Warrick County READI development aims to fuel growth
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The chair of the Southwest Indiana Regional Development Authority says a mixed-use development planned for Warrick County is part of a concerted effort to promote continued growth in the area.
On Tuesday, officials detailed plans for the $71.5 million Dominion project—being supported with a $5 million READI 2.0 grant—that will feature 150 market-rate apartments, a five-story commercial building with restaurant and retail space, and an outdoor public plaza in its first phase.
Beth McFadin Higgins says Warrick County is “on fire,” particularly in the Ohio Township area where The Dominion will be built.
Higgins told Inside INdiana Business the region is looking to capitalize on the growth that Warrick County has seen recently.
“Looking at the population growth across the state of Indiana, Warrick County is one of the very few areas that has had that population increase,” she said. “If you’re riding a wave, you want to continue to ride that wave and get the the best thing for your buck.”
Higgins pointed to the $15 million Ohio Township Park project—which officials broke ground on earlier this month—as evidence of that growth. A potential sports complex and family entertainment center is also being proposed in the same area.
The Dominion development is being built at the intersection of State Road 66 and Grimm Road in Ohio Township, just a few miles east of Evansville and a short drive from the future park and sports complex.
One of the keys to the Dominion project is the outdoor plaza, which will connect to the Warrick Wellness Trail. Higgins said that public element helps bring all of the planned projects together.
“What we’re hearing is–particularly those young families and people who want to relocate here–they’re not just looking for a place to live,” she said. “They’re looking for a place to live and then to come afterwards and work, and they want to be able to walk to get their groceries and their exercise, and any other amenities. They want all of that within that area.”
Higgins said developers have found a greater need for gathering space within mixed-use developments as a means to create a similar kind of interaction among residents that you might find in a subdivision.
“They want to get to have relationships with people around them,” she said. “That could be for your kids to grow up with. It could be assistance with daycare, night outs, date night. It’s become critical to a drawing point to bring people here who weren’t raised in southern Indiana.”
Architectural and engineering work on The Dominion will begin this fall, the RDA said, with construction of the first phase slated to begin in September 2025 and be complete by the summer of 2027.
The $5 million grant from the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative is being invested along with nearly $8.5 million in TIF funding from Warrick County and the remainder coming from private developer investment.
Higgins said having the backing from the READI program—and the Regional Cities Initiative that came before it—has been a game changer for the region in terms of economic development.
“With that initial Regional Cities grant, we turned that into almost a billion dollars in infusion of private funds into our community. With READI 1.0, we’re on track to be $600 million, at least at this point,” she said. “Just having that opportunity as an economic development tool…all states don’t have that.”
Higgins noted that the state support gives regions throughout the state “skin in the game” to work with developers. She said projects like the Ohio River Vision and Strategic Plan for Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick counties would not be possible without it.
“It’s going to take what’s on the map now, and it’s going to put a big star on the map there.”