Rural leaders say READI funding creates ‘outsized impact’
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After fierce regional competition for a cut of $500 million, stakeholders in rural regions in Indiana say they are excited to tackle housing and quality of life projects in hopes of attracting more residents.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. board of directors divvied up $500 million in funding from the second round of the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI 2.0. Fifteen regions applied this round, each asking for the maximum allotment of $75 million.
While no region received the maximum—or anywhere close to it—those on the low-to-middle end of the spectrum in the first round saw significant bumps in funding this time. That includes the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership, which was awarded $35 million, a $20 million increase from the first round in 2021.
“We’re going to be able to do a lot more impact with $35 million and focus on some really high impact projects that start to turn the tide in East Central,” President and CEO Trevor Friedeberg said.
“A lot of work had to be done”
Rural areas took a larger slice of the pie this time around, and largely, stakeholders say, because they learned from their first attempt. Going into last Thursday, many of them didn’t know what to expect but left excited for the investments made on their community.
For the ECIRP, Friedeberg said their preparation started and ended with community engagement and feedback. Their proposal sought to include every corner of the nine-county region, he said, and they developed a regional development plan to guide their future spending and projects.
A roadblock some communities have to receive more READI funding is the investment match. Projects need investors, developers and local government buy-in to move forward, and rural regions generally have a smaller number of people with that type of capital to work with.
“It’s great to say this funding is there when I want to take funding and do this or that,” Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton said. “But you have to figure out the match, and that’s what drives a lot of this, because the match requirements for READI are pretty steep to be honest, so a lot of what happens in the end is determined by where you can leverage.”
Barton said his region focused its READI 1.0 money on the core of the region in the Greater Lafayette area. This round, he said he sees more of the possibility to push their $35 million allotment—up $5 million from READI 1.0—to surrounding rural counties.
Establishing a collective regional vision is also an important part of this process, Barton said. People don’t care about city limits when they drive through an area, he said, so it takes regional collaboration from all stakeholders involved to uplift a region, especially when it comes to population growth and retention.
“We understand that, by creating this collective vision, we can all get further,” Barton said. “In my case, understanding more about what’s happening in the Greater Lafayette area than I did previously is helping me make informed decisions about housing here.”
Housing a top priority
Regions are now working with the IEDC and garnering proposals on how to spend their allotments. In proposals and reflecting on their award amount, the focus is clear: housing is a critical and urgent need.
A major barrier to building housing in rural areas is the lack of infrastructure like electricity and sewer lines that, without READI, tax increment financing districts or other funding sources, is saddled on the developer, which may deter them from pursuing projects in areas desperate for housing. Barton said alleviating those costs is one way his community is building their housing stock.
“We have projects here that are really in that situation from READI 1.0 that wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t had the READI money,” he said. “It’s an exciting opportunity.”
The Lafayette area is banking several billion-dollar developments in emerging industries, Barton said, but those workplaces will need employees. The region’s focus continues to be on housing, infrastructure and quality of place to attract and retain new workers.
“It’s about growing our population in the state of Indiana, and that’s our focus in this region. Everything else is related to that,” he said. “Housing will be front and center at what we’re doing in this region, coupled with that quality of life piece.”
Barton talks about how economic development and housing go hand in hand.
Economic development often needs to start with housing, John Palmer of the Franklin County Economic Development Commission said, so eventually his region can have a workforce prepared to take on hosting a big company. A major project in Franklin County supported by READI 1.0 funds was an infrastructure project building a sewer expansion allowing for the development of at least 200 new homes.
In his region, Palmer said they are attempting to capitalize on their proximity to Cincinnati and advertise their area’s relaxed character. He mentioned creating new housing units in the existing building of downtown Brookville and assisting an ongoing senior living project at a downsizing convent in Oldenburg. In addition to housing, he said other potential projects could include parks and community gathering spaces.
Tina Peterson, CEO of Bloomington-based Regional Opportunity Initiatives Inc., said the Indiana Uplands region will be focused on the broad goals of leveraging industry, attracting talent, improving quality of place and increasing economic vitality.
They are searching for projects that touch on those goals, she said, however, housing continues to emerge as a critical piece needed to in turn grow other economic goals.
“The way we are thinking about it is that READI 1.0 and READI 2.0 build upon existing work that we’re doing in our region,” she said. “We’ve been purposeful in identifying, through engagement with all of our stakeholders, what our priorities are… and driving those priorities across the region.”
Peterson speaks about what she hopes the region continues to build on in the future.
In the Indiana Uplands region, ROI recently produced an expansive housing study with an eye toward a wave of funding opportunities ahead. It detailed that the housing shortage is widening across the region in part due to economic growth despite housing initiatives.
Another piece local leaders are conscientious of is maintaining their local character and not trying to be like Indianapolis or other cities.
“There’s a way to have development but not lose the character of your particular community,” Friedeberg said. “We just have to be smart and continue to adapt. We’re not forcing anything anywhere. There’s got to be buy-in from all sides.”
Where dollars go farther
A small investment can have an outsized impact in rural regions, stakeholders said.
Friedeberg said working in rural and disadvantaged counties can be seen both as a challenge and an opportunity. He mentioned how small projects can have a significant impact that ripples throughout a community, installing a renewed sense of pride and excitement that inspires momentum for further projects and development.
“Investing in rural areas, it can be game-changing. This money can be game-changing for our region,” he said. “It might not mean as much to other larger regions, but it means a heck of a lot to us.”
Friedeberg talks about the impact this type of funding can have on rural communities.
One rural region that received a smaller allotment than the first round was southeast Indiana near the Ohio border, which saw $10 million. Palmer said that was a disappointment. However, he said they are taking a similar approach to READI 1.0 by focusing on quality and placement as well as finding funding through other programs.
“We can be successful even with a smaller amount that we got,” he said. “There are still some areas that we can grow out or expand these programs—make them a little bit more widespread across our region.”
As for future investment in rural communities, Palmer said it’s a worthy endeavor. A major focus, he said, is population growth, and in his county, he said people can take advantage of higher salaries, be located to a major metropolitan area and relax in the peaceful atmosphere.
Money still on the table
Beyond the $500 million, each region will also be eligible to receive additional funding from the $250 million gift provided by Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. to support blight reduction efforts and the creation of new arts and culture initiatives.
The process is ongoing. However, rural stakeholders said they believe this funding could be a great way to emphasize tourism opportunities through the arts as well as redevelop eyesore areas.
Palmer said they plan to ask for money to uplift the natural resources in their county, including the Brookville Lake and dozens of miles of trails.
“We have estimated 1.8 million people a year in Franklin County because of the lake,” he said. “But they don’t leave that much money. One of the things we need to do is to improve areas where we’ll have them stop—not just bring your boat put in the water and leave.”
Reducing blighted and neglected housing and turning that into new housing is a large piece of ROI’s development plan, Peterson said. With the new funding, she said they are also looking at opportunities to support downtowns and inspire opportunities that reduce blight and promote art and culture growth hand-in-hand.
For Friedeberg, ECIRP’s first step is to evaluate their project pipeline, evaluate for overlap with this funding and weigh which have the largest potential impact.