to all residents of Capitol Station as well as the larger community.

And they are often well attended.

We track and will continue to monitor the attendance and report back to HUD and to the state as required.

Again, there a little bit more on the next slide is about the social services and events, just some descriptions of how they're put forth and what the various programs and events tend to look like.

On the next slide here, I talk a little bit here about our nationwide commitment that we have towards affordable housing.

The service coordinators on the site are not on an island.

They are supported by a central office staff based out of Ohio that includes four full-time uh employees that are committed to doing the accounting and finance, the grant underwriting, and helping to administer these programs so that our on-site service coordinator can really meet the day-to-day needs of the residents as well as put on these programs.

That is complemented by a full-time on-site property manager.

So it is not as if the service coordinator is also doing leasing compliance and income certifications.

All of that is run through the site and then backed up by our central office staff, just to further show our commitment to affordable housing at Capitol Station and across the country.

Brief description here of the renovation.

We're putting a lot of money into this property, and it is our great pleasure to do so.

So this is just the narrative here.

But if you go to the next slide, pictures speak louder than words.

If you look on the left, it's a shot of the old kitchen, galley style, very narrow with a half-size refrigerator, half-side, half-size range you can't really see in the corner.

Um but on the right, this is a completed kitchen that has been fully renovated.

It is now open.

It's you UFAS and Section 504 of the Fair Housing uh code compliant, meaning it's got the proper wheelchair radius for mobility restricted residents.

There's also full-size appliances, new cabinets, new flooring, new HVAC systems and plumbing in the guts of the building, which are not quite as intriguing to look at, but are critical to the long-term quality of the housing.

Um on the next slide, you can see a photo of the bathroom as well.

On the left is the old bathroom.

On the right, you see the new flooring, vanities, lighting, um, multiple grab bars.

I think we got a sale on grab bars in this shower in particular, so that's very safe.

New tiling, um, new toilets, uh, all in all, just a fully renovated apartment for the residents to move back into.

Again, we did this renovation in place, meaning our residents were temporarily relocated.

Uh, all but four of those residents have already returned to their units, and we are expecting completion of this project by the middle of December.

Um, but again, all residents are back.

We'll be doing just the central office and common areas uh for the remainder of time.

The next picture is just the building fascia and some mechanical, like you said, the guts that are not quite as exciting, but the most expensive part of this.

Um and then lastly, just a discussion on the pilot application if it were not approved.

You know, this property had been fully tax exempt um since its original construction.

It was our intent that it would be exempt post-construction.

However, through the tax credit uh investor that we brought in to raise the money to put into this property, they are a for-profit, so there is a fractional ownership percentage that is owned by a for-profit entity.

They are a completely limited partner.

They are there only to receive the tax credits, which we as a developer and a nonprofit have no use for.

So they were sold to that for-profit owner.

Um if their pilot was not approved, we would absorb those costs, though it would impact our monthly operating income and the ability to do uh all the wonderful things we've already put forth in this presentation.

And then lastly, just my contact information.

If there's any questions, I'm happy to answer them now or any time in the future.

And thank you very much for your uh consideration and attention.

Thank you for your presentation.

Do you have any questions, comments from counselors?

Counselor Cahill.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh, this is in my district, and I'm the sponsor.

Uh I this is this is a unique uh offer.

I think we have a lot of discussions when we talk about uh tax abatements uh where we look at something and we say, What what could the the valuation be?

Uh this one's unique in the the as they mentioned the property tax revenue today is zero.

And through the pilot, we will begin earning tax revenue for the duration.

Uh so that's that's not the norm.

We we will actually tax abate something and increase the the tax revenue we receive.

In addition, uh obviously there are a lot of great things with this.

We're rehabbing a uh facility that's been there, but you know, a lot of times we get to a point where we are doing tax abatements for properties that have gotten into serious disrepair, and now we're having the tax incentivize to essentially bulldoze or do something more substantial.

This is nice to see that we are doing something proactively and hopefully getting another 30 years of of uh life out of this uh building, not letting it fall into that uh that situation.

And it also uh the this is an existing structure, it's always been a low-income senior housing unit, and it's been well received in the community.

It's uh fit within there.

There's a crestwood kind of across and down the the street from it.

So that's that's what this portion of Madison is.

So I would ask for your support tonight on this.

Thank you.

Thank you, Counselor.

Additional comments from counselors, counselor Gibson.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and uh thank you, Councilman Kehill for uh this uh proposal.

It uh the pictures uh really look wonderful.

I mean, look like you really upgrade and renovation looks like some really quality housing, and and I applaud the fact that uh we're trying to do more and keeping affordable housing for Mature Dove.

So I I I will be supporting us as well.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilor Gibson.

Additional comments from counselors.

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal number 335?

Good evening, Madam Chair and to the committee members.

I'm Reverend Dr.

T D Robinson, senior pastor of Mount Perrin Baptist Church.

Also the uh founder and and uh owner of the um Pharrell Bell Senior Apartments.

I just wanted to uh let the uh committee know that um UCH uh is uh also they manage our property, and uh we've been very pleased with the service that they provided.

Uh in fact, uh I hope that they'll do our property next.

Uh so I'm here in support of this uh this uh proposal and uh but they uh wonderful organization, um really mission um uh based, and uh and they have faith base as well.

And I think that uh this is a great asset in our community, and I would hope that you guys would support uh UCH in their efforts to renovate this wonderful property and to get um it going.

And then uh I hope I'm back here again uh for our uh shameless front plug from the pastor.

Additional comments.

Seeing that I entertain a motion.

So the move the motion properly moved in second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye those opposed, same sign.

The motion carries.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

The next item on our agenda is proposal number 336, approves a payment in lieu of taxes, a pilot as provided by IC 36-3-2-12 for an affordable housing project being finance and part of low-income housing tax credits known as the promenade at the square, promenade at the square.

Good evening, the floor is yours.

Awesome.

Good evening, Cole Kerress with Burgeon Held.

Um, presenting on Promenade at the Square.

Um, promenade's a hundred and forty-four unit, 100% affordable property located at um the Lafayette Square Mall property.

Um, it's a joint partnership between Soho's Capital and Burgeon Held.

Um, all units will be will operate 100% on solar energy with rooftop solar installation, and the owner will cover 100% of these utility costs.

I listed out some services here that I'll touch on later.

Um, but one thing I did want to note is all 144 units um income average out to 60 percent of the AMIs here in Indianapolis.

Construction is expected to start in Q1 of 2026 with the opening in fall of 2027.

So the project's located at 3919 Lafayette Road.

If you're from Indianapolis, it's it's a part of the the mall that's been there.

Um but it's nice, it's a nice area for for amenities, and that the area has seen a lot of investment over the last few years.

Um so in terms of amenities close by, there's great employment opportunity, education, ice health, IU Health news new campus is close by, retail dining and entertainment.

Also, the nice thing is there's a public bus line um just adjacent to the site.

So here's the development site plan.

Um, it's just north of the existing mall property.

Um again, 144 units, 61 beds, 56 two beds, and 28 three beds, all coming down to that 60% AMI level.

The floor range will average between 725 square feet to 1,200 square feet for three beds.

But this is where we stand currently today.

So here's kind of the affordability broken out in terms of number of units at which AMI levels.

Like I said, all of these will average out to that 60% AMI.

So roughly $1,200 for a one-bed all the way up to roughly $1,700 for a three-bed would be the average rents at this property.

Now this is subject to change, but this is where we stay today.

So it would range from 30% AMIs all the way up to that 70%.

So it gets a large demographic of families.

Yeah, so here are the range of services that will be offered.

The first thing I want to touch on is the solar installation that'll take place.

With this installation, 100% of the electrical load would be covered, resulting in the owner covering all utility costs.

So residents would just be stuck with one rent bill.

Those are both hosted online and on our site.

So those will be in the community room as well as online to all residents.

There'll be a daycare on the first floor.

That's open to the public, and we're working through our terms with the provider right now.

But we're we're planning on having spots set aside for children living in living in the community as well as a potential rate cut for those families living there.

There'll also be a playground on site, and we'll be doing classes as well at the district community center that just opened less than a block away from the site.

So financial courses there as well as job training.

Here's a quick uh source and use kind of of the project.

Um right now we're looking at just under 48 million dollar total uh development costs.

I can answer more questions here if there are any, um, but I'll leave that there for now.

And then this is kind of what the pilot would look like.

So right now the the the development site is vacant.

It's always been vacant.

There was never a structure there prior to this investment.

And so with that being said, this would generate tax revenue that the city wouldn't other otherwise see.

Um it's calculated roughly at $300 per unit a year to start, and then it escalates there from for 3% for 15 years, which is the uh lifeline of the tax credits um through the IHCDA.

So just a little bit of background on the development team.

Soho's capital, um based here in Indianapolis, um, with their with their uh office over at Lafayette Square Mall.

They're also the owner of the entire mall acreage and buildings.

And to date, um, they've invested over 150 million into the surrounding neighborhood and and continue to invest um day after day.

And then Burgeon Held, um, we're the co-developer here.

Um, we're headquartered also here in Indianapolis.

Um we were founded in 2008, and we currently manage just north of 25,000 apartments and one of the largest apartment management companies in the state of Indiana.

Um, one thing to note Burgeon Health will be the property management company for this project as well as the construction.

And uh with that, I uh that's all I have.

So if there's any questions and I appreciate everyone's time and consideration tonight.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

Counselors, this is within my uh council district.

I am excited about the opportunity to continue to do development along Lafayette uh road.

It is desperately needed, and then also we all know the need for affordable affordable, additional affordable housing uh in the city of Indianapolis.

So I encourage you to ask questions, and if you can be uh if you find it in your heart, if you will to support it, I would greatly greatly appreciate it.

Counselor Evans.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I just wanted to uh publicly say I'm really excited about this project.

The the fact that you're gonna have solar as a part of this and that there's gonna be no cost to the residents on the energy.

That's amazing.

That's something that we've been dealing with as a city as those prices have been skyrocketing.

Um all the different amenities that you have that address some of the quality of life issues for folks are just it's phenomenal.

And you guys are really, I think this is the project that we need to start utilizing as this is what we're looking forward to as we move forward on some of this stuff.

Because this is great.

Very excited to support this.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd say from one mall representative to another.

Good job.

Um, this is this is really cool, um, especially the the residential services.

Um I'm optimistic that there will soon be something in District 20 along these lines.

Um but I'm curious on the the Wi-Fi connectivity.

How is that?

Uh how did you get ATT to agree to that?

Yeah, that's just the cost that the owner will incure.

So they're just paying those bills.

Is that uh the you guys as the owner burgeon or that would be Silos Capital?

It's a partnership.

Okay.

Good enough.

Thank you.

But that would stick that would stay in place for the 15 years.

Okay.

Additional questions from counselors.

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal 336?

CNN, I entertain a motion.

Oh move.

Second.

The motion's been properly moved and second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

The motion carries.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

The last item on our agenda is proposal number 337, approves a payment in lieu of taxes as provided by IC 36-3-2-12 for an affordable housing project being financed in part with low-income housing tax credit known as Walnut Ridge Apartments.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you so much for um taking the time to hear about our project and um taking consideration of our request.

Um, my name is Sarah Ford.

I am vice president of development for Wallet Communities.

Um, I've been there for just over nine years, and um I'm really excited to tell you guys a little bit more about this project tonight.

Um so I I know I'm last, so I'll try to be brief as I can.

Um, but wanted to provide a little bit of an overview into Wallach.

Um we've been in business for um just over 60 years.

Um, we are active in eight states across the Midwest, um, and we have a robust portfolio across the Midwest, um, over 200 units and over uh or I'm sorry, over 200 properties and over 14,000 units.

Um, and we have a large portfolio across the state of Indiana.

We have 14 active properties um that we currently own and manage in Indiana.

Um, just kind of a high-level overview of Wallach.

Um, really, in summary, we're kind of a one-stop shop.

We um you know are with these projects through every stage of the development, um, from originating the project to being the GC, um being the long-term property manager, and then also the long-term owner operator.

Um, so we kind of have a hand in every step of the process, and so we really try to take a lot of pride in the projects that we move forward because we are in them for the long term.

Um, so just a quick overview of Walnut Ridge Apartments.

So, this is a 78-unit existing asset.

Um, it serves seniors 55 and up.

Um, the project has kind of a unique history.

Um, it was originally developed as a school building, and then it was taken through the tax credit program in 2005.

Um, unfortunately, the um nonprofit who took it through the tax credit program initial initially um went defunct, and so um the project actually went through a foreclosure in 2024.

Um, as part of the foreclosure, the land use restrictive agreement was released, and so therefore the property was at risk of turning to a market rate property and no longer having any affordable um restrictions.

Um that's kind of when wallet got involved, and so we were able to take it back through the tax credit program, um, receive a new allocation of credits that then enabled us to keep it affordable for at least the next 55 years.

Um that was really important to the residents of this community, obviously.

Um, their seniors, a lot of them have been at this property for years and years, you know, 10 plus years.

Um, and inevitably, if this new reservation of tax credits would not have been um achieved, this project would have gone market rate, and most of them would have been permanently displaced, as they most likely would not have been able to afford the new market rents that would have been charged.

Um so we're really excited to be able to keep this asset affordable for years to come.

Um, some of the development um amenities that we will be doing as part of the rehab um include a walking path, fitness center, business center.

We also in this project will be providing the free Wi-Fi and all of the units and in the common space.

We have a dog park, picnic area, and then one thing we're really excited about is this glass greenhouse that we're going to be providing.

That was something that when we got feedback from the residents, they were really excited about to just be able to garden and socialize with other residents.

So we think that that's kind of a unique feature that this project will now have.

And then our relocation plan, just to touch briefly on that.

Where we can't relocate on site, Wallach will relocate off-site and completely pay for all expenses associated with relocation.

It will only be a temporary relocation, and then residents will move back to their unit after their phase of construction is completed.

And then this is just a site plan.

We are under construction, so I don't have pictures of the before and after your project looked amazing.

So hopefully we can provide pictures that look just as good when it's complete.

But just wanted to provide kind of a high-level overview, and this also shows where some of those amenities are located that I mentioned.

The primary being the 9% tax credits from IHCDA.

We also have a development loan from IHCDA, and then just our typical permanent and construction loan for the remaining financing for this project.

Total development costs are just under 17 million all in for the development.

And then we also serve, you know, 30%, 50%, 60%, and 80% AMI.

So we wanted to provide kind of a wide range of income levels for the property.

And so rents here will be anywhere from 500 to about 1,100, depending on what AMI level and what unit.

She is just incredible.

She has cultivated so many relationships in the community and already has a long list of services that we intend on either picking back up or just maintaining once the rehab is complete.

So I listed some of those here.

Happy to answer any questions on that.

We also will have an on-site service coordinator who is a core certified, and then our property manager, Wallach Properties Midwest also intends on becoming course certified in early 2026.

So I think just having that level of expertise will be really beneficial for the residents.

So our request is for an 80% pilot for the 15-year compliance period.

And so we greatly appreciate your consideration of our request.

This pilot really is critical to the overall financial feasibility of the development, and so we're really grateful to be able to potentially have that opportunity.

And so then again, just in summary, um, Walnut Ridge is a existing senior affordable housing development serving seniors 55 and up.

We are requesting an 80% pilot, which is very critical to the overall financial feasibility, and we're really excited to be able to offer a really strong community benefits plan, not only for you know the purposes of the pilot, but because we strongly feel that it is what is needed in order to provide the most holistic level of services to these residents who have been long-standing members of the community and have been through a lot with the history of this asset.

So we're really excited to be able to provide kind of a better future ahead for them.

And I'm happy to answer any questions and thank you again.

Thank you so much for your presentation.

Questions, comments from counselors.

Counselor Gibson.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I ride by this property uh every day.

And I've seen it over years, and so I'm very pleased that uh you're working with the CEO pilot to improve it.

Uh and as uh Madam Chair mentioned, we need more affordable properties, and so we want to work to try to sustain this, and I'm very pleased and we'll be supporting it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Additional comments from counselors.

Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to speak to proposal 337?

Seeing that I'll entertain a motion.

So move, is there a second?

The motion has been properly moved and second.

All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Those opposed, same sign.

Motion carries thank you so much for your presentation.

Seeing no other business for from this committee, I'll entertain a motion for adjournment.

So moved.

Second, we are adjourned.

Thank you.