A City-County Council committee has again delayed voting on whether to give a tax break for an affordable housing project.
Now the developer is warning that the next phase of his Canal Village project in a northwest Indianapolis neighborhood may not happen at all because of the delays.
Gary Hobbs, president of the development firm BWI, brought about a dozen current Canal Village residents to make his point.
“The folks who are really hurt from this are the residents,” he told members of the council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee on July 14.
This is the second time the committee has postponed a vote on the tax break for Hobbs. The committee previously did the same thing in June.
Councilors are facing pressure from some Northwest Landing neighborhood residents who say Hobbs hasn’t lived up to his commitments to the community. Some had complained of “Cracker Jack, shotgun houses” that they said didn’t match the project’s original renderings.
But Hobbs has emphasized the demand for affordable housing and said some of the complaints lodged against him have been exaggerated.
The next phase of his project has already been selected by the state to receive $1.2 million in tax credits annually over 10 years. That money is dependent on local approval for the tax break, though, which would total an estimated $490,000 in savings over 15 years for BWI.
“Delaying this project has put it in jeopardy of being completely canceled,” Hobbs said.
Lynn Brown, one of the residents who went to the meeting in support of Hobbs, came with her 2-year-old son. The Canal Village project is focused on single parents.
Brown, 33, said she’s lived in her home for almost three years. She has two children and said she likes the neighborhood because people help each other.
On top of fitting her budget, Brown said she likes the space for her kids.
“My kids have their own bedroom,” she said.
What’s next?
The council committee chair, Democratic Majority Leader Maggie Lewis, said the request to postpone the proposal came from council President Vop Osili.
Osili, a Democrat whose district includes Northwest Landing, wasn’t available for an interview in time for publication.
A council spokesperson told Mirror Indy that Osili made the request in order to allow the Department of Metropolitan Development to host a community meeting.
A DMD spokesperson told Mirror Indy that the department plans to meet with residents to “hear their concerns around the project and open a dialogue about how to best address them.” A date for the meeting hasn’t been set.
Osili isn’t a member of the committee, but the council typically defers to the local councilor on development issues.
The next committee meeting is scheduled for Aug. 18.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
