State leaders hope a development in an Indianapolis suburb can be a model for housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The North End development in Carmel by Old Town Companies will provide 40 affordable units across its campus for the IDD population. Old Town CEO Justin Moffett said he wants to show other developers that, in his words, “It’s possible to do well, while doing good.”

“You know, there’s a lot of these platitudes of margin before mission,” Moffett said. “And I think we wanted to say that you can really live a life – in the business sense – of both at the same time.”

Moffett said the scale of the project wouldn’t have been possible without financial help from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

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That agency is overseen by Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, who also chairs the Indiana Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Task Force. She said government can lead by example when it comes to prioritizing affordable and attainable housing for adults with disabilities.

“I’m a big believer that it’s the private sector that drives progress,” Crouch said. “Government can be a catalyst and we can be a willing partner – and that’s what we’ve seen here.”

The IHCDA ensures at least 10 percent of its housing tax credits each year are earmarked to support housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.