We sent out our survey to a number of our residents living on the East Side. We received a 20% return! We are so excited and now we’re sharing our results with you! If you have a chance to take it, we would love to get some more feedback! We do take all of the residents’ recommendations into consideration. It’s how we make downtown and its surrounding areas a livable place!

When asked…

To rank the needs of Indianapolis, the majority of respondents claimed that renovation of homes for home ownership and homeowner repair among the highest. Others suggested a need for more living space for the elderly.

To identify what items should be included in housing developments, residents recommended community spaces to include outdoor gathering areas (patios, pools, grilling areas), playgrounds, meeting areas, and community rooms. Others suggested more green developments, landscaping and green spaces, and more places to host community gathering events.

To identify where home repair assistance should focus residents suggested Indy’s east side. One resident specifically mentioned from Washington to Emerson and South of Washington to Gladstone.

If there is adequate rental housing options available for people of various incomes, most answered yes. Other residents suggested there wasn’t and that there should be a stronger commitment to making rent more affordable. Another resident suggested the downtown area needed more group housing for Veterans and differently abled persons.

What was missing from the Mass Ave area, some residents suggested a strong need for an affordable grocery. One resident specifically recommended a Kroger.

Riley is happy to receive such positive input from residents who have benefitted or observed the positive impacts Riley has made in their community. We are always looking to improve our future projects. Please take a moment to send us an email or let us know what recommendations you have in your downtown communities!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Rebuilding the Community

The Clifford Corners site is located at 3101-3125 East 10th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46201. The Clifford Corners project site is located in the key redevelopment node of the 10 East Main Street neighborhood-serving district, and has been outlined in the Near Eastside Quality of Life Plan as a community initiative pertinent to rebuilding the health of the commercial district.

Project Description

Sponsored by the East 10th Street Civic Association and Riley Area Community Development Corporation, Clifford Corners is a three-level, mixed-used project that creates 32 affordable, one- and two-bedroom apartment rentals; 4 affordable, owner-occupied two-bedroom condos; and, more than 12,000 square feet of community services and commercial retail space.

Development Team

In addition to the Civic Association and Riley, the rest of the experienced development team includes: MBA Property Management, LLC, serving as property manager; Kuhl Grant LLP providing legal services; Schmidt Associates providing design and engineering services; Keystone Construction Corporation, a MBE recognized firm, serving as general contractor; and J Higgs Development, LLC providing financial consulting services.

Community Support
The location is appropriately zoned for multi-family residential with space allotted on the ground level for community service space.The project was identified as a key project in the Quality of Life plan developed by neighborhood residents.

Additional support and focus for the Clifford Corners project site became available through the Super Bowl Legacy Economic Development Committee for 2012. Thank you, Super Bowl Committee!

Location-

The Clifford Corners site is surrounded by more than 55 local and franchise neighborhood-serving retail businesses. Recently-opened businesses include the Little Green Bean Boutique (children’s resale); Metta, a community-based yoga initiative; and, Made For Each Other community art space. Additionally, East 10th Street is the home of Indianapolis’ first storefront food co-op, Pogues Run Grocer. The John H. Boner Community Center is located within walking distance and offers a variety of services, including job training and financial counseling. The newly-constructed HealthNet People’s Health Center, located adjacent to the Boner Center, provides affordable health services for the insured, uninsured and underinsured. Both the community center and low cost health care provider cater to the population served by this development and assure that services are easily accessible.

We believe that Mass Ave and our cultural districts have a lot to offer, we want to continue the trend by continuing our mission in housing, community and economic development while making our neighborhoods attractive. We want our public spaces to be raved about for years to come.

Riley is in the business of making memories and creating opportunities. We think that our strategic plan will enable us to identify new and ongoing opportunities that demonstrate just how wonderful our city is. Please join and support us!

RADC 2013 Strategic Plan RADC 2013 Strategic Plan Final

 After guiding the Riley Area Development Corporation (RADC) for nearly two decades, Bill Gray has announced his retirement, effective June 1, 2013.

In 2012, Gray was named a “Neighborhood Visionary” by LISC: Local Area Service Initiative, the Indianapolis office of a national organization that helps resident-led, community-based development organizations transform distressed communities and neighborhoods into healthy ones. LISC cited Gray’s pioneering decision to tackle the transformation of what is now known as the Mass Ave Cultural District, today a thriving crossroads of retail outlets, restaurants, affordable and market-rate housing adorned by public art, traffic calming devices, landscaping, wayfinding, and public gathering places. In the mid-1990s, the area was filled with empty storefronts and forlorn lots. Gray built a vision to transform the area, beginning with the Davlan Building in the 400 block. Today, the Davlan property includes 36 affordable apartments and 14 market-rate apartments, eight condos, and more than 16,000 square feet of bustling retail space, anchored by Starbucks, and the success has been replicated block by block with RADC’s leadership under Gray.

RADC’s core service area comprises the northeast quadrant of downtown and neighborhood partnerships on the near eastside. The ability to align stakeholders around a transformative vision throughout this area, and the skills to navigate the cultural, political, and financial paths to success, are lauded as Gray’s legacy to the organization.

RADC Board President and six-year Board Member Sarah Hempstead, Principal of Schmidt Associates, says, “Bill Gray’s deep commitment to developing diverse urban environments has positively affected thousands of Indianapolis residents. On Massachusetts Avenue in particular, his wholistic impact is evident – in the affordable housing, active retail and restaurants, art, landscaping and more, including the recently completed 69 units and 11,000 square feet of retail in the 800 block of Mass Ave. Indianapolis is a better place because of Bill and he will be greatly missed.” Nine-year Board Member Fred Hash, Vice President and Director of Business Development for Great Lakes Capital Fund, worked closely with Gray as Board President for five years. Hash added, “Bill has created a lasting legacy in Downtown Indianapolis, evidenced by the creative developments he has been part of, and even more so by the lives he’s touched and positively impacted.”

During his tenure with RADC, Gray has been responsible for management of all aspects of the Community Development Corporation (CDC), including management of assets, attainment of appropriate funding for major housing projects, and development of financial plans. He has established positive and stable relationships with neighborhood leaders, corporate and government entities, not-for-profit partners, and volunteers.

Before joining RADC in 1996, Gray had a career in the United States Marine Corps, from which he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel; and a second career as an entrepreneur, founding a successful general contracting, remodeling, and property management company specializing in the renovation and restoration of older homes and commercial buildings in Indianapolis.  He also served as Director of Transportation for Pax/Indianapolis, Inc., the organizational committee of the 1987 Pan Am Games.

RADC is a Community Development Corporation founded in 1979. CDCs are catalysts for community-led neighborhood rebirth through housing revitalization, economic development, and partnerships with self-sufficiency programs. CDCs maximize public funds through alliances with financial institutions, equity investors, and individual donors. RADC’s core service area is the near eastside of Indianapolis, including the Massachusetts Avenue retail, residential, and cultural district. Committed to helping neighborhoods direct their own economic destiny, Riley Area believes long-term revitalization of urban neighborhoods is most successful when it is resident driven.

The development plans include a span of green space located in the rear courtyard and parking area. Other features for Clifford Corners include 12,000 square feet of retail space, multi-level and mixed-use structures including 32 one- and two-bedroom apartments, 4 two-bedroom condominiums and 12,000 square feet of retail space.

MBA Property Management, LLC is responsible for the management and leasing of the Clifford Corners property. All featured units are fitted with ENERGY STAR appliances, balconies, and have contemporary floor plans that meet the needs of today’s urbanites.

The Corner project also features two-bedroom condos offering a unique opportunity for ownership in a prosperous and evolving business district just blocks away from downtown Indianapolis. Sycamore Group Realtors’ Jay Pearl is the leasing agent for all four properties.

“It’s so important to see areas of the community grow, renew, and be reborn. In a time of intense debates about budget cuts to government spending, it’s great to see in Trailside the effect of a little government spending.”
– Congressman Andre Carson, Indiana’s 7^th District

“Twelve years ago when I was elected to the City-County Council, my predecessor Susan Williams said ‘Your job is to get another 10,000 people to move downtown.’ Our goal is to provide downtown living options for residents at all income levels, from the clerk at CVS to the lawyer at one of the big firms. With Trailside, we’ve made another step in the right direction.”
– Jackie Nytes, City-County Councilor, District 9

“You may think that the vibrant Mass Ave District has been here for a long time, but I will tell you that it took 20 years – and longer – and the combined efforts of the city of Indianapolis, Riley Area Development Corporation, property owners, and entrepreneurs to create the thriving community you see here now. With Trailside, we’re that much closer to our goal of 40,000 people living downtown by 2020.”
–Maury Plambeck, Director of the Department of Metropolitan Development for the City of Indianapolis

“So many hours have been spent over the years to get to this point. It’s delightful to be in a city that’s all about neighborhoods – it’s what makes Indianapolis great!”
–JohnKinman, Vice President, Not for Profit Services, The National Bank of Indianapolis

“In 2001, Julia Carson helped dedicate the Davlan, and she challenged Riley Area Development to do for other blocks of Mass Ave what the Davlan did for its section of the avenue. She urged us to bring more affordable housing to our neighborhood, and she started us on a course of feisty debate. Over the years, we’ve turned that debate into partnering – partnering is our ‘go’ word, and Trailside is the newest proof that it works.”
–Bill Gray, Executive Director, Riley Area Development Corporation

Photos Current as of January 2013