Columbus and its neighbors will see a ripple effect when the Honda automotive plant comes to Decatur County, according to officials.
In Columbus, that will mean an influx in housing, shopping, college enrollment and even an improvement in city residents’ wealth.
“You can feel it all over the state already, this idea that we landed Honda,” economist Morton Marcus said. “It’s like we caught the big fish.”
Marcus said 30 minutes is about the longest time most people are willing to drive for work.
Columbus is less than 30 minutes from Decatur County, which means many Columbus residents will try to land jobs at Honda.
With wages expected to start in the $20-an-hour range, those people will have more to spend on houses, goods and services, shopping, entertainment and other things, bolstering the city economy.
The outlook also looks great from the perspective of people who move from other states or countries to work at the Honda plant.
Marcus said Columbus is an “interceptor” trading area for people who do not want to drive all the way to Greensburg or Indianapolis for shopping and entertainment.
That further lifts Columbus by serving as a solid midway point.
“This is just a great thing for our city,” Columbus Mayor Fred Armstrong said, and he wished Decatur County “the best of luck.”
“We’ll have a lot of tentacles coming here,” said City Council member Ann DeVore. “It is an exciting thing to be happening all around.”
Vision 20/20, a revitalization plan for downtown Columbus, will include an entertainment district, an arts presence and a sports complex.
DeVore said that plays well into the city’s hope of giving people new to the area a reason to visit Columbus — or even to live here.
When Toyota built a plant in Gibson County over a decade ago, many workers it attracted decided to live in neighboring Vanderburgh County, possibly for the superior shopping, for example.
Bartholomew County could take on the same kind of role, Marcus said.
He said he worries only that people will leave their jobs in Columbus to work at Honda, where they might make more money. That could create a labor shortage here and force employers to compete for the same workers.
Marcus doubts that would happen. Plenty of people will be around to take the place of any holes left in the local labor force.
That bodes well for spin-off companies that always follow large developments like Honda, he said.
Spin-off companies near the plant will lead to more workers who will live, shop or play in Columbus.
Also, Columbus already has a keen automotive background, thanks to Cummins Inc., ArvinMeritor and numerous other companies.
Honda could bring business to those companies as suppliers for its automobile production, Marcus said.
Columbus City Councilman George Dutro said Honda will bring a wealth of opportunities to Columbus. He called it “one of the biggest announcements we ever have had in southern Indiana.”
He said the only negative he sees is that it will put pressure on regional companies to hike wages. A hike is a good thing for employees, but a mixed bag for employers, whose business could be hindered by the extra expense.
Bartholomew County Commissioner Carl Lienhoop said he can envision Columbus area contractors being hired to help build or design the Honda plant.
