After years of planning, partnerships and construction, the doors are officially open at Home Place Duets.
On September 29, HAND welcomed partners, supporters and community members to tour our newest affordable housing community and celebrate the completion of six new three-bedroom rental homes in Carmel’s Home Place neighborhood.
For many of our guests, it was their first opportunity to walk through a HAND home. They toured kitchens and bedrooms, opened closets, looked at finishes and saw firsthand the quality and care that went into creating these homes.
That was an important part of the celebration.
Home Place Duets includes three duplex buildings designed to fit naturally into the surrounding neighborhood, with an emphasis on quality, durability and long-term community benefit. One of the six homes is accessible.
These aren’t homes HAND built simply to complete a project. As the long-term owner and property manager, we’ll continue caring for them and the community for years to come.
More Than Six New Homes
With construction complete, our focus is shifting to the people who will call Home Place Duets home.
Residents will be referred through our partners at Prevail Inc. and Family Promise of Hamilton County. Both organizations work with families who are rebuilding their lives, and the partnership allows stable housing to work alongside the services and support already being provided to those families.
Each of the six homes has a property-based housing voucher that remains with the unit. Qualified residents will pay 30% of their qualified income toward rent, and utilities are included.
It’s a model that brings together two things families need: a quality, affordable place to live and connections to support that can help them move forward.
It Took a Community
Six finished homes may be what you see today, but Home Place Duets represents the work of many organizations and people.
HAND served as the developer, with H-E Homes as custom home builder, Inherent Commercial as owner’s representative and Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. as engineer. Funding for the development included support from the Indiana Housing & Community Development Authority, Hamilton County Community Development Block Grant program and Lake City Bank.
Our partners at Prevail and Family Promise of Hamilton County have also been working alongside HAND as we prepare for resident referrals and the tenant selection process. Their involvement will continue long after the construction crews are gone.
And another community partner made sure our future residents will receive a warm welcome.
The Lydia Circle at Carmel United Methodist Church shopped for and assembled welcome baskets for the households moving into Home Place Duets. The baskets were displayed during the Open House and will be waiting to help welcome residents as they settle into their new homes.
Our Open House was a little sweeter thanks to Blue Sun Bakery in Noblesville, who made the cookies for our guests to enjoy as we celebrated. Thank you for helping us mark such a special day!
Every piece of the project required collaboration, from funding and construction to resident support and the small touches that help turn a house into a home.
Why Six Homes Matter
Home Place Duets won’t solve the need for affordable housing in Hamilton County. No single development can.
But six homes matter.
They mean six more families will have access to a stable, affordable place to live. They add another housing option in a community where finding a home within reach can be difficult. And they demonstrate what is possible when public, private and nonprofit partners work together to create housing that is thoughtfully designed, well built and intended to remain affordable.
For HAND, that’s also why opening day isn’t the end of the story.
Soon, residents will begin moving in. The empty rooms our guests walked through during the Open House will become kitchens where families make dinner, bedrooms where children sleep and living rooms where everyday life happens.
That’s what all the planning, meetings, funding applications, construction decisions and partnerships were ultimately for.
See More from the Celebration
We’re grateful to Brosmer Photographic for capturing the Home Place Duets Open House and Ribbon Cutting. From the first tours through the finished homes to the ribbon cutting itself, they captured a special milestone for HAND and everyone who helped make this community possible.
View the SpotMyPhotos Gallery →
Come See Home Place Duets
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Open House and Ribbon Cutting, and to everyone who helped make Home Place Duets possible.
If you weren’t able to attend, we’d still love the opportunity to show you around before residents begin moving in. Contact Andrea Davis or Kerri Hubble at HAND to schedule a tour.
Six new homes are ready.
And soon, six families will call them home.
