Indianapolis complex will have 57 affordable apartments. It took 14 years to get off the ground.

A new, 57-unit subsidized apartment complex is under construction on the near northside of Indianapolis, after more than a decade of work by local leaders and developers. 

The building, at 29th Street and Central Avenue, is expected to open in late 2026. The $19.5 million project is a significant effort to bring affordable homes to Mapleton-Fall Creek at a moment when the neighborhood is attracting more affluent residents and is at risk of gentrification.

“We are the most economically diverse neighborhood in the entire city, and that doesn't happen by accident,” said David Bacon, chief executive officer of the Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation. “We have to make intentional investments in affordable housing.”

“We got to make sure that we preserve places for people who've grown up, lived in this neighborhood for a long time to be able to still live here,” Bacon said.

Bacon was among dozens of community supporters gathered at Broadway United Methodist Church to celebrate the apartment complex. The project took 14-years of public and private planning and work to get off the ground. It faced funding hurdles including difficulty getting federal tax credits distributed by the state.

The Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation partnered with several groups throughout the project, according to a 2023 story from the Indianapolis Business Journal. The project has been through many iterations over the years. In 2014, for example, plans called for a mixed-use development with 158 units of affordable and market-rate housing that aimed to serve seniors, according to the IBJ. 

It was ultimately developed in partnership with the Community Builders Inc. It received support from the city, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and several other organizations.

At the groundbreaking, pastor Aaron Hobbs called on city leaders to prioritize affordable options for people without housing and the working poor.

“We can ignore the continued struggle of our unhoused neighbors and the working poor of this city,” Hobbs said, “or we can build upon this success and let this project be a model and springboard that encourages the city of Indianapolis to see a vision of what's possible.”

The building, known as Central@29, will include one, two and three bedroom apartments for families earning up to $70,000 per year, according to a press release from the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development. It will also have 11-units of supportive housing for formerly homeless people, with on site services from Rafael Health Center. 

Contact WFYI education reporter Dylan Peers McCoy at dmccoy@wfyi.org.