This and that: Notes for a Thursday

Richard Allen’s attorneys say explaining his appeal needs more words, more time. The Jeffersonian opens new senior apartments. Redistricting notes. And the next installment of the BiL Holiday Playlist

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THE JEFFERSONIAN SENIOR APARTMENTS OPEN ON SITE OF OLD JEFF GYM

The first residents of the Jeffersonian, a 50-unit apartment building Homestead Services opened at the corner of Ninth and Brown streets in Lafayette, moved into apartment in the past week, as officials from the nonprofit, the city and the county celebrated the new entry into the affordable housing space for senior citizens.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am right now,” Marie Morse, Homestead Resources executive director, said before a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday afternoon. “I can’t say enough how much this was needed.”

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

The $13 million senior apartment complex was built on the southern portion of the parking lot where the old Lafayette Jefferson High School gym once stood. (State Sen. Ron Alting, a Lafayette Jefferson High School grad, talked during this week’s ceremonies about playing in the gym after Old Jeff was used as Tippecanoe Junior High.) It’s across a parking lot from the 74-unit Historic Jefferson Centre Senior Apartments, a building renovated as an adaptive reuse two decades ago from the former high school and once-home to Ivy Tech Community College classrooms.

The Jeffersonian includes 38 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom units in three stories. Each unit is available to those 55 or older who meet various income levels. The project was backed by an array for state and federal tax credits, including $600,000 in HOME funds channeled by the city through the Lafayette Housing Consortium and another $200,000 in state READI grant funds.

(Photo: Dave Bangert)

Morse announced at the ribbon-cutting that Homestead received word that it had recently qualified for federal tax credits that will help with renovations at Jefferson Centre, too.

“That building was donated to us by the Lafayette School Corp. years ago, and our board feels a strong responsibility to maintain that, to keep it fit, to keep it well maintained,” Morse said. “It’s a very loved building. We said we were going to have it for affordable housing, and that’s what we’re going to do. I get people about every day offering to buy it. And that’s not what we’re going to do here. We’re going to keep it affordable housing.”

She thanked the Historic Jefferson Neighborhood, too, for working with the Jeffersonian project to make sure it fit in the neighborhood and with the feel of Old Jeff.

John Copeland, who lives in the neighborhood and has a business across Ninth Street from the new apartments, said Morse brought plans to Historic Jefferson before they were finalized and asked for advice.

“Lafayette is a city of neighborhoods, each with its own unique flavor, all woven together to create a city that is the envy of other cities our size,” Copeland said Tuesday. “That process reinforced the importance of building partnerships between neighbors and neighborhoods and those that would invest in our neighborhoods. Marie and her team have delivered a product that is not only architecturally harmonious with the surrounding area, but one that will enhance the quality of life in the Historic Jeff Neighborhood.”

As of Tuesday, 10 of the units still were available, based on income guidelines. For details, call 765-742-1040.

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ATTORNEYS IN DELPHI MURDERS APPEAL SIGNAL ’10 POSSIBLE ISSUES,’ ASK FOR EXTRA ROOM TO TELL ABOUT THEM

Attorneys working with Richard Allen on an appeal of his conviction in the 2017 murders of Delphi teens Abby Williams and Libby German asked the court this week for more time to file their arguments – and more space to do it.