ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

Sherman Park Plan
Sherman Park is the former site of RCA HQ and 8,000 jobs. That was 20+ years ago. It has been a vacant environmental brownfield of 50 acres at Michigan and Sherman. But NEAR has worked with EPA and the City of Indianapolis to develop a plan for reuse and redevelopment. The City has embraced the SHERMAN PARK PLAN and is pursuing infrastructure planning right now, based on the plan. The hoped-for environmental cleanup and mixed-use development is on the horizon: light industrial uses, commercial spaces, livable-wage employment opportunities, multi-family affordable housing. This is a 2022-2026 trajectory. There are numerous opportunities for personal and corporate engagement. Learn more at www.shermanparkplan.com.

Brownfield Cleanup
From former gas stations to abandoned industrial sites, many small environmentally contaminated sites exist on the Near Eastside. Their negative health and environmental conditions impact our neighbors. We partner with the City’s Department of Metropolitan Development to identify and clean up such sites.

Lead Abatement
Houses built before 1978 were likely painted with lead-based paint, a source of health risk—particularly for small children. When NEAR rehabs an older house, it first undergoes thorough lead testing and abatement. We are also able to connect neighbors to City and State resources for lead testing and abatement of existing, inhabited houses.