INDIANAPOLIS — The city of Indianapolis is one step closer to building a low-barrier homeless shelter east of downtown.
On Monday night, the City-County Council voted to allocate funding for the shelter's construction.
In October, the project was awarded $20 million from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. Mayor Joe Hogsett also committed $12 million from the city for construction.
In total, construction is expected to cost $32 million and be entirely funded by tax dollars.
The new shelter will be built in the 1000 block of East Georgia Street, just north of Fountain Square. It’s expected to be four stories and about 63,000 square feet.
The goal is to be a one-stop shop for those experiencing homelessness by offering supportive services along with a 24/7 low-barrier shelter, which means common entry requirements like sobriety are waived.
The shelter will provide 150 private beds, according to IHCDA. Twenty units with four beds will serve families, while 10 units with two beds will serve couples and the remaining 50 beds will go to individuals.
“We are hoping to break ground very soon,” said Aryn Schounce, senior policy advisor to Hogsett.
Schounce is leading the housing hub project for the city. She said Monday’s vote is a critical step forward in making the shelter a reality.
"It's really the difference between our ability to fund the shelter and the housing hub and the co-located services and really build the low-barrier shelter that our community desperately needs to fill in the gaps,” she said.
The city still has a few more hurdles before breaking ground next year, including a design phase, contracts and selecting a construction manager.
The city also identified two potential operators. Horizon House would oversee the day center and housing navigation services. Aspire Indiana Health would handle the low-barrier shelter.
“Those negotiations are still underway, so they are not formally selected as the operators, but we are actively in negotiations with those entities,” said Schounce.
The city’s downtown Economic Enhancement District is expected to help fund the operational cost of the new housing hub along with public, corporate and philanthropic funds.
Construction is scheduled to be completed in late 2026 with the facility opening in early 2027.
This project comes as shelters like Wheeler Mission are operating at or above capacity.
Also, the city's most recent census shows about 1,700 people are experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis, which is up slightly compared to the year before.