Residents can move into the first building June 1.
Briana Pace | Southern Indiana Business Report
Huntingburg’s Poplar Ridge Apartments will be ready for tenants in just a few weeks, bringing another new housing option to the Dubois County community. The project broke ground July 2025 and the first building will be ready for move-ins June 1, 2026, with the second following a couple weeks behind. Pre-leasing began a few months ago and so far, 30 of the first 48 units are spoken for.
The first two buildings available will be the same design: 126 units, a mix of one-, two-and three-bedrooms with rent at $915, $995 and $1,235, including water and sewage. The units are spacious; a one-bedroom apartment is 724 square feet, two beds is 940 square feet and a three-bedroom apartment is 1,154 square feet. Each features a private balcony, a dishwasher and washer-dryer hookups.
There will also be a pickleball and basketball court for residents. “I know that those aren’t the most fun amenities,” partner and president of the developer, Premier Property Management, Ruger Kerstiens said, “but they are important to the residents.”
Premier Property Management built the same exact design in Washington, Indiana, and received lots of positive feedback, particularly about the size of the units.
The location of Poplar Ridge Apartments is also convenient for residents, sitting right off US Highway 231. Executive Director of Dubois Strong, Colten Pipenger, said being located on the north side of town near the highway, will allow for a little faster commute to Jasper, Indiana.
According to Pipenger, Poplar Ridge Apartments is the first new complex Huntingburg has seen in years. He thinks the project will help promote livability in the area and expects it to be most popular with recent college graduates and a generally younger audience.
The building is not just for young adults though; the two- and three-bedroom options would work for families, and the bottom floor handicap accessible units would be ideal for the older population.
Premier Property Management has been marketing inside and outside Huntingburg to promote retention of residents, as well as draw new people into the area.
Kerstiens thinks with a concentrated group of people living in one place, local businesses will increase their revenue and the school system will improve because more people will be dining and shopping at local businesses and sending their kids through the public school system. He also thinks it will help local employers when hiring new workers.
“Now they’re confident that whenever they’re recruiting people,” Kerstiens said, “that they’ve got a place where they can put their people that are potentially moving into the area to work with them.”
The Poplar Ridge Apartments project received just under $1.5 million in READI 2.0 funds to cover the cost of materials and labor. The rest of the money for the site comes from private investments by the owners. The City of Huntingburg also granted a five-year tax abatement.
All around, Kerstiens and Pipenger expect Poplar Ridge Apartments to have a large positive impact on both the Huntingburg and Dubois County communities.
“This is going to provide 126 new potential opportunities for people in the area to live,” Kerstiens said, “and stay here.”