The Bates-Hendricks neighborhood will soon be home to a four-story 151-unit affordable housing development, with a ground-breaking expected for mid-2022, Daniel Jacobs of Chase Development has confirmed. He plans for the project to be completed by the end of 2023.
Chase Development is partnering with Birge & Held on the $33 million project which received the approval of the Metropolitan Development Commission on Dec. 15. The 151-unit apartment project will be located at 1001 E. Palmer St. on the site of the former Abraham Lincoln School, IPS No. 18. That three-story building, currently vacant, will be demolished.
To be known as Lincoln Lofts, the project will be dedicated to people and families making up to 60 percent of the area’s median income.
Jacobs said the development is meant to counter the gentrification the Fountain Square area is currently undergoing by giving local residents an affordable housing option. According to a report in the Indianapolis Business Journal,
Apartments at Lincoln Lofts would range from studios to three-bedrooms, with average rental rates of $750 for a studio, $790 for a single-bedroom, $946 for two bedrooms and $1,091 for a three-bedroom unit, Jacobs confirmed. Nearly half of the units will be studios. The development will feature about 146 parking spaces in a subterranean covered parking garage.
Current plans feature amenities such as a shared rooftop deck, a pool and clubhouse, a fitness center and either a patio or balcony space for each unit. A conference area and game room are each expected to be part of the development as well.
The site, in the southeast corner of Bates-Hendricks and just south of the heart of Fountain Square, is close to an IndyGo Red Line stop. Current city planning guidelines encourage developers in certain zones, such as this one, to incorporate public transportation options into their plans.
The project would include amenities like a shared rooftop deck, a pool and clubhouse, a fitness center and either a patio or balcony space for each unit. A conference area and game room are each expected to be part of the development as well.
The development partners hope to receive both federal housing tax credits and local incentives to help with financing. Chase Development has one other development under way in the Urban Times zone – the Block 20 mixed-use project being built on the former Athenaeum parking lot.
RENDERING ABOVE: The Lincoln Lofts project will replace the now-vacant building which once housed Abraham Lincoln School, IPS No. 18. The school building dates to 1901 and is now owned by the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership. INHP is selling the property to the developers. Under a previous owner, it housed several community-focused religious organizations, including Kids Inc., Gospel Martial Arts Union and Why Aren’t You Smiling Inc.
