Industrial parks growing in Wayne County
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Wayne County saw a big year for economic development in 2022. The annual report from the Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County released this month shows businesses invested $44.1 million to grow their operations, leading to 205 jobs being created or retained.
But the two main business parks in the county – the Midwest Industrial Park in Richmond and the Gateway Industrial Park in Cambridge City – also saw growth last year, and plans are in place for continued expansion.
The annual report highlighted the EDC’s partnership with the city of Richmond and Wayne County to acquire 335 additional acres for $4.4 million to create a Phase III for the Midwest Industrial Park.
The first phase of the business park, developed in the early 2000s, totaled 374 acres, and was followed by a 166-acre second phase. EDC of Wayne County President Valerie Shaffer told Inside INdiana Business the business park ran out of the space needed by potential tenants.
“Over the years, we’ve been successful in attracting nine tenants to the Midwest Industrial Park,” Shaffer said. “And what that has left us is a number of remaining lots that range anywhere from five to 32-and-a-half acres that don’t really meet the needs of larger tenants. And so it was our desire to look at expanding the park to acquire a larger tracts of ground to accommodate larger companies and their needs.”
Shaffer said having the extra land will allow the EDC to compete for larger projects, working closely with the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
She cited the collaboration among government entities that has supported the continued growth at the Richmond business park.
“We’re very fortunate to have strong elected official partners. The EDC actually leases the ground that’s actually owned by the city of Richmond, and that gives the EDC the ability to vet prospects and actually recommend land sales and incentive packages to the city of Richmond for their consideration.”
Since acquiring the additional acreage in September, Shaffer said the EDC has submitted for numerous projects and hosted several site visits from potential tenants.
But it isn’t just the new third phase of the Midwest Industrial Park that saw growth last year. The annual report spotlighted the completion of wetland mitigation that has allowed for a small expansion on the Phase I property.
“It took us about a year to mitigate those wetlands. But what it did is open up a new 20-acre site that we’re now able to market as well,” Shaffer said.
And just this year, the existing areas of the business park have already seen more investment than in all of 2022 combined.
In January, New York-based Liberation Labs detailed plans to invest $115 million to build a commercial-scale biomanufacturing facility in the park’s Phase I and add 45 jobs.
Additionally, Connecticut-based Blue Buffalo Co. Ltd. said in March it would invest $200 million to build a 169,000-square-foot addition to its existing facility and add up to 60 jobs by the end of 2024.
The Gateway Industrial Park in Cambridge City is also being primed for additional business growth. Last year, current tenants Taconic Biosciences and Dot Transportation announced expansion in the park.
The 244-acre park has about 96 acres of shovel-ready sites, but Shaffer said a lack of infrastructure had previously prevented the EDC from being able to market the park.
“We have one really large user that was using the remainder of its wastewater treatment capacity. But in the spring this year, we’re hoping to open a new 1.8 million gallon per day wastewater treatment plant to support that industrial park. So we’ll be wide open for business.”
Shaffer said the new wastewater treatment plant should be open “any day now.”