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Once-condemned apartment building gets $2 million overhaul

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – After two years of renovations, a once condemned apartment building is again livable.

The building is on Meridian Street near 36th street.

It was a cold 29-degree day in November 2014 when 24-Hour News 8 first learned of this story.

Residents called the station complaining of having no heat. That call opened up a can of worms that eventually led to a judge condemning the building.

The Near North Development Corporation spent nearly $2 million to renovate the building.

“It is a night and day turnaround to save this building,” said Michael Osborne, the president of NNDC.

The building is at 3630 North Meridian Street. The name of the building has been changed from Glendower Apartments to The Glenmoor.

In 2014 there was no heat, no gas and at least one apartment didn’t have a floor in the bathroom.

However, that’s all changed.

“If organizations like ours won’t step in and do this, no one will,” said Osborne. “(It) couldn’t be leased so it couldn’t generate cash flow, the taxes were not being paid. The mortgage wasn’t being paid. This was a long-term disaster waiting to happen.

They’ve installed new floors in the hallways, lighting fixtures, the kitchens have been remodeled and they’ve fixed the heat.

“This is what we do to make this community better,” said Osborne.

Over the last eight years the NNDC has invested $20 million rehabbing buildings on the near north side of Indianapolis.

They collaborated with Partners In Housing (PIH) for this project. PIH specializes in finding housing for homeless people.

“Every vital neighborhood needs to be a place that has opportunities for folks of all income levels, of all types,” said Osborne.

The building is still reserved for affordable housing. Osbourne said by the end of the week it will be at 100 percent capacity.