READI for economic development
Five projects approved for funding from $30 million state allocation
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The future of economic development in the region including Howard County is taking place now. Government and business leaders gathered last week at Ivy Tech Community College in Kokomo to announce the investment of $30 million into projects designed to attract business investment and population growth.
Funding for five projects was announced on Jan. 25 as part of the READI (Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative) grant proposal submitted by the North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council last year. A total of 20 projects from the council have received at least preliminary approval from the state.
“Today is an exciting day for North Central,” said Steven Ray, executive director of the North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council. “We get to celebrate our initial round of READI funding. Over the past eight years, the region has worked collaboratively to build stronger local communities and a vibrant region. Today is a result of that work.”
Ray thanked Gov. Eric Holcomb, Indiana Secretary of Commerce Bradley Chambers, and the Indiana legislature for offering the READI program. He also thanked the five member communities of the council and its board members and staff.
Paul Wyman, who serves as chairman of the regional planning council board, explained how the council attacked the possibility of obtaining funding through the READI grant program.
“It is an incredibly bright day here in north-central Indiana,” said Wyman. “How did we arrive at a moment like this? Bold leadership from Gov. Eric Holcomb to take $500 million and invest it in the state and get the public and private sectors to come alongside of us and literally turn it into billions of dollars that will impact families in our communities for years to come.
“When the announcement came a year and a half ago that this money was available, the North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council was ready. We have been working together for many years, since 2014, with investment from each county. We operated under the philosophy that what is good for one of the counties in our region is good for all of us. Truly, a rising tide will raise all ships.”
The first five of the council’s 20 approved projects received funding at the event. Wyman said all 20 projects were submitted on time to the state and have received at least preliminary approval. Therefore, future announcements will be forthcoming.
Chambers was on hand to join in the celebration announcement. He touted the READI program as unique among states, and he lauded the efforts from the region to secure grant funding.
“What you guys are doing up here is incredible,” said Chambers. “You can feel the energy. The $30 million that you earned is being leveraged into hundreds of millions of dollars in your region. That is not a small return on your work.
“There is nothing more important to economic development than growing our state’s population. You can’t grow an economy without vibrant population growth. It leads to workforce growth. Indiana is prioritizing our cities, counties, and communities through the READI grants.”
The five approved projects include installation of county-wide fiber broadband systems in Howard and Cass counties, infrastructure upgrades at the U.S. 31 and State Road 28 interchange in Tipton County, revitalization of a riverfront district in Peru, and funding for the launch of an Industry 4.0 training lab at Ivy Tech Community College in Kokomo.
The $30 million in READI grants will be matched with $66 in public investment and $2.8 billion in investment from the private sector.
“We are very excited,” said Ethan Heicher, chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College’s Kokomo Region. “This couldn’t be more timely. We can meet about 95 percent of our manufacturers’ needs with the robots and trainers in this space, but we’re heading toward a future that will require a lot more integration of technology in the production process.
“This READI grant will help us meet that need. We have already started construction to flesh out our infrastructure of the Industry 4.0 lab. These dollars will be used for robotics to go into the lab as part of the training cell. We look to have that completed by the end of summer, right before the start of the fall semester.”
The $1 million READI grant represents half of the total investment in the Industry 4.0 lab, with the other half coming from local sources. The lab is in its second phase of construction. Once complete, Ivy Tech will be equipped to train the local workforce in advanced manufacturing techniques to a level unmatched anywhere else in Indiana.
Peru’s riverfront revitalization project received $2.75 million in READI funding. The money will allow the development of a new YMCA, expanded recreational facilities including a splash pad and sports fields, a riverfront trail extension that connects from the site to the downtown, opportunities for entrepreneurs to develop adjacent vacant properties and much needed affordable housing for the entry-level working class.
Tipton County’s US 31/SR 28 infrastructure upgrades include the sewer and water utilities at the interchange to support a new 300-lot Arbor Homes subdivision and a proposed 30-acre retail development. These improvements will also make ready hundreds of additional acres along the SR 28 corridor for residential development and hundreds of additional acres at the interchange for additional retail and industrial development and a future Agricultural Technology Training Center near the interchange.