Watch the 1165 Nelson St. Good Bones episode on HGTV from the comfort of your own home. This episode will feature Bernie Price of Bean Creek Neighborhood Association and Dee Alderman who served on Garfield Park Neighborhood Association Board for several years. The two have advocated tirelessly for their neighborhood for decades.

The renovation was made possible by Lilly Endowment, Inc. 

Additional episodes featuring the other two #APLRIndy homes are:
About APLR:

The Artist and Public Life Residency (APLR) program is an innovative and experimental approach to supporting artists who use their talents and skills to help drive positive change in the community.

Through this program we are working to address these key issues:

Affordable housing is vital but scarce in neighborhoods, especially near Downtown and on the Red Line transit corridor
Often the working poor, artists are being priced out of “arts districts”
Affordable housing is often short-term vs. perpetual (for instance homes and apartments developed as affordable in Fountain Square are now market rate)
The need for neighbors to experience creativity, connect with each other, and find solutions to challenges
Indianapolis struggles to retain talented workers — including artists
The near southside struggles as homes and commercial buildings sit empty, crime remains a challenge, educational attainment is low, and many households struggle for financial security. Our work addresses these challenges by linking artists and residents as co-leaders. Artist residents are now strengthening the neighborhood with free programming like African dance, community dinners.

For this program, we view the label of artists to include creatives, makers, and designers. Fields include — and are not limited to — architecture, culinary art, curation, visual art, public art, furniture, fashion, craft, design, film and video, creative writing and journalism, performing arts, music, theater, placemaking, socially engaged art, etc.

Through a community-inclusive selection process, artists of all disciplines have applied in two rounds so far to be matched with one of five affordable homes to purchase or five others to rent. In both cases, costs are adjusted for affordability and the residency is linked to work in support of the neighborhood and broader community.

The houses in this program were previously vacant, some for a long time, and no existing residents were displaced. These efforts for APLR are happening in partnership with current residents as a way to work together to further strengthen the neighborhood and keep affordable housing for artists in place. Our partner, South Indianapolis Quality of Life Plan and others are also working on strategies for affordable housing in general in the area. And we are all teaming up on efforts to avoid the displacement of existing residents.

This project is linked to larger efforts on the block funded by a $3 million grant by Lilly Endowment announced in December of 2018. Also, this program and process comes — in part — from the research and organizational efforts by Indianapolis-based artist and planner Danicia Monet and is operated by Big Car Collaborative Co-founder, Shauta Marsh.

More details:

Resident artists receive research and training support from Big Car staff and others as they will represent our partnership in the community.
Artists will open their home and/or grounds for some form of public engagement during neighborhood-wide open house or art walks events – usually on the First Friday of the month.
Artists dedicate 16+ hours per month to work with the public in the community. This includes time on their own public projects, training and meetings, and time supporting other Big Car or neighborhood programs.
Artists have opportunities to participate in Big Car-organized exhibition and collaboration opportunities. We encourage partnerships between resident artists, visiting artists, other local artists, and our staff artists.
Qualifying artists have been selected by a panel of experts on community-focused art and housing (some from other cities) and neighbors on the block.
Selected artists are able to become homeowners or renters while also committing to building participation and strengthening the community through art, along with Big Car, in the South Indianapolis neighborhoods and the greater Indianapolis community. This is an investment by both owners/renters in our community.
Because this is not linked, as is usually the case, to a limited timeframe of affordability, this is a way to keep housing affordable in perpetuity on the block.
Government or corporate funds were not used to make this project happen.

About the series:
“Good Bones” follows the blueprint of several series on HGTV or DIY Network that showcase revitalization specialists who turn rundown homes into stunning remodels. In this case, it’s mother/daughter duo Karen E. Laine and Mina Starsiak transforming properties in and around their hometown of Indianapolis. Karen’s legal background and Mina’s real estate knowledge help them secure diamonds in the rough, and then they hire out demo and construction duties — or get help from family — to get the houses done on time and on budget.