Muncie’s mayor touted several planned and proposed apartment projects to the city’s redevelopment commission on Thursday.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, they align with his administration’s goal of getting those who work in Muncie to live in Muncie.

The word of the day at Thursday’s redevelopment commission meeting was “apartments.”

On Kilgore Avenue at the site of a former sports bar, the developer that recently finished Riverbend Flats on the south side of the city wants to build more apartments.  Plans include 120 units.  As with Riverbend Flats, Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour says this will be “workforce housing” with income-dependent rents.

“If somebody’s making $30,000 [a year], their rent would be here.  If they’re making $40,000, it would be here…. That gets looked at every year.  So, if somebody gets promoted or takes a different job and they’re now making more, they pay more.”

Ridenour says the city’s planning commission has already approved the project.  Muncie is submitting it for potential state grant funding by the end of this month.

Read More: Storer Estates: National concrete shortage postponing Muncie project’s construction-readiness

There’s a second planned section of White River Lofts on downtown blocks the city already owns.  Jon Anderson with developer Anderson Partners says it is doing preliminary planning work on two sites near each other  between City Hall and the first White River Lofts.

“And again, this is all very preliminary.  Where could we situate some buildings?  How many units might we be able to get?  Where could we utilize parking?  This particular scenario is about 120 units.”

Ridenour says phase one of White River Lofts is fully leased and a majority of the new residents already worked in Muncie when they moved in.

Read More: Michael’s Place Apartments pulls out of Muncie after local media questioning

And on the northwest side of Muncie, Ridenour says Indianapolis developer Browning has purchased 37 acres of farm field near the Morrison and Jackson roundabout.  The company is interested in putting in a market-rate rent apartment complex.

Redevelopment commission member Isaac Miller lives within a mile of the site and says his neighborhood association is concerned about an apartment complex there, instead of single-family homes in a neighborhood setting.

Read More: Muncie announces more new home construction as Muncie Land Bank talks of vacant properties