Circle City Village breaks ground in Wayne Township, adding tiny homes for Indianapolis residents exiting homelessness

A new housing site targets a specific gap in Indianapolis’ homelessness response

A project called Circle City Village has moved into the construction phase on Indianapolis’ west side, aiming to provide small, standalone homes for people transitioning out of homelessness. The development is planned near Lynhurst Drive and Chelsea Road in Wayne Township on land associated with Lynhurst Baptist Church, which has been identified as the project site in prior city planning and zoning records.

The village is designed around 18 small single-family dwellings. City documents tied to the project’s rezoning describe the homes as roughly 312 square feet each on a 1.65-acre site, a scale that aligns with “tiny home” housing models used in other cities.

What is planned at the site

Project materials and reporting about the development describe a village layout intended to combine housing with shared space and supportive programming. In addition to the tiny homes, the broader concept has included space for community use and services intended to help residents stabilize after leaving shelters or unsheltered living situations.

• 18 single-family tiny homes on a west-side site in Wayne Township
• Development shaped by rezoning and site-planning requirements
• A model home has been used for tours and community engagement as the project advances

How the development reached the groundbreaking stage

The project has been several years in progress. City planning records show the rezoning request for the Lynhurst Drive site was handled through the Metropolitan Development Commission process, including conditions related to infrastructure and public right-of-way. Those conditions included commitments such as adding a sidewalk segment along South Lynhurst Drive prior to occupancy and formal disclosures tied to nearby noise considerations.

Context: homelessness and chronic homelessness in Indianapolis

The groundbreaking comes as Indianapolis continues to report high levels of homelessness in annual point-in-time counts. In the 2025 count, 1,815 people were identified as experiencing homelessness in Marion County, including 331 people who were unsheltered. The same count identified 401 people experiencing chronic homelessness.

Annual point-in-time counts are intended to provide a one-night snapshot of sheltered and unsheltered homelessness and are used to guide resource allocation and program planning.

Why small-site housing projects draw attention

Supportive and transitional housing projects like Circle City Village are typically evaluated on both capacity and durability—how many people they can serve relative to need, and whether residents can move into longer-term housing stability. With 18 planned homes, Circle City Village is modest in scale, but it represents added housing inventory specifically designed for people facing barriers to re-entering the conventional rental market.

Construction activity at the site marks a shift from planning and fundraising toward delivery, with the first units intended to become available as infrastructure and site work are completed.