Lilly funds will boost downtowns, neighborhoods

Wayne County’s downtowns and Richmond’s Vaile and Starr neighborhoods will gain new or improved housing, thanks to a total of $5.1 million in new funds.

At their Nov. 3 board meeting, Economic Development of Wayne County officials revealed the areas that would benefit from their successful application for $5.1 million to revitalize and stabilize those three areas.

The $5.1 million is part of the $185 million that Lilly Endowment Inc. has committed to reduce blight. LEI’s funds accompany the $500 million that Indiana officials allocated in April 2024 through the state-driven Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative 2.0 for various development projects.

Wayne County EDC’s application received regional approval before going to Indiana’s Economic Development Corp. The funds complement projects the EDC already has been overseeing for the last two years, and they count as matches toward LEI’s program.

Noting the many investments happening in downtown Richmond, including new market-rate apartments being constructed on the former Elder-Beerman department store site, EDC officials say reinvesting in the nearby Starr and Vaile neighborhoods will make those areas more inviting places to live.

When the $5.1 million is added to other contributions, EDC officials estimate a total investment of $55.3 million from private and public sources will create 146 new or revitalized homes.

EDC staff will receive the funds and distribute them to eligible entities.

“We’re just getting started,” said EDC President Valerie Shaffer. “There’s a lot more work to do.”

Projects at a glance

• $3 million will go toward downtown revitalization across Wayne County. More than 20 housing units are expected to be added with a total investment of $17 million.

EDC notes $11 million in private investments plus a total of $3 million in prior commitments from the City of Richmond and Wayne County from Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program grants ($1 million each), and $500,000 each from Consolidated Economic Development Income Tax and Wayne County EDIT funds.

Communities that participated in the Hoosier Enduring Legacy Program as well as those who contribute half their EDIT funds to Wayne County’s EDC will be eligible.

• $976,000 will help rehabilitate 22 homes in Richmond’s northside Starr Historic District for a total investment of $5.1 million. Matching funds include $200,000 from the new Wayne County Landbank initiative that will acquire homes to stabilize before a developer can be found. Additional sources include $780,000 from Wayne County Blight Program, $369,000 from Richmond Redevelopment Commission (which is funding the landbank for one year and providing gap funding for home acquisition) and $2.8 million in private investment.

EDC staff say the plan is to send requests for proposals to qualified builders to renovate and flip them, with a goal of increasing home ownership.

The Starr neighborhood recently appeared on Indiana Landmarks’ statewide 10 Most Endangered list for two consecutive years.

• $1.12 million will help build 22 new homes in the Vaile neighborhood surrounding Vaile Elementary at 300 S. 14th St. in Richmond.

Partners on that project are to include the Housing Authority of Richmond, Good News Habitat for Humanity and Richmond Power & Light, which will provide some in-kind electric connections. Wayne County Foundation is making a $1 million Impact Investment Loan.

EDC recently organized a contractor meeting to outline the project, and it attracted several local developers as well as some from outside the area.

Wayne County’s investment of $820,000 toward helping developers add 82 new homes to unfinished subdivisions through its Housing Accelerator Program also counted toward the match.

New contract

In a related matter, the EDC board approved a $160,000 contract with Indianapolis-based Interurban Center at the Sagamore Institute Inc., which Richmond Redevelopment Commission is fully funding.

With EDC’s oversight, Sagamore Institute will create a Starr District redevelopment plan over six to nine months and equip a nonprofit development entity for plan implementation, with those services to be deployed over approximately two years.

Shaffer said Sagamore Institute is run by Bill Taft, who is known across Indiana for his decades of community development through projects such as Fountain Square in Indianapolis. Shaffer said he and his team offer a great deal of expertise in projects like Richmond’s Starr neighborhood.

She said a long-term strategy is needed because Starr’s stabilization challenges that include law enforcement, infrastructure and lighting won’t be solved by rehabbing just 22 homes, and finding financial resources and overseeing the work’s completion will take years.

Cambridge City water tower

The EDC board also approved Cambridge City town council’s request for $600,000 toward building a new water tower in Gateway Industrial Park.

EDC and county officials previously helped the town acquire a $2.8 million grant toward the project, which is expected to cost $7.6 million.

The town will contribute $600,000 toward the project if it can get a total of $2.4 million in additional assistance from county officials to lower the town’s needed revenue bond to no more than $2.4 million.

EDC’s board voted unanimously for the contribution, with the exception of EDC board treasurer Jim King, a Cambridge City town councilor, who abstained from the vote.

Wayne County Commissioners will need to give final approval for that use of Consolidated EDIT funds for the project.