Cinnaire and partners break ground on CDFI Friendly Bloomington’s first project

Reposted from Cinnaire’s website: See original post

Bloomington, IN – First Investment from CDFI Friendly Bloomington Provides Affordable Housing and Support Services  

Cinnaire recently joined CDFI Friendly Bloomington, City of Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA), Centerstone, and community leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking for Kinser Flats. The new 50-unit complex will provide affordable housing for homeless families and individuals with substance abuse disorders or co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders. Cinnaire provided a $9.5 million Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) investment to support the development. 

The Kinser Flats building design includes space for onsite recovery-focused supportive services for tenants to be provided by Centerstone and other community partners. Kinser Flats will operate as a low-barrier facility guided by the Housing First, harm-reduction approach, which prioritizes housing as a basic foundation for life improvement. 
Cinnaire’s investment, facilitated by CDFI Friendly Bloomington, makes Kinser Flats the first project enabled by Bloomington’s successful effort to become the nation’s first “CDFI Friendly” city. CDFI Friendly Bloomington, a nonprofit organization established to connect local investment opportunities and regional and national CDFIs, leads that effort. 

“CDFIs like Cinnaire help make life-changing community projects like Kinser Flats possible,” said Brian Payne, executive director at CDFI Friendly Bloomington. “Cinnaire has been a leading supporter of our focused campaign to increase community development investment in this region, and we hope this will be the first of several successful partnerships.” 

Additional funding partners include the City of Bloomington Housing and Neighborhood Development Department (HAND), the Bloomington Housing Authority (BHA), Old National Bank, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis (FHLBI), and IHCDA. 

“Access to safe and affordable housing along with support services is crucial to improving quality of life for families and individuals in need,” said Keith Broadnax, senior vice president for business development at Cinnaire. “Kinser Flats will positively impact Bloomington residents, providing a vibrant new community to call home with on-site access to important social services. We are pleased to partner with CDFI Friendly Bloomington and to support their innovative mission. We look forward to working together to further enhance community and economic development in the Bloomington area.”

About Cinnaire – Cinnaire is a non-profit financial partner that supports community and economic revitalization initiatives through creative investments, loans and development services. Since 1993, Cinnaire has invested $4.2 billion to develop 717 housing communities in 10 states, providing 47,000 affordable apartment homes for more than 100,000 individuals and families. In its mission to change lives and transform struggling neighborhoods into thriving communities, Cinnaire has helped to create or retain nearly 71,000 jobs and spur $7.9 billion in economic impact. www.cinnaire.com

About CDFI Friendly Bloomington – CDFI Friendly Bloomington is an innovative new organization working to increase access to flexible, affordable financing for community development in south central Indiana. Formed in 2019, CDFI Friendly Bloomington is a nonprofit focused on connecting local investment opportunities with regional and national community development financial institutions (CDFIs). CDFI Friendly Bloomington will promote local projects, facilitate deals, and offer financing alongside CDFIs to incent their participation or bridge asset gaps in crucial community development projects. www.cdfifriendlybtown.org