# Martin County Asks Residents: What Does Affordable Housing Mean Here?

By Mr. Newz
Loogootee / Shoals, Ind. — August 21, 2026

The Martin County Alliance for Economic Growth is asking residents, workers, and business owners to weigh in on one of the county’s clearest long-term challenges: the shortage of attainable housing.

An online survey is now open to gather local perspectives on residential development needs. The effort follows data from the Indiana Uplands Regional Housing Study showing that Martin County should be producing roughly 17 new housing units each year to keep pace with expected population and workforce growth. In recent years the county has averaged only about three new units annually. By 2035 the cumulative shortfall is projected at more than 200 additional units — a mix of single-family homes and rentals.

Alliance leaders say the survey will help guide future planning, grant applications, and conversations with private developers. It also builds on existing local work, including the Martin County Redevelopment Commission’s partnership with the Uplands Regional Land Bank to acquire and redevelop blighted or vacant properties into usable workforce housing.

A Statewide Pattern

Martin County’s situation is not unique. Across Indiana the gap between housing supply and demand remains significant. Statewide, only about 34 rental homes are considered affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income households — a rate tied for the lowest in the Midwest. Analysts have estimated the need for well over 100,000 additional affordable rental units for the lowest-income households, while broader owner-occupied housing projections call for nearly 200,000 new homes in the coming years just to meet anticipated demand.

For years federal programs provided a substantial share of the subsidy and financing that made many affordable developments possible. As that federal footprint has become less predictable and, in some categories, reduced, private developers, local economic development groups, land banks, and public-private partnerships have stepped forward to fill more of the gap. In Indiana this shift is already the prevailing reality. Most new workforce and affordable units now rely on a combination of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, state tax credits, local redevelopment tools, and private capital rather than large-scale direct federal construction programs.

Nearby Counties Show Similar Momentum

Similar efforts are underway in neighboring counties. In Dubois County, private developers have broken ground on Poplar Ridge Apartments in Huntingburg (126 units of attainable multi-family housing) and the North Ridge Estates single-family subdivision in Jasper. In Lawrence County, Hoosier Uplands is advancing Limestone Edge, a 32-unit senior affordable housing project in Bedford, while Cook Group has supported additional workforce-oriented housing in the region. The Uplands Regional Land Bank itself operates across Martin, Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Orange, and Crawford counties, purchasing neglected properties so they can be returned to productive residential use.

Closer to home, the Oak Street Village project in Loogootee — 50 workforce apartments plus an on-site childcare center — stands as a concrete example of the same model: private development paired with tax credits and local partnership to deliver housing that working families can actually use.

Why Local Input Matters

For a rural county tied closely to the employment base at Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane and the growing activity at WestGate@Crane, housing availability affects more than statistics. It influences whether young families stay, whether teachers and healthcare workers can live near their jobs, and whether local businesses can attract and keep employees.

The Alliance survey is one practical step toward clarifying what “affordable” and “attainable” mean to the people who already live and work here. Residents interested in shaping those priorities can find the survey through the Martin County Alliance for Economic Growth website or Facebook page. Results will help local leaders decide where to focus limited resources and how to attract the private investment that, in today’s environment, is carrying more of the load.

In Martin County and across southern Indiana, the pattern is clear: when the traditional federal role shrinks, communities that organize local capital, private developers, and resident feedback stand a better chance of closing the gap themselves.