Indianapolis City-County Council Advances $10 Million HOME Plan for 5,000 Units as IndyGo Invests in Blue Line BRT

City-County Council Champion $10 Million Annual HOME Plan for 5,000 Units

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Launching an aggressive municipal initiative to expand attainable housing supply and stabilize neighborhood real estate across Marion County, the Indianapolis City-County Council advanced legislative hearings in late September 2026 on the transformative HOME Plan. Introduced by Council President Vop Osili, the strategy dedicates a sustained $10 million annual municipal investment to catalyze the creation of more than 5,000 high-quality affordable housing units over the coming five years.

A central pillar of the HOME Plan involves restructuring the municipal housing governance ecosystem by reintegrating the Indianapolis Housing Agency (IHA) under direct executive oversight from the Mayor's Office. Housing advocates underscored that consolidating administrative resources eliminates bureaucratic fragmentation, accelerates federal voucher deployment, and streamlines capital grants for local non-profit community builders.

Free Permit-Ready Architectural Plans Spur Missing-Middle Infill Construction

Complementing the capital strategy, the city Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) formally debuted a catalog of free, permit-ready architectural building plans for missing-middle residential housing. The initiative provides small-scale homebuilders, non-profits, and neighborhood residents with pre-approved blueprints for energy-efficient duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

By bypassing costly architectural fees and curtailing zoning review timelines from months to days, the program incentivizes rapid infill construction on hundreds of vacant city-owned parcels, restoring historic streetscapes without triggering speculative displacement.

IndyGo Blue Line BRT Construction Advances East-West Transit Reliability

On the transit front, the IndyGo board of directors reaffirmed steady progress on the 24-mile Blue Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor along Washington Street, linking Cumberland through downtown Indianapolis directly to Indianapolis International Airport. Supported by federal Small Starts grants and municipal infrastructure investments, the Blue Line integrates dedicated bus lanes, transit signal priority, and extensive pedestrian safety upgrades, ensuring rapid and dependable mobility for thousands of daily workforce commuters.