The Indiana Finance Authority board recently approved more than $29 million in residential infrastructure funding to be distributed through the Residential Infrastructure Fund program.
The city of Austin was one of six residential-development projects in communities throughout Indiana that will receive low-interest loans to finance infrastructure projects that support residential housing development. Communities were selected based on the need for additional housing inventory to accommodate local job growth.
It’s the latest round of the Residential Housing Infrastructure Assistance Program, which is intended to boost housing development by helping communities pay for the expensive public infrastructure that new homes require.
The awarded projects include roadways, water and wastewater systems, stormwater management, and utilities, according to IFA, which administers the program.
The program is a revolving loan fund. As the money is paid off, it becomes available for future projects.
The projects are expected to support more than 1,500 units of housing, according to IFA. A projected 683 will be in rural areas and 882 will be in urban areas. The number of units will be confirmed upon loan closing, agency spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland said.
Austin will be using the $1 million loan to finance infrastructure—sewer, streets, electric— for Yorkwoods Crossing, a new 150 unit single family housing complex planned along York Road west of US 31 on the city’s south side. The project is to be built in phases with duplexes and multi-family units added in the future.
The IFA prioritizes loan applications from communities with housing-friendly zoning and provides a set-aside of 70% of the funding for those projects in communities with a population of less than 50,000.
In 2023, the Indiana General Assembly established the RIF revolving fund program with an initial appropriation of $75 million to be awarded to local residential-development projects in Indiana. The state legislature appropriated an additional $50 million in the biennial budget for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
IFA previously announced awards of about $31 million last spring and $51 million in 2024. The initiative stems from 2023’s House Enrolled Act 1005.