Community Development
Ensuring the Near Eastside is a great place to live, work, and play
Current Projects
The John Boner Neighborhood Centers is currently working on a variety of projects and initiatives that strengthen the Near Eastside of Indianapolis. The projects we engage in vary, from multi-family housing complexes to arts-based to transportation initiatives – just to name a few.
Near Eastside Quality of Life Plan
Working together to make the Near Eastside a great place to live, work, worship, learn, and play.
Created by neighbors, the Near Eastside Quality of Life Plan document presents a vision of all the things our neighborhood seeks to accomplish in the coming years, and specifies who, what, when, and where these accomplishments take place. The plan serves as a roadmap for the development that happens on the Near Eastside and provides a way for neighbors to ensure that their voice is heard throughout the process.
IndyEast Promise Zone
Dedicated to making the Near Eastside of Indianapolis a great place to live, work, shop, and learn.
A Promise Zone is a federal designation for high poverty and high capacity communities in which the federal government works with local partners to increase effort to achieve neighborhood-create goals and priorities; selected through a competitive grant application process. In 2007, Near Eastside residents came together to develop a comprehensive, grassroots approach to neighborhood redevelopment, leading to the IndyEast Promise Zone designation. The Zone has five focus-area goals, these are: affordable housing, job creation, business and economic development, increasing public safety, and improving educational outcome.
IndyEast Promise Neighborhoods
Resilient families and thriving children
The IndyEast Promise Neighborhood is both a place and a strategy led by John Boner Neighborhood Center and Edna Martin Christian Center. We promise all students on the Near Eastside and in Martindale-Brightwood access to great schools and whole family support to ensure a successful transition from cradle to career.
10 East Arts
Art + Design District on 10th Street
This innovative project will create an Art + Design District on the 10th Street corridor, working to achieve neighborhood-defined goals outlined in the Quality of Life Plan and the IndyEast Promise Zone Plan by reclaiming vacant properties on 10th Street for creative reuse, transforming underutilized public places into vibrant functional spaces, and increasing neighborhood arts programming and access to underserved audiences.
Community-Based Crime Reduction
Identifying and addressing the root causes of crime in our neighborhood
This community-based project will work with neighbors, public safety agencies, and other partners to identify and address the root causes of crime, including poverty, family economic instability, substance abuse, mental illness and use targeted interventions with social service components to prevent and reduce crime. The IndyEast Public Safety Team will work to align programs, systems, and resources around crime reduction and prevention and plan and implement place-based, community-oriented revitalization strategies to improve the quality of life in the near Eastside.
Lift Indy
Connecting development and assets from downtown to the Near Eastside.
Eastside Economic Recovery & Mobility District
Comprehensive services and support for residents on the Near Eastside.
The Eastside Economic Recovery & Mobility District (EERMD) will utilize an evidence-based model developed with its residents to build assets, grow entrepreneurship, leverage private investment, create talent pipelines, launch social enterprises, and make homeownership affordable. Together these strategies will improve access to good and promising jobs, support two-generation programming for families with children and youth, remove barriers with populations facing added challenges, and strengthen residents and foster economic mobility in neighborhoods. The John Boner Neighborhood Centers, with 18 cross-sector partners, will work to create a new form of economic prosperity that is inclusive, sustainable, and grounded in community.
Byrne Court Renovation
Senior apartments on the Near Eastside
Byrne Court Apartments is a 50 unit building located at 1141 Market Street that serves seniors and those with mobility impairments. Built in 1989, this property will receive an upgrade in 2020 / 2021, fully renovating all of the units and creating tenant amenities inside the building. This renovation has been made possible by Indiana Housing Community Development Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, National Bank of Indianapolis, Cinnaire, Milestone Ventures, and K.P. Meiring Construction.
P.R. Mallory
Brownfield development home to two schools and a local business
In partnership with Englewood Community Development Corporation and the City of Indianapolis, John Boner Neighborhood Centers developed the abandoned brownfield known as the P.R. Mallory Campus. Completed in July 2020, this $38 million project is home to Purdue Polytechnic High School, Paramount School of Excellence Middle School, and Uplift Produce.
Union Apartments
Affordable housing for students and their families
In partnership with Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School, John Boner Neighborhood Centers is offering a unique opportunity for their students and families to achieve academic and financial success. The Union Apartments, located at 2407 East Michigan Street will provide affordable housing for students and their families while providing a full array of supportive services and programs. This is a new construction with 30 units, and it opened in August 2020.
