Valparaiso University sold several plots of land to Project Neighbors to help provide local affordable housing options.

The university offered the plots on Locust Street at a reduced price of $120,000.

“Our intention is to develop permanently affordable housing—specifically, four duplexes—on these parcels to serve families who are often priced out of the current market,” said Carmen Vincent, Project Neighbors executive director, in a press release. “With land costs at just $15,000 per unit, this project becomes financially feasible in a way that few developments are.”

Walt Reiner, university faculty and community members founded Project Neighbors in 1969 as the Valpo Builders Association. Project Neighbors has dedicated over 100,000 hours of volunteer services to the construction and renovation of over 100 properties. During that time, members of the Valpo campus community have played various roles in the organization’s mission.

“Many of our board members are Valparaiso University alumni and professors,” Vincent said. “For this specific initiative, we’re excited to once again connect with campus leaders on how the university can support community-based solutions to housing insecurity.”

Site plans for the Locust Street parcels are being developed. Construction will begin after the organization’s current projects Nickel Plate and Axe Avenue are completed next year.

Vincent, who graduated from Valparaiso University in 2020, said her servant-leadership role at Project Neighbors aligns the university’s core values.

“I was taught to wrestle with big questions and lean into service-driven work—values that align deeply with Project Neighbors’ mission,” Vincent said. “Being able to return as a community partner and collaborate with the university in a new capacity feels like a full-circle moment. It’s also a hopeful one: it shows what’s possible when institutions invest in their communities not just with words, but with tangible action.”