The City of Crawfordsville and Arbor Homes announced Thursday a partnership to mitigate the challenges of housing availability in workforce attraction.
Arbor Homes plans to develop a 173-home subdivision called Hawkview. This 60-acre development will be located south of the Woodcreek Shoppes in the 2100 block of US 231S, Crawfordsville. The average home price will be $285,000, and the average home will be approximately 2,300 square feet. While this is their first project in Crawfordsville, Arbor Homes has been a leading home builder for over 25 years in Central Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
Total development costs for land acquisition and infrastructure construction, such as streets and utilities is expected be $13.9 million. The city plans to utilize Residential Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to assist with financing infrastructure costs associated with the development. Residential TIF is a new tool established by the state legislature in 2019, and allows for the capture of future taxes from homes located in the new development for use in financing the infrastructure needed to serve them. Residential TIF is a tool only available to communities in which new housing starts have remained below an established threshold and has been unable to meet demand. The multi-step local approval process of the Residential TIF for Hawkview is expected to begin in May.
“Our biggest challenge in attracting the workforce needed to ensure the success of our local businesses is the lack of available housing,” said Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton. “We’ve experienced a housing shortage at all price points for some time now, and this project is a significant step forward in addressing that challenge. We are fortunate to have unprecedented employment opportunities and a great quality of life. Increasing the availability of housing is the next step in attracting and retaining the talent needed for success. I am very excited to welcome a strong partner like Arbor Homes to our community.”
As part of their project analysis, Arbor Homes conducted a housing market study of Crawfordsville in 2021 to determine both the need for more quality housing and the price range buyers would consider. Of the 250 respondents, 31% were searching for homes and preferred a price range between $200,000 to $299,000.
“We’re very excited about the Crawfordsville market and recognize the need for attainable housing in the area,” said Ben Watkins, chief marketing officer. “Mayor Barton and the city have been great to work with. At Arbor we believe wealth accumulation for families happens through homeownership and in working with the city of Crawfordsville, it’s clear the city has its residents best interest in mind.”
Arbor Homes estimates construction will begin in December of 2024.
