Committee approves PILOT for Canal Village 3 after developer outlines repair, tree and fence commitments

The Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee approved a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes pilot for Canal Village 3 LP on Aug. 18, 2025, a step the developer said is needed to close financing and begin construction next month. The pilot was approved under Indiana Code IC 36-3-2-12 and the project is expected to be financed in part with low-income housing tax credits under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The pilot matters because it ties a city financial incentive to a privately financed affordable-housing project, and residents and neighborhood advocates made repeated requests that the city use the project agreement to secure repairs and environmental protections for existing tenants in Canal Village 1. Gary Hobbs, president and CEO of BWI, told the committee that BWI had completed or is expediting promised repairs, will prioritize tree preservation and will finish remaining privacy fences for Canal Village 1 residents ahead of the original schedule.

Hobbs said the developer had three commitments to the community: a resident survey about improvements (residents later chose privacy fences), completion of five community sponsorships, and fences along Clifton Street. He told the committee the remaining 35 fences for current Canal Village 1 residences would be completed by September, ahead of the contract deadline. "We are a business of our word," Hobbs said, adding that BWI will not remove trees except when "absolutely necessary" and has…