Mike Epps and his wife, TV producer Kyra Epps, recently started rehabbing properties in Epps’ Indianapolis childhood neighborhood. Their work is featured in HGTV’s “Buying Back the Block,” which follows Epps and his wife Kyra as they purchase the block in the Kennedy-King area.
“This was about holding onto legacy; this was about holding on to what we come from,” Epps told IndyStar.
In total, the couple purchased six properties, two of which Epps and his family were evicted from while he was young.
Following the renovation of their home on the block, a former firehouse, the couple began work on two properties for 12 weeks, including a house next door and a property that belonged to Epps’ grandmother, Anna Walker.
“Indianapolis is home for me, and there’s nothing in the world like it. That’s why I’m buying back my block,” Epps expressed in a promotional video on Instagram.
“I bought my whole childhood block back—six homes that we actually got evicted from,” he added.
According to HGTV, the Epps intend to “revitalize the struggling neighborhood and bring back the charm, community, and character that Mike valued growing up.”
Epps grew up in the 1970s at the intersection of 21st Street and Carrollton Avenue, according to previous IndyStar reporting. The star of Netflix’s “The Upshaws” highlighted that the neighborhood’s houses and streets have deteriorated over the years.
His wife, supervising producer of “Iyanla”, “Fix My Life” and “The BET Social Awards,” remarked, “This is so cool that we’re able to give an opportunity for people to come back here.”
The HGTV show “Buying Back the Block” began on November 8 and is currently available on Max and Discovery+.
