‘Workforce Housing’ Plans Unveiled

Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana is partnering with Indianapolis-based Strategic Capital Partners LLC on a $28.5 million apartment complex focused on combating a "housing gap that needs attention." The 208-unit Riverview Apartments development is designed as workforce housing, which Goodwill Chief Executive Officer Kent Kramer defines as a place for renters who work downtown and earn between 61-120 percent of the median income of the area. Site preparations are underway on the four-acre property just west of the IUPUI campus and where many of the city’s hospitals are located.

Stakeholders say the development is the first of its kind in the city, and in an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Kramer said the community, the city and local employers have been supportive. The development, he adds, will serve an important segment of the population. "It’s these folks that are staffing our hospitals, these folks are staffing our schools. You know, they’re working hard to get ahead," Kramer said. "If you make $35,000 a year or $40,000 a year, it is hard to find affordable housing within the city limits — especially downtown." The rent for Riverview Apartments is expected to start at $600 per month and the near-west side location could help workers that have had to live in the suburbs — teachers, medical professionals and public safety workers, for example — reduce commute times and travel expenses to jobs that may already involve long shifts.

Strategic Capital Partners Senior Vice President Will Zink says "we understand it takes shared goals to make our city better and we are committed to creating value — for our partners like Goodwill, our investors and the communities in which we do business."

The complex will serve as the gateway to the River West neighborhood, which was identified in 2016 as a focal point of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. of Indianapolis’s Great Places 2020 initiative. Riverview Apartments will include studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, as well as parking, a fitness center and outside amenities.