CARMEL, Ind — The city of Carmel is known for its arts and entertainment scene, restaurants, roundabouts and more.
An advisory committee of volunteers is coming together to help entice the younger generation to call Carmel home, but there is one challenge of how to make housing more affordable in the area.
That's where "Team Bounceback" comes in.
That's a new initiative attorney Carlton Anker said started with a conversation with Carmel Mayor Sue Finkham.
"It was something that was important enough to her (and the administration). They wanted to immediately put this committee together that we could collect community input, collect input from current residents, from current and former high school students, recent graduates, college students as well," Anker said.
Housing is top of mind.
According to U.S. News and World Report, in June, the median home listing price in Carmel was about $440,000. The average apartment rent was $1,880.
"We have a lot of single-family homes, and we built a lot of really nice apartments. What we have is kind of the missing middle, which is maybe senior housing, empty nester housing and smaller homes that make for great starter homes," Carmel City Council Vice President Adam Aasen said. "We need to encourage some smaller for sale products that really work for someone just starting out at life."
Aasen also works on the housing task force.
"We can maybe have an influence on what kind of housing inventory we have in Carmel, so we really need to work to create some nice for sale homes, both for people starting off in life and for people wanting to downsize," Aasen said.
Jobs are another topic the committee wants to focus on, all while trying to change the perception of how others may view Carmel.
"We want to have a perception shift and show that there are these opportunities, both for the housing market and for the job market, that may not immediately come to mind when people think of Carmel," Carlton said.
Members of the advisory committee will be announced at a later date.