The Greater Lafayette Region seeks to complete a Regional Housing Study & Needs Analysis that encompasses both Regional and Individual County information. The goal of this study is to provide an understanding of the housing needs of every county within the Region and layout an action plan/strategy going forward for each of the individual counties. 
The Contractor will spend time in each county as well as interview employers, elected officials and stakeholders including developers and housing advocates. An action plan and strategy will be developed for each county based on the information collected. This will help each individual county help prioritize and determine how to spend their infrastructure dollars. The study is expected to begin in October 2022 and be completed by February 2023.

INVets will be providing the following outreach for the Greater Lafayette Region:  Base Sponsorship: A critical piece of our outreach efforts to military members are our face-to-face visits on base. Visiting bases in person across the county allows us to meet candidates where they are and talk to them about our partner communities and companies, $120,000.  Digital Marketing: Provides additional outreach and coverage to bases being visited as well as bases not in rotation. Leveraging social media and google adds, this will supplement our outreach efforts to military members and their spouses, $30,000.  Hiring Our Heros events, $33,000.  For a total of $183,000 of READI dollars. The intended outcome is to get more transitioning service members to move to Greater Lafayette.  The base visits will vary throughout the year and at different bases. The marketing will happen throughout the three-year period.  Our Hiring Events will also vary when and where throughout the three-year period.    The activities will go through the full three-year grant period. The overall approximate timeline for this project is January 2024 through December 2026.

The scope of this project is to create and implement semiconductor workforce development programs that benefit the entire Greater Lafayette region. This project is needed in light of the SkyWater $1.8B semiconductor manufacturing facility that will be built in West Lafayette and is expected to bring 750 jobs to the region. This partnership between Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College will address the semiconductor talent pipeline including high school students by offering associate degrees and technician training as well as bachelor’s degrees and engineer training. The training program will assist unemployed or underemployed workers to obtain high paying, long-term jobs ($60,000 - $130,000 per year). The requested budget is $5M over four years, from 2023 until the end of 2026. The project costs will include development of new courses, refining existing courses; professional development for instructors, train the trainer workshops; purchasing equipment and consumables for hands-on training; developing materials and scaling up of programs; faculty and staff time, including new hires; high school program expenses (stipends, transportation); outreach, engagement, and marketing. The success will be measured by the number of students trained through this program, number of students placed in jobs, number of courses offered and talent.

The scope of the project is to build a new terminal and establish scheduled commercial airline service at Purdue airport (LAF) to stimulate economic development and population growth. Lafayette-West Lafayette is the second largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the U.S. without direct access to an airport with commercial service. The READI funds will be used for the terminal ($7M)). The cost for the entire project is $10M, of which $7M is requested from READI and $3M iss committed as matching from Eli Lily Grant, through the Lilly College and Community Collaboration grant. The goal of the READI funding used for the LAF Airport project is to finalize the infrastructure that supports commercial air service. This approach allows the region to demonstrate the demand and viability of commercial air service and creates a path to scale commercial air service operations as needed.  The READI funding and Lilly matching grant will be used to create temporary space on the existing apron west of the terminal as a new parking lot and safety improvements are necessary for the enhanced activation of this location.

Families in the Greater Lafayette Region are unable to access quality childcare.  Without quality, reliable care, those same families are unable to enter or remain in the workforce. The purpose of the READI funds is to increase the capacity of the region's early care and education infrastructure by taking a collaborative approach to recruiting new programs and strengthening the landscape as a whole using the following methods (Scope of Work):  Licensure Pathway Incentive (Start-up funds for childcare programs to assist program owners in starting).  2. Capacity-building mini-grants (Funding opportunities for projects are designed to increase capacity in new and existing programs).  3.  Regional Shared Services Hub (Shared services to decrease overhead costs).  4. Project Manager (Hire a manager to implement and manage this project).
Q3 '22-Build/strengthen county coalitions, Q4 '22 Survey to understand needs, Q1 '23 Hire Program Manager, Q1-Q2 '23 roll out application request for funding (providers), '23-'24 work with providers to implement their capacity building plan, Q4 '23 Launch Regional Shared Service Hub.
The outcome of the program will include 40 new childcare spots, which is a 71% increase. ROI:  Workforce preparation, health outcomes, reduced crime, economic health, lower program costs. Lost Dollars:  Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers, On My Way Pre-K, State/Federal Funding, and Grants and other funds for “formal” childcare programs for the counties.

The Warren County Wabash River Greenway (WRG) project provides the Western leg connecting along the 90-mile, 5 county greenway. The project also enhances a natural waterfall asset and local park features into a regional destination point. These enhancements include trailhead signage and kiosks, WRG wayfinding, riparian restoration, trail improvements, and accessibility upgrades. READI funds are specifically required for the construction of a pedestrian bridge, construct asphalt main trail, and provide riparian restoration.  Master planning efforts led by the Warren County Local Economic Development Org. (LEDO), Wabash River Enhancement Corp., and the town of Williamsport were completed in 2022. This development has a total project cost of $1,228,000. READI's $600,000, a local match of $500,000, and private matches of $128,000. Local match funds are committed by the Warren County Council, Town of Williamsport.  The Warren County LEDO will coordinate the project and the town of Williamsport will manage READI funds. The project started in November 2022, and is expected to end in December 2026.

The Monticello Riverwalk project will utilize READI funds to complete the design and construction of a 1 mile long shared-use trail connecting downtown Monticello to Bluewater Beach Park. The project will increase physical activity for residents by providing connections between existing neighborhoods and the new route along the Tippecanoe River from which they can travel to Bluewater Beach Park and downtown. It will also enhance support for local businesses and downtown investment by providing an ADA-accessible route for boaters to reach downtown from the river via the only street-level access between the Tippecanoe River to the downtown urban core. The northern portion of the trail in Bluewater Beach Park includes a new route along the river and connections to an existing public boat launch. The completed project will become an economic development tool to help the community increase interest in the redevelopment of currently underutilized riverfront properties adjacent to the project area.
The project will be bid in two phases and all work is expected to be complete by the summer of 2025. The topographic survey is done with preliminary design plans to be concluded by the end of 2022. The first half of 2023 will include right-of-way plan development, easement acquisition, and completion of detailed design plans. The first phase of bidding will occur during the last half of 2023, with the second phase of bidding occurring during the first half of 2024.
18 Community Partners

The Wabash River Greenway Project will complete the Wabash River Greenway section of the Covington Circle Trail System. The Covington Circle Trail/Wabash River Greenway Project consists of Trail Construction, Trailhead Upgrades, WRG Signage, and Construction of the Wabash River Greenway Section of Covington Circle Trail. The project cost is $1,453,350 million. It is funded by READI's $475,000 and local match of $978,350. Projected Timeline: 45-60 days after READI funding approved -  planning/Design Contract signed underway; 6-18 months after READI funding approved - Planning/Permitting complete;10-18 months after READI funding approved - Project is Bid out and Awarded and Construction Begins (Contingent upon permitting approval time frame); 24-48 months after READI funding approved - Project is Complete Measuring Success: Immediate: Circle Trail System is completed; Long term: Wabash River Greenway completion goals are completed: Create 90 river mile Wabash River Greenway, Connect 5 WHIN River Corridor Counties, Develop Resource Amenity Corridors connecting 5 WHIN Outer Counties to the Greenway, Connect the WHIN Region to National/State Trail System.  Project Funding Breakout:  READI -  $475,000; Fountain Co. -  $450,000; WICF  -  $450,000; NCHS/WREC -  $78,350. Approximate timeline is September 2023 to December 2026.

The Wabash River Greenway is a planned 90-mile greenway that will bring regionally and nationally recognized quality of life active living amenities and facilities where residents and visitors can recreate while experiencing the natural river environment and the great outdoors. This project will complete the North River Road Trail Head and West Lafayette Sagamore Parkway Connector Trail components. The project scope includes the trailhead, connection to adjacent trails, WRG signage, hawk light, and a canoe/kayak launch. Partners include City of West Lafayette, Tippecanoe County, City of Lafayette, WREC. The project is expected to start in October 2022 and be completed by December 2026.
Measuring Success:  Create 90 miles total Greenway, connect 5 WHIN River Corridor Counties, Develop Resource Amenity Corridors connecting 5 WHIN Outer Counties to the Greenway, Connect the WHIN Region to National/state Trail System.

Shiloh is a 24-acre subdivision in the City of Covington. READI dollars will be used for sidewalks, City water, sewer, and electric, high-speed fiber broadband, storm sewers, and paved streets with rolled curbs and gutters. The READI grant will pave the way for a forty-seven (47) lot housing development consisting of 42 single-family homes and 5 duplex housing units behind the Fountain Springs Assisted Living facility, Covington Community Center, and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. The infrastructure will be completed by 2026.  The single-family homes will range from $250,000 to $500,000 and we are looking to have the subdivision completed by 2028.  The subdivision will also have decorative street lighting and natural gas, The 5.2-mile Covington Circle Trail is approximately 1/8 mile to the east of the subdivision and circles Covington through the City Park and will connect to the Five Crossings Park along the Wabash River to the trail on the south side of the business district.  The subdivision is approximately ½ mile from the Covington Community Elementary, Middle, and High School and the City Park.  This will help fill a need for housing for citizens who work in Lafayette, Terre Haute, Crawfordsville and locally.  This will help attract businesses who are looking to move here because of the quality of life, recreation, education, and safety our community is known for.

Sycamore Estates II is a 39-unit family home subdivision.  The purpose of this development is to provide affordable housing options in the City of Monticello, Indiana.  Homes will start in the $300,000’s and a minimum of 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and 2-car garage. The extension of this existing subdivision will leverage the resources of city water, sewer, and storm water services and bring in updated fiber optic digital services, to serve our growing community.  Development is projected to begin March of 2023 and conclude in June of 2024. READI funds are requested for site lot development costs, erosion control, excavation, sanitary sewer, stormwater sewer, water system, concrete, roadway paving, stabilization, land clearing and maintenance, engineering & design, plans, surveys, and professional fees.  The developer has committed to expanding the resources he has already committed to fund the remaining expenses including project management, loan interest, inspections, fiber optic, electric, gas, and the balance of excavation, sanitary sewer, water, and roadway paving.  As the population of White County continues to expand, it is prudent to manage developments in a climate friendly, as well as, people friendly manner.  Therefore, this development will include 5’ wide sidewalks, environmentally responsible controls for storm waters into the retention pond, and erosion control prevention during the development and home-building process. The deed will transfer to developers LLC.

The Project is the construction of road, utility, and related sitework to support a new multifamily development in the City of Delphi’s downtown core, which meets the region’s and City’s economic development and housing objectives. READI funds will be used for the design and construction of the supporting infrastructure/utility Project. The utility/infrastructure Project will break ground in summer, 2023 (August, 2023) and be completed in Spring 2024 (May, 2024). The statutorily required request for qualifications has been publicly advertised and responses are due from respondents to the City on April 7, 2023. The development/construction partners for the Project will be determined through an evaluation period upon receiving the responses. The developer for the associated multifamily project is Iron Men Properties located in Lafayette, IN.  Iron Men’s project cannot be developed without READI investment and City match in the infrastructure/utility Project. The intended outcome of the Project is to provide critical utilities and infrastructure to support the completion of the multifamily project.  Without the construction of the utility/infrastructure Project and the requested READI investment, the multifamily project that is critical to achieving the City’s and Region’s economic development and housing goals will not be developed. The Project will directly impact climate change by allowing dozens of families to live in the City’s downtown, thereby decreasing commute times.

A private-public-partnership with Joink, an Indiana based service provider, will create the county’s first ever fiber broadband services for residential customers. The county is largely considered unserved or underserved by FFC broadband standards which severely hinders the attraction/retention of workforce and the development of housing. The County has committed a minimum of $1.5M toward and Joink is committing $8.5M toward this initial project. Fiber access to approximately 2000 residences will occur. $1.5M of READI funds will be used in ARPA compliant portions of the project serving approximately 1000 unserved or underserved homes as defined by the FCC. The county is 15 minutes from significant job creation near Purdue University and recognizes the criticality of broadband infrastructure to support workforce growth. The project is expected to start in July 2023 and end in June 2025.The READI funds will be used toward the first phase of the project and will install the middle mile, build out State Line City, and passings along the middle mile fiber route to State Line City.

Based on limited remaining areas available for new housing in the city’s urbanized area and requests from developers, the City of Lafayette has completed the infrastructure planning needed to provide water and wastewater services to Service Area 11B. This service area is located southeast of the city limits which is currently unserved by city water and sewer. Service Area 11B is generally bounded by existing development and CR 450 S to the north, US 52 to the east, CR 100 E to the west and CR 900 S to the south. The initial project has been planned to provide service to the area outlined on the attached ‘Service Area 11B’ Map. While it is presumed that development within the Service Area 11B would be primarily residential in nature, there is some potential for commercial developments as well.   $600,000 of READI dollars will be used towards this water main infrastructure. Total project $16,237,900 Approximately 6,000 linear feet of 18” water main will extend along Concord Road. The approximate timeline is 9/1/23 to 12/31/25. All matching funds will be provided by the City of Lafayette.

Based on the limited number of, and strong demand for, affordable senior housing in the city’s urbanized area along with requests from developers and community organizations, the City of Lafayette is supporting the needed infrastructure to make these projects feasible. To that end, the City is supporting the construction of municipal owned and maintained water, sewer, storm water, road and sidewalk infrastructure improvements for the Jeffersonian Apartments located approximately at 619 N 9th Street, Lafayette IN. $200,000 of READI funds will be used for these infrastructure improvements. The total investment of the project is  $12,589,214 million which will commence in the summer of 2024 and open in the fall of 2025.  The match consist of the following:  Permanent Loan Lender in the amount of $798,996; Development Fund Loan $500,000,  LIHTC Equity (investor to be determined) in the approx, amount of $9,943,906M; $375,000 Affordable Housing Program Grant(AHP) from Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBI);  amount of $171,212 Deferred Developer Fee and the amount of $600,000 City of Lafayette HOME funds and $100 General Partner Contribution.

Snowy Owl Commons (“SOC”) is a project in collaboration between Area IV Development, Inc. and Keller Development, Inc to be located at 2900 – 2970 Burrowing Owl Lane and 198 – 300 Barn Owl Way, Lafayette, Indiana 47905. SOC will consist of the new construction of 50 units plus a clubhouse and outdoor amenities targeting low- to moderate- income seniors making 80% or less of the Tippecanoe County Area Median Income. There is a lack of affordable housing in Lafayette Indiana and throughout the State of Indiana. The City of Lafayette is supporting the needed infrastructure to make projects feasible. The City is supporting the 10 ft trail along the east side of the property; consisting of the earthwork, concrete, and landscaping, along with infrastructure work in the right of way along Twyckenham Blvd; consisting of curb cuts, grading, landscaping, and erosion control along with Rule 5 weekly inspections. The total cost of the project is approximately $13.7M with a total ask of $200,000 in READI funds. Construction commenced in May 2024 with completion anticipated in September 2025. Match will be provided by Old National Bank, City of Lafayette, Federal Home Bank, Area IV, and the IHCDA. READI funds will be used for earth work, pavement, and landscaping.

Expansion of fiber broadband internet to residential and agriculture residents using broadband fiber to towers for 5G Wi-Fi in Benton County will connect 100% of unserved and underserved population and make Benton County a rural inviting residency for those looking to move their families from urban areas where remote work can be seamless.  READI dollars will be used to connect homes meeting ARPA compliance requirements.  Project to begin September 2023 and end March 2024.  $751,080 of public match from Benton County and $1,498,920 READI will complete the funding for the $2,250,000 project.

Construction of road, utility, and related sitework and infrastructure to support a new single-family housing development in the City of Delphi.  READI funds will be used for the design and construction of the supporting infrastructure/utility Project.  The utility/infrastructure Project will break ground in July 2024 and be completed in Fall 2025 (projected 12 month construction period).   The utility/infrastructure Project is being procured under IC 5-23 (Build-Operate-Transfer Statute).  The developer for the associated single-family housing project is Milakis Homes.  The intended outcome of the Project is to provide critical utilities and infrastructure to support the completion of the single-family housing project.  Without the construction of the utility/infrastructure Project and the requested READI investment, the single-family housing project that is critical to achieving the City’s and Region’s economic development and housing goals will not be developed.  The Project will directly impact climate change by allowing dozens of new families to live within the city, thereby decreasing commute times to work and amenities on a daily basis. Matching funds will be provided by the City of Delphi.

This project will upgrade our wastewater treatment plant. The plant was built in 1976 and Covington is a growing community with over 150 acres annexed into the City within the previous 3 years and within the next 2 years will have over 190 homesites available. The following equipment will be purchased with READI funds. This project will upgrade our clarifiers which will bring our capacity to .500 mgpd. We will change our disinfection from chlorine to ultraviolet, which will be much better for the environment. It will include a new aeration system in the aeration tanks by going to fine bubble aeration and new high efficient Kaeser blowers. Our sludge pumps will be high efficient and will be more effective. Our flow meters and the other equipment will be state of the art and more efficient. Approximate timeline is June 2024 through October 2025. Matching funds will come from the City of Covington and Shiloh subdivision. This will allow for additional expansion of businesses as well as residential. The new equipment will save energy and operate more efficiently and environmentally responsible, which is important when we send the effluent to the Wabash River.

The Greater Lafayette Region is anchored by prestigious institutions like Purdue University and Ivy Tech Community College. With a growing population of 267,000, the region received $30 million in READI 1.0 funds to foster regional development.

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Greater Lafayette

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Projects in Greater Lafayette