Lt. Gov. Crouch, IHCDA celebrate National Homeownership Month

Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 11:04 AM

Agency, Lt. Gov. tour workforce housing in Orange County

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FRENCH LICK, Ind. – June 22, 2022 – Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) celebrate June as National Homeownership Month which highlights the many benefits of homeownership to individuals and communities.

The Orange County Economic Development Partnership (OCEDP) and the French Lick Resort have started a long-term project to create workforce housing in Orange County for Hoosiers to achieve the dream of owning a home. This week, Lt. Governor Crouch and IHCDA toured one of the homes in French Lick which was closed on and the new homeowner moved in this past May. The homeowner never thought the dream of homeownership was possible but thanks to organizations like OCEDP, homeownership is possible for all Hoosiers.

“Owning a home has long been central to achieving the American dream,” said Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch. “I am so thankful and appreciative of the work being done to keep homeownership attainable and sustainable for Hoosiers. We are excited to celebrate Homeownership Month with the Orange County Economic Development Partnership and look forward to seeing their community grow.”

IHCDA promotes responsible homeownership through programs that assist Hoosiers with obtaining low-interest, fixed-rate loans through the help of down-payment assistance. They offer programs for first-time and repeat homebuyers that can help cover the closing costs and down-payment on the purchase of a home. IHCDA also offers funds to non-profits to develop single family homes for Hoosier homebuyers. The programs can be utilized in all 92 counties and are administered with the help of their participating lenders. For more information about these homeownership programs offered through IHCDA and how to utilize them, visit www.in.gov/ihcda.

“We celebrate homeownership because it's such an important milestone for an individual or a family to achieve,” said Kristal Painter, Executive Director of the Orange County economic Development Partnership. “We're excited that we get to partner with such an amazing organization as French Lick Resort by helping to make the dream of home ownership a reality through the Orange County Workforce Housing Development that is currently under construction in West Baden Springs. The goal is to build 75 homes in West Baden Springs and an additional 25 in French Lick, for a total of 100 homes, which is 100 opportunities for families to continue this celebration for years to come!”

“We are at an unprecedented time and wanted to take a step back and look at our workforce,” said Dylan Duncan, Vice President of Cook Group. “What are the biggest obstacles to recruitment? For us, affordable housing kept coming up time and time again. There had not been a new development here since the 1960s, apartments were scarce, and the local housing market was challenging. Then we secured some farmland and started meeting with housing developers. We were unable to secure a developer, so we decided to take on the construction of the houses ourselves. We have four completed and another 90+ planned.”

In June 2002, June was proclaimed National Homeownership Month. The goal of this initiative was to develop support programs and incentives to help every American citizen realize the dream of homeownership. Governor Holcomb recently signed a proclamation renewing the State of Indiana’s commitment to making homeownership affordable, accessible, and equitable for all Hoosiers.