Canal Village developer promises to fix last ‘mistake’ in Northwest Landing neighborhood

Some residents of a northwest Indianapolis neighborhood are continuing their dispute with a developer who’s trying to get a tax break from the city to build affordable housing.

The Northwest Landing leaders say the developer doesn’t communicate with residents, and they described his existing work in the neighborhood as poorly designed.

Worst of all, they said, the developer hasn’t lived up to the commitments he made to them years ago as part of the first phase of the Canal Village housing project and a nearby senior apartment complex.

“Please take the time to do your research and see how much he has not done,” EJ Kemp, a Northwest Landing resident, told members of the City-County Council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee in June.

Canal Village homes sit on the street July 10, 2025, of the Northwest Landing neighborhood of Indianapolis. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy

The developer, Gary Hobbs, admitted to mistakes in the first phase of the project, which consisted of 37 homes. Most notably, he said, he changed the porch design without telling the community.

“That was a bad mistake, period,” said Hobbs, president of the development firm BWI, at the committee meeting.

But Hobbs told Mirror Indy that other complaints about poor maintenance have been blown out of proportion.

“I think the key thing is we’ve listened to the community,” Hobbs said. “And we’ll continue to listen.”

Still, committee members decided to delay a vote on a proposed tax break for the next phase of Canal Village, which would consist of 33 homes.

“It seems like a misinvestment, if you will,” westside Democrat Jared Evans said.

The committee will reconsider the proposal at its next meeting at 5:30 p.m. July 14 at the City-County Building, 200. E. Washington St.

‘We don’t want Gary Hobbs here’

The way Hobbs sees it, the criticism he’s facing comes from a small group. Their complaints range from siding falling off of homes to garages that are too small for a car.

“To then have three people — not the whole community — that exaggerate and bring things like that, it is hurtful,” he told Mirror Indy. “It’s embarrassing.”

Along with Kemp, Maunah Wadud and her daughter, Hadiah Amit, have been publicly critical of Hobbs. They’re part of the Northwest Landing Neighborhood Association, which represents the community that’s bordered by Burdsal Parkway and West 30th Street near Riverside Park.

But Kemp pushed back on the idea that only three people are upset. The neighborhood association is speaking for the community, she told Mirror Indy.

“We don’t want Gary Hobbs here,” Kemp said. “We don’t want BWI here.”

EJ Kemp, who is wearing a black and white Adidas shirt, sits on a couch with a serious expression, turning to look through a window behind her. EJ Kemp, a member of the Northwest Landing Neighborhood Association, is upset with Gary Hobbs and BWI. She says that Hobbs is not keeping the commitments he made when building the first round of the Canal Village project. “We don’t want Gary Hobbs here,” Kemp said. “We don’t want BWI here.” Kemp sat for a portrait at her Indianapolis home on July 10, 2025. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy

Other local nonprofits also wrote to the neighborhood association opposing the next phase of the Canal Village Project. Those letters were also shared with city officials.

At the same time, Kemp said she understands that people who move to a Canal Village home are probably happy to have a decent, affordable place to live.

At one of the houses from the first phase of the project, DeAirra Harris said she doesn’t have any major issues with the home she’s lived in since December.

The interior design could be better, she told Mirror Indy from her porch on a recent July morning. But the house works for her and her four children, with a fifth on the way.

“They’re cute, small houses,” said Harris, 32.

DeAirra Harris, 32, poses for a portrait on July 10, 2025, outside of her Canal Village home in the Northwest Landing neighborhood of Indianapolis. Harris started living in the home last December and says that she has no major complaints since moving. “They’re cute, small houses,” said Harris, referring to the Canal Village homes that line the street. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy

Hobbs said the criticisms are delaying construction of affordable housing in a neighborhood that needs it. In the broader Riverside Neighborhood that surrounds Northwest Landing, the poverty rate was 35% in 2019, according to data collected by Indy Vitals. The countywide poverty rate at that time was about 18%.

Hobbs said there are about 150 people on a waitlist to get a home.

Money on the line

It isn’t just a neighborhood association standing in the way.

Flanner House, a prominent local nonprofit, controls $1 million that would help fund the housing project. And Flanner House’s director, Brandon Cosby, said the organization is holding that money in a trust while Hobbs works through a list of commitments he’s made to the neighborhood.

At stake with the City-County Council, meanwhile, is an estimated $490,000 in tax savings over 15 years for BWI. In exchange, the firm would pay about $123,000 over the same period.

The deal, known as a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, is meant to incentivize development. The city’s Department of Metropolitan Development vets the projects, and it’s up to the council to approve or deny them.

A Canal Village home sits on the street July 10, 2025, of the Northwest Landing neighborhood of Indianapolis. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy

Hobbs’ housing project has already been selected by the state to receive $1.2 million in tax credits annually over 10 years.

But Hobbs said construction on the next phase of Canal Village won’t move forward without the local tax break.

“Preserving unit affordability without the PILOT becomes literally impossible,” he told the committee.

If built, the homes would be sold in a rent-to-own model. Residents would have a 15-year rental period, after which they could purchase the home for about $100,000.

The program is focused on single parents.

Hobbs will face more scrutiny

Some councilors seemed impressed after Hobbs gave his presentation about Canal Village. He talked about free Wi-Fi and connections to discounted child care.

“This is the gold standard,” southside Republican Derek Cahill said.

But after hearing from the concerned residents, Cahill and others backed away.

Southeastside Republican Michael-Paul Hart removed himself as a co-sponsor of the proposal.

Westside Democrat Jared Evans questioned why the Department of Metropolitan Development would negotiate a tax break deal in the first place.

The department’s deputy director, Jennifer Fults, said there isn’t enough affordable housing in the Northwest Landing neighborhood. That’s especially true for the three- to four-bedroom homes that BWI plans to build.

Me’Kayla Allen, 31, poses for a portrait on July 10, 2025, outside of her sister’s Canal Village home in the Northwest Landing neighborhood of Indianapolis. Allen does not live in the home full time, but has stayed at the house periodically. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy

“This project has been a difficult one,” Fults said.

But she assured the committee that the department would evaluate the project every year and make sure Hobbs is living up to his commitments. And the city will host monthly meetings that Hobbs is required to attend.

If he doesn’t meet the requirements, Fults said, the city could penalize him or even pull back on the tax break agreement.

What’s next?

Hobbs is trying to make up for his mistakes, including the porch designs from the first phase. He’s added garages and is putting up fences for some of the houses. After some complaints about the flat roofs on the first homes, the new houses would have a more traditional angled roof.

On the back half of the property where Me’Kayla Allen’s sister’s Canal Village home is situated sits a garage on July 10, 2025, in the Northwest Landing neighborhood of Indianapolis. Allen said that the garage was added to the property after the house was completed and is a small size. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy

Hobbs has also committed to extending the porches by the end of the year.
The commitments are spelled out in an agreement that includes Hobbs and Flanner House.

There’s a catch, though: Hobbs said the porch work won’t start until construction begins on the new batch of homes. The earliest that would start is August.

If all of that comes together, Hobbs has high expectations for the next phase of Canal Village. He told the committee that the next batch of homes will be “top notch.”

“You can hold me accountable to that,” he said.

Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.

Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or [email protected]. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.