The Town of Culver is pleased to announce that a housing project called “The Dunes” will receive a $1.3 million READI (Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative) grant award from the South Bend-Elkhart Regional Development Authority, which awarded $40 million in grant funds to 19 Quality of Place projects in the South Bend-Elkhart Region.
Town Manager Ginny Munroe says that the funds will be used to support utility and infrastructure costs for a housing development that will go in on the south end of town where developers Alan Collins and Chris Collins of CMD (Construction Management & Design) in partnership with Wade McGee, the owner of the property, are planning to build multi-family housing types, town homes, retiree flats, and single-family homes. “This project will meet the objectives of our Culver Comprehensive Plan, which shows that Culver needs more diverse housing types and that we need to meet the needs of our workforce,” says Munroe.
Alan Collins points out that it is important for rural communities to receive grants and create private/public partnerships to afford the skyrocketing infrastructure costs in rural communities. He says, “Without partnerships between private developers and the public sector and without investments these grants afford, we will see housing stagnation continue in rural communities. We are excited that Culver received a share of these grant dollars, and we are excited to work with the Town to bring this project to fruition.”
The READI grant Culver receives will help fund Phase 1 of the housing development, which will include building out the infrastructure, utilities, a Clubhouse and amenities for the development, and the first set of multi-family units that will include approximately 78 apartment units. Once completed, the project is expected to provide a substantial influx of housing that will enable Culver to retain and attract talent.
The grant requires a significant private investment from CMD and matching dollars on the grant from the Town. Sally Ricciardi, the President of the Culver Redevelopment Commission (CRC) and a member of the Culver Town Council, says that the CRC is providing the one-to-one match on the grant. She explains “We are fortunate in Culver to have TIF areas that produce revenues to support our growth and to support economic development initiatives. I think the members of the CRC understand how critical housing is to our businesses and to our goal to bring year-round residents into Culver. We look forward to partnering with CMD on this project to make these goals happen.”
To learn more about the South Bend-Elkhart Region and the READI program, visit https://www.iedc.in.gov/program/indiana-readi/overview. To learn more about the South Bend-Elkhart Region, visit https://southbendelkhart.org/regional-collaboration/get-readi/.
