Income-based housing project awarded state funding
GREENFIELD — A developer eyeing the site of the former Center Street Shoppes for an income-based apartment community has been awarded more than half a million dollars in federal tax credits to build.
The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority announced late last week a local housing project — Broadway Flats — has been chosen for $760,000 of low-income housing tax credits.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is a federally funded, competitive program that provides tax breaks to developers as incentives for offering lower, more affordable rent for low-income earners.
Keller Development announced plans last fall to build a 54-unit, income-based apartment complex catering to artists and entrepreneurs on Center Street along the Pennsy Trail; the project was approved by city officials in October.
With the tax credits in hand, the project — estimated to cost about $8.5 million — will move forward, said Dawn Gallaway of Keller Development.
Officials: Woman who died in crash into home on drugs
GREENFIELD — A driver who died after crashing her car into a Greenfield home last month was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident, officials said.
Results of a toxicology test confirmed Megan Rowe, 33, of Greenfield, had used drugs before she caused at least six car crashes in the minutes before she died Feb. 3, police said.
The final collision killed Rowe, officials said. She crashed into a home in the 500 block of North East Street in Greenfield, causing severe damage to the structure’s foundation and displacing the family that had lived there for more than 30 years.
Rowe suffered internal blunt force trauma injuries in the accident, which ultimately caused her death, an autopsy revealed. Toxicology test also were performed on Rowe’s body. They confirmed investigators’ suspicions that the woman had been driving under the influence when the accident occurred.
Rowe did not have enough drugs in her system to have overdosed, Hancock County Coroner David Stillinger said. Officials were not able to confirm what substances Rowe had consumed, he said.
Project to spruce up Greenfield exit slated for this summer
GREENFIELD — A project to dress up the main gateway into Greenfield is expected to start as soon as summer, officials say.
City officials plan to purchase trees and landscaping, as well as decorative posts, to enhance the exit off Interstate 70 into Greenfield, saying now, the most-traveled entrance into the community is uninviting to visitors.
The engineer’s office is now asking for cost estimates from firms interested in building the project. They hope to hire a company by the end of March, said city engineer Karla Vincent.
Construction is currently slated to begin in July, with foliage being planted in October, Vincent said.
City leaders have mulled dressing up the area for years, even earmarking about $1.5 million of Tax Increment Finance funds — money that’s generated from businesses in the I-70 area for infrastructure improvements — for construction of the project.
