The Hamilton County Area Neighborhood Development Suburban Housing Conference held May 16 at 502 Event Center in Carmel highlighted current economic trends, the need for housing affordability solutions and increased community understanding of housing diversity.
The theme “why housing for all matters to us all” aimed to bridge the gap between perception and reality surrounding the complicated housing dynamics in the county.
“Thriving communities need a variety of housing options to meet the needs of all residents, from new graduates just entering the workforce to older adults who have raised their families,” said Andrea Davis, HAND’s executive director.
Three key obstacles to filling “the missing middle” of duplexes, townhouses, small and midsize homes, Davis said, are development regulations, land costs and funding availability.
“When a new development is proposed, the people who don’t want it, which typically are people who don’t know anything about it, come out of the woodwork to oppose projects and send a message to our elected officials and decision makers that this isn’t what we want or need in our community,” Davis said.
Davis said the people attending development meetings often don’t represent the community as a whole. She encouraged more people to speak up.
“Hamilton County, in particular, is a community of choice, full of wonderful amenities that make it a great place to live, work and play. Opportunity abounds,” Davis said. “But the cost of living here is pricey. Now many of the people who make those amenities possible can’t afford to live here.”
While Davis pointed out that the cost of housing continues to rise faster than incomes, affordability is a relative issue that comes down to percentage of income spent on housing.
In a “quick hits on housing” segment of the conference, Invest Hamilton County president Mike Thibideau shared results from the Talent Insight 2030 Forecasting Report.
He outlined the impact of remote work on the local economy and service sector employment needs.
“We’re going to need more service sector economy workers in this community in order to maintain the quality of life that we enjoy today,” Thibideau said. “The jobs that make a place great to live in are often not able to be filled by people that can afford to live in a place.”
Thibideau said the increase in remote workers moving from other areas of the U.S. to Hamilton County for the relative affordability has led to an increase in daytime traffic to businesses.
“And I can tell you that housing and its impact on workforce at all levels, again, not just even affordable inventory at all levels, is going to impact our ability to continue to attract, retain and support talent,” Thibideau said.
Changing trends in housing needs are another factor in the complexity of the housing market.
“Today’s housing stock was largely built for households that were more common in previous decades: single-family housing only suburban subdivisions. And what we actually found in our community preferences study is that the mixed-use suburban neighborhood is actually the most preferred housing type,” said Andrea Miller, Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization senior trainer.
Brenda Myers, president and CEO of Hamilton County Tourism, presented findings from the Hamilton County Housing Sentiment Study, which were overwhelmingly in favor of diversified housing options.
But she said there is a vast differentiation between the study findings and what public officials hear.
“We need to get people to care about this issue, because if we don’t, we will be a community that eventually will be in decline,” Myers said.
The conference included a panel discussion and breakout sessions covering how housing impacts health, safety, education and people with special needs.
“Housing is a quality-of-life issue,” Miller said. “Limited housing options lead to longer commutes, more cost burden and other lifestyle compromises, and it also affects the ability, the availability and quality of services and goods.”
