Workforce housing project on East 16th at Monon Trail gains $25.5M

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Carmel-based mortgage banking company Merchants Capital has secured $25.5 million for The Wesmont, a workforce housing development north of downtown Indy.

Construction on the project is slated for completion within 18 months. The 188 apartments will be south of East 16th Street and immediately east of the Monon Trail.

The funding comes from a 10-year Freddie Mac Unfunded Forward Permanent Loan on behalf of TWG Development.

The project is being developed in an Opportunity Zone that repurposes a former industrial site.

Officials say the mixed-use development is also funded by a conventional construction loan from Merchants Bank of Indiana paired with a forward committed Freddie Mac Non-LIHTC (low income housing tax credit) permanent loan. Additional funding sources include a private Opportunity Zone investment of  $4.6 million and with approximately $460,000 in Indiana Industrial Recovery Tax Credits. 

The project was also awarded a $1.47 million tax abatement over 10 years.

“Merchants is driven by our passion to provide affordable housing options nationwide,” said Brian Emmons, senior vice president of Merchants Capital and leading originator on the deal, in a statement. “This loan type offers flexible transaction structuring and certainty of execution at lower costs to borrowers like TWG. Our clients get the financing they need for affordable and workforce multifamily properties funded by public or mission-driven financial investment – whether it’s for new construction or major rehabilitation.”