Having struck out in one attempt to bring low-income apartments to downtown Fishers, an affordable housing group is moving ahead with another income-based project, this one for seniors and other older tenants.

The City Council this month approved a zoning change that would allow the RealAmerica development company to build two three-story apartment buildings, called Ritchey Reserve, at Hague Road and 106th Street that would be solely for renters age 55 and older.

Each building would have 65 one- and two-bedroom apartments. One building would offer market-rate apartments for $1,250 to $1,450 per month. The other building would provide apartments for $800 to $950 per month to tenants who demonstrate a financial need. It would also be the only affordable senior housing in Fishers.

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The $17 million project is intended to allow older homeowners to stay in Hamilton County if they decided they no longer need -- or can afford -- to live in a house.

“The largest growing demographic in society is seniors, and this gives them an option if they can’t take care of a house and want to stay near their families or communities they have lived in for years,” said Jeff Ryan, vice president of developments for Fishers-based developer RealAmerica.

Project hinges on hard-to-get tax credit

There's a hitch, however. The low-income building would rely on a tax credit from the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority to subsidize the cost to RealAmerica for the cheaper apartments. But if the developer doesn't get the grant, it probably will build only the market-rate building, Ryan said.

"There is still a need for that, so we are proceeding with it," Ryan said.

RealAmerica twice unsuccessfully applied for the same tax credit to build a low-income apartment building -- without age restrictions -- on Lantern Road in downtown Fishers. But after being denied for the second time earlier this year, Real America scrapped the $14 million project.

The first two times, the organization was seeking $1.2 million a year in tax credits for 10 years but lost out to a number of other low-income projects across the state. Ryan said it would probably seek the same amount when it applies for the senior living credit but could not assess whether its chances of getting this one were any better.

Fishers has supported similar projects

The city of Fishers supported both projects and offered its own tax abatements and waiver of various city fees for the first one. City spokeswoman Ashely Elrod said it is too early in the process to say what assistance might be offered for the senior project, but she said the living units are sorely needed.

"We believe in a diverse housing stock, and providing affordable living for our seniors is certainly part of that." Elrod said.

With the large baby boomer generation aging, the number of seniors in the United States is rapidly growing. Yet Fishers has no affordable senior housing and only a smattering can be found in all of Hamilton County.

Indiana's senior population on the rise

The Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University in Bloomington projects that people age 65 or older will account for 20 percent of the state's population in 2030, up from 13 percent in 2010. And RealAmerica's market research found that the number of Fishers residents age 55 or older will increase from 20,400 now to 24,757 by 2023.

Older tenants who earn less that $37,080 a year would qualify for an affordable apartment at Ritchey Reserve. One occupant has to be at least 55 years old, and no one under 40 can live there.

The building is next to the Ritchey Woods and the planned Nickel Plate Trail. Its features will include a garden, dog run, a pet wash station, library, fitness center, salon and community room.

The one-bedroom apartments will be about 714 square feet, and the two-bedroom units will be approximately 898 square feet. Each apartment will have an additional 81 square feet in outside space with the patio/deck and storage.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317 444-6418. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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