Shared Destiny: Anchors, Economy & Community

CORE VALUES

News from the Indianapolis Anchor Revitalization Program Partnership – April 2018

Welcome to the first edition of Core Values, a regular communication on the Anchor Revitalization Program, a sweeping strategy for neighborhood redevelopment, employment and local business growth across Indianapolis.

You can get a refresher on the program with the ‘Anchoring Indy’ overview below.  But if you’re receiving this, odds are you know the basics or are connected with an anchor – some of the city’s largest university and healthcare campuses, influential civic and cultural institutions, and engaged neighborhood coalitions.

This newsletter will share progress and success stories, perspectives from peer regions pursuing anchor strategies, and insight on why this effort is so important to our shared future.

Why is engaging anchor institutions so important?  You’ll find plenty of answers in the stories to come, but start by considering the significance of four numbers – percentages that reflect the potential of our plans:

90%

90 cents of every Marion County tax dollar come from local income and property taxes.  With the city scrambling to patch potholes and a commuter tax gaining traction but no guarantees, anchor initiatives aim at the most fundamental way to rebuild the urban core – more taxpayers, homeowners, and businesses.

80%

80% of all regional job growth comes from homegrown companies.  By encouraging and assisting anchors to ‘Buy Indianapolis’ and use local firms as suppliers and partners, we can keep more capital in Indianapolis – supporting the enterprises that create most of our employment opportunities.

50%

Center Township has lost roughly 50% of its population over the last fifty years, while nearly half the collective workforce of our anchor institutions – major employers in the community – lives outside Marion County.  Reversing these trends can jump-start the rebuilding of our urban core.  And finally…

20%

Nearly one of every five Indianapolis residents live below the poverty line.  As part of a broader effort to ‘upskill’ our workforce and attack other root causes of poverty, we are enlisting anchors in training and hiring programs to create accessible, living-wage job options and preparing neighborhood residents to take advantage of them.

Read on to learn more about the transformative opportunities in these ‘Live,’ ‘Buy’ and ‘Hire’ initiatives, and how these plans are already impacting anchor employees and neighborhoods.

Michael Huber
President & CEO, Indy Chamber

Moira Carlstedt
President & CEO, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership

Bill Taft
Executive Director, Local Initiatives Support Corporation – Indianapolis