Indianapolis — A major wave of development is rolling through Indianapolis, with an estimated $20 billion or more in construction, infrastructure, and real estate projects underway or in the city’s pipeline.

In general terms, this kind of development is good news for residents of central Indiana. But for those living in neighborhoods directly impacted by it, it often raises concerns about gentrification, cultural displacement, and degraded quality of life.

A group of Indianapolis community leaders met with national experts Saturday to discuss opportunities to address those concerns by helping neighborhoods secure meaningful benefits from major development and infrastructure investments. Hosted by local firm Black Onyx Management and co-sponsored by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Prosperity Indiana, and the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center, the virtual program explored how residents and community organizations can influence development decisions and negotiate commitments that address neighborhood priorities, including housing affordability, local hiring, small business opportunities, and infrastructure improvements.

“As a community, we want residents to care about their neighborhoods,” said Black Onyx Management president and CEO Marshawn Wolley, who is also an associate fellow at The Joint Center, a national public policy research organization. “We ask them to care, to invest their time and effort in creating neighborhood quality of life plans and developing a vision for their own future,” he said. “But they also need tools to ensure local development reflects that vision. Today was about identifying some of those tools.”

Chief among the tools participants examined was community benefits agreements, which establish negotiated commitments between developers and community coalitions. These agreements can help neighborhoods articulate specific benefits they’re seeking and establish concrete accountability measures for developers. Building specific, measurable commitments into community benefits agreements is an essential step in the process, said Nicolaine Lazarre, an associate fellow at the Joint Center who designed and co-led the training.

“A commitment to benefit the community needs to be specific enough for residents to know what was promised, when it is due, and what happens if it is not delivered,” she stated. “Community benefits agreements give residents a way to negotiate those expectations and secure accountability before a project moves forward.”

“Residents know what their neighborhoods need, but they need access to information and a meaningful opportunity to shape decisions while they’re still malleable,” said Immanuel Ivey, executive director of Edna Martin Community-Based Development. “This discussion offered tools for turning community priorities into developer commitments that residents can track.”

Among the event’s speakers were former FCC Commissioner and former acting FCC chair Mignon Clyburn, who joined Indy Economic Development Inc. President & CEO Andrea Richter-Garry for an in-depth exploration of the various methods by which city neighborhoods can address potential harms from development while pursuing benefits that improve opportunities for existing residents and businesses. They also considered questions about which protections and benefits should be negotiated on a per-project basis, and which should become standard expectations for development across Indianapolis.

On that topic, a clear consensus emerged: that the conversation itself should become a standard part of the process. “Major investment creates an opportunity to expand economic growth, and the benefits for existing residents should be part of the plan from the beginning,” said Brandon Taylor, executive director of LISC Indianapolis. 

“Bringing neighborhood leaders, development organizations, and policy experts together helps us ask better questions about what a project will deliver and how those commitments will be measured.”

Elected leaders were not part of Saturday’s discussion, but representatives from Mayor Hogsett’s office, the Department of Metropolitan Development, and the Indianapolis City-Couty Council staff were present. Council President Maggie Lewis said she welcomes the opportunity for city leaders to facilitate more engaged, productive relationships between neighborhoods and developers. “Community benefits agreements can unite neighborhoods around shared priorities and ensure their needs are clearly understood,” she said. “When residents work collaboratively toward common goals, they build a stronger foundation for dialogue and give councilors and city leaders a clearer basis to advocate for development that benefits the community.”

###About Black Onyx Management

Black Onyx Management is an Indianapolis-based applied research and consulting firm that works with public, private, and philanthropic organizations to strengthen communities and expand economic opportunity.

About The Joint Center

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, DC that creates ideas that improve the socioeconomic status and civic engagement of African Americans. Founded in 1970 to support newly-elected Black officials who were moving from civil rights activism into governance, the Joint Center quickly evolved into America’s Black think tank. It became the policy hub of government officials and public intellectuals concerned about the future of African American communities, such as Maynard Jackson, Shirley Chisolm, John Hope Franklin, Mary Frances Berry, and William Julius Wilson.

About Prosperity Indiana

The Indiana Association for Community Economic Development d/b/a Prosperity Indiana builds a better future for our communities by providing advocacy, leveraging resources, and engaging an empowered network of members to create inclusive opportunities that build assets and improve lives. Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana’s network has grown to over 200 organizations, representing thousands of practitioners statewide from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

About Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center

The Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center (INRC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting, advocating for, and empowering residents and neighborhood-based organizations across Indianapolis. For more than 30 years, INRC has provided leadership training, funding support, and community-building programs that help neighborhoods thrive, ensuring residents have the power and voice to influence the future of Indianapolis.

Media contact:
Angela Plank
317.727.8414
angela@blackonyxmanagement.com