RealAmerica Companies has successfully brought a first to Fishers and to Indiana.
SouthPointe Village provides beautiful, affordable homes in the heart of Fishers and the Nickel Plate District, while combining four service providers under one roof. With employment and population in Hamilton County rising drastically over the past several years, there has been a shortage of affordable workforce housing for those who work and play in Fishers. RealAmerica saw the need and answered the call to create accessible homes to help families be able to live, work, and attend the award-winning Hamilton Southeastern schools in Fishers.
Fishers’ schools also have excellent programs for persons with disabilities and often attract families to the city for this reason. However, once these individuals graduate, there is a lack of supportive housing and services to help them live independently.
Kelly Hartman, co-chair of the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability and founder of Outside the Box, said, “Fishers has great resources, but we don’t have affordable housing for our workforce who support folks with disabilities. And we don’t have the opportunity to have folks with disabilities integrated into the community.”
RealAmerica stepped in and partnered with four local service providers to provide on-site services at SouthPointe Village for persons with disabilities. Janus Developmental Services, Outside the Box, Insights, and Opportunities for Positive Growth are working together to help residents of SouthPointe with life skills, education, employment training, and independent living. Additionally, Janus has on-site offices on the first floor of SouthPointe to provide easy accessibility for residents and their families.
Fadness
“We’ve had strong advocacy for folks with disabilities, and we know that housing is a critical shortage for those individuals,” said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. “Integrated into SouthPointe will be units that are tailor-made for individuals with disabilities, and this demonstrates a sensitivity to the community and the context for why we’re developing these projects. That in itself is a testament to both RealAmerica’s and the community’s desire to develop something that is accretive to our community.”
At SouthPointe Village, 25 percent of homes were set aside for individuals with disabilities, and the entire building is accessible, including raised and lowered garden beds, sidewalks around each community amenity, elevators, automated doors on both ends of the building, and more.
Located at 11245 Lantern Road, SouthPointe is near the downtown area and is a prime location for persons with disabilities to be close to employment and their families.
Coble
Cecilia Coble, former Fishers City Council President and co-chair of the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability, said, “A lot of families, like myself, want to be close to their loved one with a disability. And unfortunately, with the lack of affordable housing, it’s hard for loved ones to be close to their parents and grandparents and remain in the community in which they grew up. So, we’re really excited and proud to be a part of this project with RealAmerica.”
SouthPointe Village is a four-story, 62-unit property, offering residents two different open-concept floorplans with either one to two bedrooms. All apartments include full-sized, in-unit washers and dryers, luxury plank flooring, built-in kitchen appliances, a balcony or patio, upgraded soundproof flooring and windows, ceiling fans, energy-efficient features, and free in-unit internet service. Other featured amenities include a dog park and pet spa, an on-site fitness room, an indoor playground and reading corner, sky deck, community room with a kitchen for entertaining and gathering, community garden, bike share program, craft room, computer resource center, and 529 plan funding for resident children.
The official Grand Opening will take place at 10 a.m. this morning, Friday, Oct. 8 and will begin with speeches from the City Council, Executive Director of the IHCDA, RealAmerica President and Owner Ronda Shrewsbury, and the service providers. There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony, service provider booths with giveaways, tours of the homes and property, and an on-site food truck.
SouthPointe Village would not be possible without RealAmerica’s proven commitment to quality, affordable housing, the support of the City of Fishers, the City Council, Mayor Scott Fadness, the Fishers Advisory Committee on Disability, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, and the service providers’ support and partnership. Additional financial partners include Boston Financial and Merchants Capital.
For more information about SouthPointe Village, visit homeatsouthpointevillage.com. To learn more about RealAmerica’s services and newest properties, visit RealAmericaLLC.com or find RealAmerica LLC on Facebook and LinkedIn.