A 70-year-old pipe just failed. Three families are watching what we do next.
1527 Walnut Street in Anderson, Indiana is a three-unit brick building. All three units are occupied. Average tenant tenure is over four years. Last month, the original cast iron sewage stack — the vertical pipe that carries waste from every bathroom in the building down to the city main — cracked through. It's the kind of failure that's been building since the Eisenhower administration. Cast iron from that era simply doesn't last forever, and ours didn't.
The repair is not optional. It needs a full PEX-compatible stack replacement, plus restoration of the second-floor bath wall the plumbers will have to open to do the work. We have the contractor quote in hand: $15,000 all-in. That covers full stack replacement (materials and labor), multi-bathroom wall restoration, the city permit, a contingency for unexpected joint or branch-line issues uncovered during the open-up, and a small reserve for tenant lodging in case water has to be shut off overnight during the cutover.
Why $15,000 instead of $1,500
A flip investor — and there are plenty of them combing Anderson and Muncie right now — would not do this repair. They would patch the crack with a sleeve and a clamp for about $1,500, then list the units at "renovated" rates the moment a lease ended. In Anderson, that typically means a 50–60% rent increase. The three families currently in this building would not be able to absorb that. They would leave. New tenants at higher rents would replace them. The building would technically still exist, but it would no longer be affordable, and three households would be searching the rental market in a city where naturally occurring affordable housing is disappearing one building at a time.
We don't do that. We do the full replacement, the building stays sound for another 30+ years, and rents do not move. The families stay.
Who we are
Amarnath Foundation is a Delaware nonprofit incorporated in June 2024, EIN 99-3628811, recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) Private Operating Foundation under §4942(j)(3). Our mission is the preservation of naturally occurring affordable housing — NOAH — in central Indiana. We currently hold 7 doors across Anderson and Muncie. Our 2026 target is 12–20 doors.
We are a private operating foundation, not a grant-maker. Every dollar that comes in goes directly to acquiring, repairing, and holding affordable buildings. There is no salaried staff. The founder works unpaid.
What happens if we hit the $15,000 goal
Days 1–14: Funds raised, contractor scheduled, permit pulled with the City of Anderson.
Days 14–21: Stack replacement performed. Tenants notified 7 days in advance; lodging reserve activated if overnight water shutoff is required.
Days 21–28: Bath wall restoration, paint, final inspection.
Target completion: July 15, 2026. All three units remain occupied at current rents through the work and after.
If we exceed the goal
The next building in our portfolio — a Muncie 4-unit — has a roof inspection flagged for Q3 2026 and a hot water tank near end of life. Anything raised above $15,000 goes directly into the queued-repair reserve for that building. Nothing held back, nothing administrative.
Every donation is tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Donors at $500+ receive a thank-you, a tax letter, and a 60-day photo of the completed work.