Pike County Partners Unveil Master Plan For Massive Acreage
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA long-term strategic plan focused on developing 4,000 acres off of I-69 in southwest Indiana has been released. The Pike County I-69 Interchange master plan is designed to boost retail, commercial, residential and industrial investment opportunities near Petersburg. Properties involved in the initiative, which was launched last year, include a portion of the massive Southwest Indiana Megasite. In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Pike County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Ashley Willis said the potential for the site is endless.
"What our target is here is generational change," she said. "It’s not going to be a one-hit wonder. This is going to be a generational development for all these different sectors." Industries including manufacturing, processing and production, warehousing and health care, Willis says, would be prime for the properties located near the I-69 and State Road 61 junction.
The release of the 137-page master plan is the culmination of a multi-year process. Key partners include the PCEDC, Bowman Family Holdings Inc., which owns the 8,000-acre Southwest Indiana Megasite, city and county leaders, and a planning team made up of Indianapolis-based Rundell Ernstberger Associates, global firm AECOM and Midwestern Engineers Inc., which has offices in Loogootee and Indianapolis.
BFH Business Development Executive John Mandabach says "we believe Pike County is ideally positioned along the I-69 corridor and is the perfect location for large scale capital investments. The master plan represents a concerted effort from our local officials and the business community, to aggressively attract investment to our community and bring generational development to southwest Indiana."
Additional stakeholders along the I-69 corridor — the first leg of which opened more than five years ago and the construction process to connect it between Evansville and Indianapolis via sections in Marion, Johnson, Morgan and Monroe counties continues — are attempting to capitalize on the interstate’s economic potential. Communities like Washington in Daviess County have launched their own strategic plans, but Willis says Pike County’s offerings are different. "The most unique thing about our corridor with Petersburg and I-69 is the amount of land acreage we have available for development." She says the 4,000 acres included in the plan come from a combination of properties from 10 different land owners.
With the strategic framework now public, Willis urges patience, saying the "smart development process" approach at the property will continue. "Just because the earth isn’t moving out there at our corridor, it doesn’t meant things aren’t happening," she says. "This is something that my grandkids will probably still see to continue to develop, at least that’s our vision."
You can connect to more about the Southwest Indiana Megasite in Pike County by clicking here.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Pike County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Ashley Willis said the potential for the site is endless.