Thrive Alliance to Repurpose Second floor of Seymour Building

Thrive Alliance will develop a $1.72 million project providing 12 one-bedroom apartments for affordable housing for adults 55 and older in downtown Seymour.

The Hukill Flats development project will receive the funds to create and reuse existing space on the second floor of an office building at 200 E. Third St.

The lower floor is currently occupied by Fresenius Kidney Care and Reflections Salon.

Funding for the project will come from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority through the HOME Investment Partnership Program.

“Affordable housing is critical to our state’s success, so we are pleased to make this announcement,” Indiana Lt. Gov Suzanne Crouch said. “This investment for affordable housing is a huge piece of our state’s infrastructure growth. We strive every day to continue making Indiana a place for people to live, work and play.”

The project was initially proposed by Thrive Alliance Housing Services, which is part of Thrive Alliance. That nonprofit organization serves as Indiana’s Agency on Aging for Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson and Jennings counties.

“We’ve been working on the Hukill Flats idea for several years,” said Mark Lindenlaub, executive director of Thrive Alliance. “Now that funding has been awarded, we’re moving forward with the final phases of project design and detailing as well as the legal work and notices to meet project and grant funding requirements.”

Lindenlaub said Thrive Alliance is the general contractor and will be subcontracting a majority of the work.

“We prefer to work with local contractors and as is our usual practice will invite local contractors to bid on our projects,” he said.

Plans for the Hukill Flats project consist of apartments clustered around a common gathering space. The apartment units — most with distinct floor plans — and a common laundry area invoke the feeling of a small neighborhood where residents can easily interact and essentially become like the extended family they are accustomed to having nearby, Thrive Alliance said.

The common gathering space will serve as a community dining area for those residents participating in the nutrition programs offered by Thrive Alliance services. This is quite different from the atmosphere typically found in larger senior housing complexes.

In addition, each unit will include various features that are designed to allow people to age in place and continue to live independently in a safe, comfortable environment.