Hulman building project aims to boost economic development
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The executive vice president of Gibson Development Inc. in Terre Haute says the redevelopment of the former Hulman & Co. building will be a boon for economic development. The developer is planning to transform the 130-year-old building in the city’s downtown into a West Central Business Hub that will house several organizations including the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce and Terre Haute Economic Development Corp.
“The concept of locating all of those like-minded entities in one building has been discussed for several years,” said Brian Kooistra.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Kooistra said bringing all of the entities under one roof creates many benefits.
“[There is] the benefit to each of those entities in being able to co-locate and collaborate and work together with people that generally have the same mission and goal in mind,” Kooistra said. “The other benefit, and probably more importantly, is for existing businesses within our community and those from outside our community that that are looking to locate in Terre Haute. Having all of those resources under one roof, providing kind of a one one stop shop, we think is really going to streamline and accommodate those people much better.”
The seven-floor Hulman building was acquired in June 2020 by Terre Haute businessman Greg Gibson. Kooistra said once that happened, it wasn’t a hard sell to get the organizations on board.
When renovations are complete, the first two floors of the building will house the Launch Terre Haute coworking space, the Terre Haute Redevelopment Department, the Terre Haute Metropolitan Planning Organization and Western Indiana Workforce Investment Board Inc., in addition to the chamber and EDC.
Plans for the remaining floors are still being developed, but Kooistra said additional office and residential space is on the table.
“We look to reinvent the building and what it means to downtown and what it can be for years to come,” he said. “The upper floors are largely a blank slate, about 14,000 square feet per floor. It just really has a really neat, industrial feel to it along with the history of the building. I think it’s really going to generate some interest amongst other businesses in town that are looking for space to rent and move their operations there.”
Kooistra added in addition to the economic development benefits the project could bring to the city and region in general, it also helps fuel continued growth specifically in downtown Terre Haute.
The Hulman building project is being boosted by a a $500,000 grant from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative awarded earlier this year, which is being matched with local funding.
Kooistra said having that funding made the difference in getting the effort off the ground.
“This project is just representative of how that public-private partnership can help spur development and help move things forward that maybe without it wouldn’t happen. [It’s] an acknowledgement of how those efforts are being put into play here, and we’re thankful for that.”
Gibson Development is currently of obtaining bids for infrastructure improvements and other work for the project. Kooistra said they hope to begin construction in February and then begin moving tenants into the building early in the second quarter of 2023.