Study: River Ridge created nearly $3B impact for region
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The River Ridge Commerce Center generated $2.93 billion in economic impact for southern Indiana in 2023, up from more than $2.7 billion the previous year, according to a new report released Wednesday.
The study, conducted by Indianapolis-based Policy Analytics LLC, said the 6,000-acre business and office park in Jeffersonville and Charlestown also saw a year-over-year increase in private, direct employment.
“Growth at River Ridge continues to benefit Southern Indiana and the [Louisville] metro area,” River Ridge Executive Director Jerry Acy said in a news release. “Our commitment to providing a world-class industrial park through the development of quality infrastructure including 2023 investments of $6 million in new roads and another $6.2 million in improved utilities.”
River Ridge, which is home to some 80 companies, directly employed just over 12,000 people last year, but the report also credits the business park with supporting an additional 6,550 regional jobs.
In 2023, the companies located at River Ridge generated $48.4 million in state and local tax revenue, with wages from these business operations generating $884 million in total labor income.
Acy said the numbers build upon nearly two decades of infrastructure investment by the development authority.
“We strive to create an environment which attracts and grows private investment and job creation, and project announcements in 2023 from some of the largest companies in the world prove this strategy is producing results,” he said.
In late October, two major development projects were announced for River Ridge. California-based The Cheesecake Factory Inc. said it would invest more than $74 million to build a bakery operation at the Charlestown end of the park and create more than 200 jobs by 2025.
Just days later, Canadian Solar said it would invest $800 million to build a solar photovoltaic cell production facility on the Jeffersonville side and create 1,200 jobs over the next several years.
Additionally, Meta Platforms Inc., the parent of Facebook and Instagram, is planning to establish an $800 million data center as the first phase of a future campus at River Ridge and create about 100 jobs. While the deal was announced in January, River Ridge transferred the land to Meta in December.
“We have so much to celebrate from the past 12 months, but the fun is just beginning,” said Dr. Treva Hodges, mayor of Charlestown and president of the RRDA Board of Directors. “The River Ridge Development Authority’s talented, professional staff, together with my fellow board members’ leadership and vision, has energized us in envisioning what our economic development future can be.”
River Ridge said nearly $91 million in private development last year is expected to bring an additional 2.3 million square feet of industrial space once completed.
And the business park is expecting that space to fill up, as potential new businesses filed a record 126 request for proposals and hosted 38 on-site visits, more than double the number of visits in 2022.