The Journal Press.  November 10, 2009.

 

Group Aims at Accelerating I-74 Growth

 

By Denise Freitag Burdette     

Assistant News Editor

 

When it comes to economic development, offering a better package than the competition is key.  But sometimes working together is even better.   

 

Working together for the benefit of many is the idea behind a new economic development collaborative forming between Dearborn, Shelby, Rush, Decateur and Ripley counties and the City of Batesville.

 

The I-74 Business Corridor is a group of five counties and one community working to attract jobs along the 80-mile stretch that connects Indianapolis and Cincinnati, two of the nation’s largest cities, said Jim Walton, President of Brand Acceleration, Indianapolis.

 

Brand Acceleration, a full-service marketing communications, public relations and brand development firm which specializes in economic development, is helping market the Interstate 74 corridor fore the counties and city.

 

In Dearborn County, "we would market just our two tax increment financing areas along 1-74," said Mike Rozow, Dearborn County Chamber of Commerce president and member of the Dearborn County Redevelopment Commission.

 

According to the Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative web site, the St. Leon TIF District consists of about 350 acres near I-74 and Ind. 1.  The West Harrison TIF District consists of 375 acres near I-74 and U.S. 52.

 

DCEDI is a private organization designatewd to handle the sales and marketing of economic development in the county.  The public county redevelopment commission is supposed to focus on product development.

 

In March, 83 acres of the West Harrison TIF District, The Stone Trust Property, were identified by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation as “shovel ready” for development.

 

"The 1-74 Business Corridor group will help area employers in their effort to grow and expand, with the ultimate goal being more jobs for area residents.  Additionally, the group will work closely with prospective employers from outside the area to attract new business and jobs," said Walon.

 

The state is encouraging regional collaborations, said Rozow.

 

"The whole emphasis is on job creation," he said.

 

Economic development organizations along 1-74 know it is to their mutual benefit to bring

business to the region, said Walton.

 

The Honda plant in Greensburg is a good example of how one business impacted the surrounding region as suppliers for the plant were needed, he said.

 

The key target is site consultants.  They do not work in a vacuum, looking at only one county. They look at the region, said Walton.

 

After the Indiana Department of Commerce was replaced by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation in 2005, a strategic plan was formed which includes an emphasis on regional economic development and planning, said Blair West, Indiana Economic Development Corporation director of media relations.

 

Research was conducted among many economic development experts. It was shown economic development occurs on a regional level more often than at a state or local level, said West.

 

Communities are able to think, plan and act with combined resources, she said.

 

For example, if a major employer is impacted in one community, the positive or negative effects also are felt by surround communities, she said.

 

A snapshot of regional economic development groups in Indiana can be found at www.in.gov/iedc/tilesIREDO _Map_9.10.09(1).pdf.  The map shows 10 economic development collaborations throughout the state.  But three new groups, 1-74 Business Corridor, Radius -Indiana (south central Indiana) and the Midwest Group (northwest/central Indiana) have formed since the map was updated at the end of the summer, said West.

 

One of the groups listed on the map, One Southern Indiana, consisting of Clark and Floyd counties, was named Business Retention and Expansion Program of the Year by the International Economic Development Council, she said.

 

A collaboration of Southeastern Indiana counties, the Southeast Indiana Economic Growth Alliance, is in the works, which would include Dearborn County, said Rozow.

 

The group has only met three or four times at this point. The next step probably will be finding someone like Brand Acceleration to help with marketing and the message the group wants to sell, he said.

 

I-74 Business Corridor group will meet as needed. There are no set meeting times, said Walton.

 

The group currently has a logo and a Web site, to be located at www.I-74biz.com, and will be up and running probably some time at the beginning of the year.

 

The Web site will list available properties, land and buildings, and quality of life information for each of the participating communities. The benefits of the I-74 corridor will be listed as well as links to all the participating community economic development Web sites, he said.

 

Meanwhile, Dearborn County, working closely with DCEDI, also is making additional efforts to promote the area has a prime spot for economic development, said Rozow.  

 

He visited Japan with the a group traveling with Gov. Mitch Daniels earlier this year. Sales calls have been made in Chicago and New York and the county was represented during a site selection seminar in Indianapolis. A biotech show in Atlanta also was attended, said Rozow.