A $22 million renovation of a vacant Terre Haute factory building into space for entrepreneurial collaboration is among the projects proposed in a statewide competition for development funds.
Representatives from Vigo, Sullivan and Knox counties — forming the Wabash River region — were among six other regions to submit formal applications to the state for the Regional Cities Initiative. The initiative is geared toward increasing Indiana’s population by improving quality of life. Two of the regions will receive $42 million grants each, using funds from a tax amnesty program.
Under the region’s proposal, the former ICON building on North First Street would become the new home of Launch Terre Haute, an organization that provides space for freelancers and startup businesses to collaborate on projects.
Launch would occupy the ground level of the three-story building, and about 125 apartments would fill the rest.
“The idea being that if we reach out to various elements of our communities and make a space available where they could live, work and, I guess, conceivably play, that it would enhance our region, provide an opportunity for younger folks to gather and work together and live together,” said David Haynes, president of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, a participating stakeholder in the region’s plan.
Indiana State University is joining other local higher education institutions and Core Redevelopment, an Indianapolis-based general contractor, to conduct the renovation, according to the region’s plan. ISU’s Gibson Track and Field Complex sits next to ICON’s building, which also once housed the American Can Co.
The project’s estimated timeline runs from 2016-2018, including pre-development work, budget committee approval and construction, the plan states. Core Redevelopment has identified 60 percent of the private funding.
In a letter of support attached to the plan, ISU President Dan Bradley said the university has worked closely with local community and government to “strategically grow its campus footprint” along the river.
Haynes said the region’s idea is not intended to replace any other ongoing efforts, but that the ICON proposal captures several needs for making the area a better place to live, work and play.
The Wabash River’s region planning committee included: Greg Goode from ISU, Rachel Leslie from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Kristin Craig from the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, Sullivan Mayor Clint Lamb, Phil Rath of Vincennes University, and Kent Utt and Becky Litherland of the Knox County Development Corp.
Other local proposed projects include the Ivy Tech Precision Agricultural Center. That would involve the $2 million renovation of a facility in the Vigo County Industrial Park.
The center would be a high-tech lab for precision agriculture — the concept of pinpointing the location of a piece of agricultural equipment in use — and heavy-to-medium diesel, according to the plan.
Ivy Tech’s precision ag program has been approved for the Wabash Valley region. Should the center’s funding be approved, full program implementation is possible within one year, the plan states.
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is the proposed location for a new, $4.9 million equine facility, according to the plan. The 30,800 square-foot building would house academic equine programming. It is expected to be complete next fall.
The college received a $500,000 gift to advance the project, according to the plan.
“The proposed SMWC Equine Indoor Arena will align with the Mari Hulman George School of Equine Studies, and allow for expanded programming in equine assisted therapy, the only recognized minor of its kind in the United States,” SMWC President Dottie King wrote in a letter of support.
For Sullivan, the proposal includes an ongoing $2.3 million civic center and plaza project on the site of the former Central Elementary School.
Two years ago, the town demolished the school, but left its gymnasium intact. A steering committee later pinpointed the land for a community gathering area, Lamb told the Tribune-Star. Work began to convert the gymnasium into space for weddings, receptions and other events.
The civic center is scheduled to be dedicated on Sept. 18.
The Sullivan project’s second phase involves building outdoor entertainment for the plaza, which is named for the school. A third phase is still to be determined, but Lamb said it could involve a public-private partnerships.
Lamb said the city was excited about the opportunity to participate in the initiative with Vigo and Knox counties and pleased the state was putting together such a program.
“It’s all about attracting people,” he said. “And once you attract people to your community, business follows.”
The proposal also included Sullivan’s blight elimination program, which is ongoing through next year. The city received about $1.1 million in state funding to eliminate nearly 65 blighted homes.
As of the time the proposal was submitted at month’s end, 45 of the homes had been approved for demolition, and the city is able to replace unapproved homes with potential new homes up to the $1.1 million granted.
A brief overview of Knox County proposals includes:
• Renovating the old downtown Hills building in Vincennes as the new corporate headquarters for Pioneer Oil, currently based in Illinois. The company will employ 35 administrative positions and about 200 Indiana-hired employees.
• Converting Vincennes’ Pantheon Theater into a 5,700-square-foot community center and meeting room and primary care/walk-in clinic for Good Samaritan Hospital.
• Remodeling the New Moon Theater, also in Vincennes, currently used as a church and laser tag facility.
All together, plans proposed by the seven statewide regions total more than $3.8 billion in investments for more than 400 projects, according to a news release from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., the initiative’s administrator.
Shared spaces for entrepreneurs was a common idea among the regions, IEDC media relations manager Abby Gras said. Connectivity was another popular theme, she said, with several plans for walking trails and public transportation.
The initiative’s strategic review committee will recommend the winning regions to IEDC’s board during its fourth-quarter meeting in December, Gras said.
Like the other participating regions, Wabash River’s is required to establish a Regional Development Authority, a five-member body charged with prioritizing projects to receive funding. Members would be appointed by governmental bodies in Vigo, Sullivan and Knox counties; members cannot be officeholders.
Haynes said the region has reached out to the corresponding boards or councils and will move forward with pursuing ordinances.
He said the region is open to other ideas beyond those outlined in the plan.
“What we needed to do was touch on a few things that were both creative, visionary, maybe to some degree out of the box,” Haynes said. “But we’re also open to projects that we could maybe attach a number to and attach some more focus to.”