Concord Village / Eagle Creek

As the first of HUD’s Hope VI program’s projects to be completed, these two public housing developments were also distinguished by their construction methodology.  In joint venture with minority architects Olon Dotson and Russell Lewis who provided constant on and off-site coordination, we constructed all of the single-family homes using over 35 women and minority general contractors.

This approach allowed minority builders who would not normally participate in large scale projects to build capacity over the course of construction.  Builders who began the program who qualified for a bond to build one house were later qualified to build multiple houses at the end of the program.    

All of the HOPE VI grant money, approximately $25,000,000, remained in the community instead of the more usual destination of large and often out-of-state contractors.

Part of the project included the construction of off-site homes in the community that would serve as a “ladder toward homeownership.”  Tenants at Concord Village and Eagle Creek could rent the homes on a short-term, basis and be tutored on the various aspects of owning a home and be assisted through the buying process.

The unique construction methodology developed with Dotson and Lewis became known as “The Indianapolis Approach,” and was the subject of a number of HUD publications and symposiums as a paradigm for building affordable housing under the early days of the HOPE VI program.