East Central Indiana Lays Out Plans for READI Funding
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The East Central Indiana Regional Partnership has submitted its list of capital projects it wants funded as part of the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative. The partnership, which includes Blackford, Delaware, Fayette, Grant, Jay, Henry, Randolph, and Wayne counties, was awarded $15 million in READI funding.
The program requires public-private match dollars to help support regional improvements across the eight-county region.
“The READI initiative is a testament to the importance of regionalism and what we can accomplish by working together,” said Trevor Friedeberg, President & CEO of the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership. “We believe that our priority projects will help East Central Indiana to become the region of choice for talent and industry.”
Priority issues for ECIRP include:
Regional Housing and Commercial Development. The partnership says there are more than 150 acres of land will shovel and move-in- ready for housing and commercial developments. More than 250 new market-rate housing units will focus on multi-family and single-family homes, both of which are in high demand.
Regional Broadband
ECIRP says nearly 18% of regional residents report lack of access to reliable and affordable high-speed broadband. The organization says investment needs to be made in Blackford County, in particular, to attract talent and retain existing residents.
Early Childhood Education and Career Pipelines
The partnership says READI investments would allow the region to develop education and career pipelines, launch new programs and develop opportunities for upskilling and training.
Quality of Place Improvements
The organization says funding would be used to improve the region’s parks, open spaces, downtowns and cultural arts centers to attract talent.
ECIRP says it will continue to work with the IEDC to finalize project information and begin submitting recommended projects to the state’s grant management tool for final review and approval.
Click here for details on the ECIRP plan.