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Near East Area Renewal (NEAR) and development partner TWG have completed the housing portion of the Minnie Hartmann Center, a multifamily senior affordable housing building redeveloped from IPS School #78. The Minnie Hartmann Center consists of 64 affordable rentals for adults 55 and older. The Center will also include a full-day childcare center for 150+ children operated by Shepherd Community […]

For most of the past century, the 50-acre parcel on the northwest corner of Michigan Street and Sherman Drive on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis was a bustling economic hub. Having hosted General Electric (GE), the RCA Corporation (formerly the Radio Corporation of America), and Thomson Consumer Electronics in succession, the tract was a worksite for approximately 8,000 people, many […]

For many residents of Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Arts Garden, Gallery 924, and the Indy Arts Guide are the most obvious emblems of the Arts Council of Indianapolis citywide. Lesser known are the Arts Council’s efforts to secure major grants for community-led arts initiatives in pursuit of its mission to “advocate for the need and importance of broad community funding and […]

Pictured above: Ruckus Makerspace, a property of Riley Area Development Corporation, which benefited from painting, landscaping, and window replacement funded in part by one of LISC’s facade grants (Source: North Mass Indy)   Many storefronts in the IndyEast Promise Zone have been around for several decades, longer than even their most resilient tenants. Peeling paint, burned-out lights, cracked windows, dead […]

The Near Eastside of Indianapolis is home to artists of all disciplines and experience levels, but nonetheless has a dearth of permanent spaces specifically dedicated to community-oriented artistry and art exhibition. Hoy Polloy, an artist-run gallery, performance venue, and event space at 2121 East 10th Street, was established by Near Eastside community members in the summer of 2018 to fill […]

If you are a pizza aficionado on Indianapolis’ Near Eastside, then you know that your local options for a good slice or pie used to be few, branches of chain restaurants, and most likely far from your home or workplace. Thanks to Alicia and Adam Sweet, who opened King Dough in Holy Cross at the end of January 2019, Near […]

At a time when blue-collar jobs are becoming increasingly scarce, growing bastions of industrial employment with expanding career opportunities are anomalies. Nelbud Services Group, the most eminent provider of kitchen exhaust hood cleaning, fire protection, and grease-trapping services from the Midwest to the East Coast, stands out as a thriving company that is steadily creating well-paying jobs for people without […]

On December 5, 2018, a spokesperson from the Lilly Endowment announced the recipients of its Strengthening Indianapolis through Arts and Culture Initiative grants at the John Boner Neighborhood Centers. Of 226 vying entities, a collective comprised of the John Boner Neighborhood Centers and eight partner organizations became one of 18 awardees whose visionary approaches to arts-based community development showed the […]

Since the summer of 2016, the IndyEast Promise Zone (IEPZ) has been supported by the capacity-building efforts of AmeriCorps VISTAs. Below are reflections from members of the three cohorts of VISTAs who have served the IEPZ so far. 2018-2019 Cohort Kira Zagorc | Economic Development Planner “As the Promise Zone’s Economic Development Planner VISTA, I build capacity for local business owners […]

Since 2015, the City of Indianapolis and its partners have leveraged the IndyEast Promise Zone designation to secure funding and technical assistance from 12 federal agencies, namely the Economic Development Administration (EDA), which supports innovation and entrepreneurship in communities nationwide under the U.S. Department of Commerce. Engagement between Promise Zone stakeholders and the EDA began through a coordinated effort between […]