A major project that would bring worker housing to downtown Michigan City landed significant grant funding.
The Singing Sands worker housing project secured a $5 million READI 2.0 grant from the state and a $700,000 grant from the Lilly Foundation, Michigan City Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Clarence Hulse said. The funding should help get the project off the ground.
Indianapolis-based Helix hopes to start construction in the spring on 300 new housing units at the corner of E. 8th Street and Michigan Boulevard. It plans to build 300 apartments, a juice bar, a childcare center and other retail spaces.
"It's 300 units. That's huge," Hulse said. "People who work downtown can actually live downtown. The people who work in restaurants and retail can actually live where they work instead of having to live somewhere else in the city and have a long commute."
It will be developed on a brownfield site that the city has been cleaning up for the past 12 years. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is reviewing the site's environmental conditions and still must give the go-ahead to proceed.
"We've been giving them all the documents to get a letter of approval," he said. "Once that happens, we can move forward."
Several major projects are underway in downtown Michigan City.
The $101 million, 12-story Franklin Street tower is now under construction by the new South Shore Line station. Chicago-based DAC Developments is redeveloping a three-block-long stretch of the former Memorial Hospital site at 5th Street and Pine Street in downtown Michigan City. The project is expected to cost $200 million and include an eight- or nine-story tower, 500 apartments and a grocery store. The $305 million, 14-story resort-style SoLa will bring condos, a hotel, restaurants and a rooftop deck with sweeping views of Lake Michigan.
Sinding Sands would be built on a six-acre site south of Trail Creek that would be a short walk away from the Uptown Arts District and all the restaurants, galleries and stores that line Franklin Street. It will include a pool and other amenities and be located near Zorn Brewery, Elston Grove Historic District and the new Singing Sands Trail.
The apartments would be market-rate but affordable for working people.
"We're trying to get more housing for the working class," Hulse said. "It's for blue-collar workers. They have a job. They just can't afford the luxury high-end homes. They have a job and should be (able to) buy a home. It's to our benefit because it means they live near where they work. They can have more flexible schedules. They won't have to spend as much on gas."
Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said it's one of several housing projects planned in the city to help address the housing shortage that's hurting affordability and home ownership nationwide. Each new project adds more housing options and relieves pressure on the demand for the existing housing stock, she said.
"Housing right now has been sprouting throughout the city," Deuitch said. "I think it's because of our city council and the community embracing the change that's happening in Michigan City."
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