The Lafayette Transitional Housing Center has announced plans for a 40-unit apartment complex that caters to unhoused people in the city.
The proposed complex has met with some pushback from community members worried about its location.
Officials with the Lafayette Transitional Housing Center say the land for the apartments has not yet been purchased – but residents voiced opposition to the development during a meeting with LTHC officials last week.
Jennifer Layton is the president and CEO of LTHC. She said the meeting was intended as part of an early outreach to residents who will neighbor the development – because she knows the perception the public has of unhoused populations.
“This isn’t going to look like, ‘Oh, there is some pole barn homeless shelter that is just letting people sleep on the streets.’ That is not at all the intention,” she said. “It’s going to be a beautifully designed, state-of-the-art facility. I want them to want it in their neighborhood.”
Layton said she understands why people would be concerned about having this particular apartment complex in their neighborhood.
“I know that homelessness isn't pretty – it's not something that we want to see as a community,” she said. “But it is something that is real, because we don't have enough housing for all the people that need it.”
Across the city, Layton said LTHC currently has about 99 units of housing which serve the city’s unhoused population. Those units target people with low or no income who have nowhere else to turn for housing.
The proposed complex will also aim to make various resources – including assistance from the local community mental health center, the VA, and others – available on-site to residents of the new units.
Layton said the LTHC development team will look at other potential locations. But the current location under consideration is near both IU Health Arnett and a Walmart – making it ideal for people with limited transportation.
“We don't even have a signed purchase agreement,” she said. “We're still in the conversation with buying the land. So we wanted to jump ahead out ahead of the community conversation to say, you know, let's talk about it. Let's see what this looks like.”
According to Layton, the proposed apartment complex will cost close to $10 million, paid for through a mix of grants and American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
