Sheridan Branch of FFBT Helps Fund the Spicewood Garden Apartments

Noblesville—Thirty-one low-income senior families will be settling into their new, affordable apartments in Hamilton County before the cold Indiana winter begins. Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development, Inc (HAND), a nonprofit community housing development organization based in Noblesville, has been working for years to get these apartments built for seniors throughout the county. Plum Tree Gardens in Noblesville, Indiana and Spicewood Garden Apartments in Sheridan, Indiana, are both independent living communities for seniors 55 and older. HAND held ribbon cuttings for both of the properties to mark their openings during the past month. Plum Tree and Spicewood are the first affordable rental housing options in the county provided by a community-based, mission-driven nonprofit organization.

Spicewood Garden Apartments is located west of State Road 38 and just north of 2nd Street in Sheridan and consists of 25 units and a community center. Both communities contain two-bedroom duplexes with covered front porches. Each apartment will have many details enabling residents to age in place, including accessibility features for those who cannot walk easily. Other amenities include washers and dryers, walk in closets, and two emergency call buttons in each apartment. Rents are affordable and are determined based upon resident income with a range from $305 and $550.

 

“At the openings, we were excited to show community members, funders, and partners around the apartments,” said Sage Hales, Director of HAND, “We are grateful for all of the community support that we received to serve the low-income senior population in both Noblesville and in Sheridan, and we wanted to show our supporters what everyone’s combined hard work created.”

Spicewood Gardens is funded through a combination of equity from the sale of low income housing tax credits to First Farmers Bank and Trust, Affordable Housing Program Funds through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, HOME Partnership Program funds through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, and Community Development Block Grant Funds through Hamilton County, and financing through P/R Mortgage and Merchants Bank of Indiana.

Both properties are also planning to obtain LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Silver Certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). In order to obtain LEED Silver Certification both the overall site and the individual homes contain environmentally friendly features. Some of these features include the use of native plants in the landscaping and energy efficient fixtures and materials. Plum Tree Gardens and Spicewood Garden Apartments will become two of the first LEED Silver affordable multi-family developments in the State of Indiana upon certification. “We believe that it is important for HAND to build energy efficient apartments - not only to benefit the environment, but to help keep residents’ utility costs low. Many of our residents are on fixed incomes and the lower utility costs are a huge benefit to them,” said Sage Hales, Director of HAND.

First Farmers Bank & Trust is proud to be able to help the communities of Sheridan and Hamilton County and support the efforts of HAND in these communities. According to Brian Bragg, "the apartments at Spicewood were exceptionally nice, and it's important to be able to offer affordable housing to seniors in our community."