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Boone EDC Weekly
Greetings from the Boone EDC,
Welcome to Boone EDC Weekly.
As an organization, the Boone EDC is constantly researching and benchmarking to learn what our competing communities are doing to attract and retain business. Boone EDC Weekly is a compilation of noteworthy National and Indiana news about economic development trends. We will also post information about upcoming conferences, events and webinars that you may find interesting.
Boone EDC Weekly is another tool that you can refer to as a community leader to help Boone County continue to move forward in a positive manner.
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Eli Lilly Trades Parking Lot For Downtown Feel
The New York Times - Keith Scheinder
Virtually since its founding in 1876, the drug maker Eli Lilly's stature as this city's most prominent corporate resident has rarely been questioned. Still, it has been decades since the people who work at the company's headquarters have been offered a strong connection to the city's downtown, which has steadily developed into one of the most engaging business, trade and entertainment destinations in the Midwest.
That could soon change.
Next month, the first two mixed-use retail and residential buildings will open at CityWay, a $155 million, 600,000-square-foot new urban neighborhood. CityWay is rising from 14 acres of land, owned by Lilly and used for years as a parking lot that separated the company's corporate campus in southeast Indianapolis from Monument Circle, the core of downtown.
Click here to learn more.
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It's About People, Northeast Indiana Leaders Say
Herald Republican - Kathryn Bassett
Five northeast Indiana industry leaders delivered a message with a common theme Thursday: People are the best resources for a company's success.
The area businessmen spoke in a panel discussion for the Northeast Indiana Regional Economic Development Forum at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum. The event was hosted by economic development agencies in DeKalb, Noble, Steuben and LaGrange counties.
"It all gets down to the people," Jon Jensen, president and CEO of Group Dekko, said. The biggest challenge facing his company is finding technical talent, Jensen added. To address that need, the company has begun an internship project that allows potential employees to get inside the plant and see the possibilities. Mike Sutter, president and CEO of Michiana Laminated Products, said his company has difficulty finding potential employees who have "soft skills" such as a positive attitude, a strong work ethic, willingness to show up for work and initiative. "It doesn't do us any good to have somebody who is skilled with a piece of equipment if they're not going to come to work," Sutter said. He said the message, "The only thing I have to sell is the ability to do a good job," is not being taken to heart. |
Local Planning for Global Competitiveness (Spotlight on Carmel, IN)
Smart Growth America - Nicholas Chang
Carmel, IN wasn't always the best place to live. As a suburb contiguous to Indianapolis, it faced the same challenges to development that many suburbs near large cities confront.
However, under the leadership of Mayor Jim Brainard, Carmel has managed to become the kind of place that appeals to families and businesses alike. By anchoring its redevelopment efforts around an Arts & Business District and a City Center, Carmel has found a way to boost economic development while bettering quality of life.
"We had to figure out how we were going to compete," Brainard says. "We realized that if we wanted to succeed, we had to make Carmel a place that the best and brightest - from around the country and around the world - would want to live in. And we had to do it through the built environment."
The population of Carmel has more than tripled since 1990 - the town is now home to about 80,000 residents - but it's not just families that are moving to Carmel. Businesses are also drawn to the city, which in recent years has become a hub for the knowledge and service economy, particularly in the bioscience and medical sectors. A full third of Carmel's tax base is from commercial sources - a much larger percentage than most towns in the U.S. - illustrating its intense concentration of business activity and showing what accessible downtown development can do for local economies.
But how did Carmel become this way? The answer lies in focused and thoughtful smart growth planning. The Arts & Design District was first, giving residents a taste for the kind of concentrated development that characterizes Carmel today. With hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment, born from a robust public-private partnership, the city created a thriving arts area, focusing on walkability with a keen eye for architecture.
Click here to learn more.
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FedEx Project gets OK
Zionsville Times Sentinel - Matt Werner Zionsville will be home to a 350,000-square-foot FedEx Ground distribution center by summer 2014. The plan commission approved the primary plat and development plan during its meeting Monday night, Sept. 17. Courtney Lehman, a Zionsville resident and development manager for FedEx advisor Scannell Properties, presented an overview of the plan to the commission. Lehman said FedEx and Scannell went to great lengths to make the Zionsville facility unique. "Between 60 and 70 percent of the buildings we do for FedEx are metal buildings," he said. "Rarely does FedEx go to this extent. We thought it would be more aesthetically pleasing to have brick panels. The glass (that is shown on the rendering) is purely for aesthetics. We intermixed vertical brick panels to break up what otherwise would be a mundane block of wall." |
Association Names District Superintendents of the Year Award
Inside Indiana Business Dr. Robert L. Taylor, superintendent of Lebanon Community School Corporation, was chosen by members of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents as the 2013 District V Superintendent of the Year. Winners are selected by other superintendents in their district who consider the qualifications and accomplishments of area colleagues and their instructional leadership in a time of limited resources. Lebanon Community Schools Corporation has faced ongoing fiscal challenges and limited resources over the last several years. Under Taylor's leadership, the district began a collaborative effort to reduce expenditures in non-instructional areas, ultimately resulting in $200,000 saved in utility costs alone. In approaching a $2 million funding deficit, Taylor managed to keep instruction and curriculum as a top priority and educational programming remained unaffected. |
CDFA WebCourse: Intro to Public-Private Partnerships
The Intro Public- Private Partnership Finance WebCourse examines this emerging development finance model with a focus on how development finance agencies can adopt P3 principles to address a variety of projects. This course will cover basic P3 concepts, key players involved in transactions, asset valuation, contract negotiation, risk assessment, revenue stream development and feasibility analysis. In addition, several P3 projects from across the country will be presented, and P3 experts will analyze the successful elements in each deal.
When: December 12-13
Time: Noon - 5 PM
Cost: Member $550 Non-Member $600
Click here to learn more.
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Fanimation Invites You to Urbanjet Release Party
You are invited to join Fanimation for a family friendly event celebrating the release of their new retro-styled URBANJET desk fan. See over 450 antique fans in their Antique Fan Museum and drool over a variety of cool classic cars while dinner on delicious FREE food from Edwards Drive-In Dashboard Diner food truck. When: Saturday, September 29 Where: 10983 Bennett Pkwy, Zionsville, IN 46077 Time: 11:00AM to 2:00 PM Cost: FREE |
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Support Witham
Meeting your needs can now help Witham Health Services serve the community better. Thanks to a new partnership, proceeds from orders placed on Amazon.com through the Witham Health Services Foundation's website will provide a new source of financial support.
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Meeting Dates
Boone County Commissioners: - October 1 @ 9 a.m. Boone County Council: - October 9 @ 8:30 a.m. Boone County APC: - October 3 @ 7 p.m. Boone County RDC: - October 19 @ 2 p.m. Advance Town Council: - October 8 @ 7 p.m. Jamestown Town Council: - October 2 @ 7 p.m. Lebanon City Council: - September 24 @ 7 p.m. Thorntown Town Council: - October 15 @ 7 p.m. Whitestown Town Council: - October 9 @ 6:30 p.m. Zionsville Town Council: - October 1 @ 7 p.m. Boone EDC Board of Directors: - September 27 @ 4 p.m. Boone EDC Executive Committee:
- October 11 @ 7:30 a.m.
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