Dream big, they say.
Bartholomew, Jackson and Jennings counties and Edinburgh have done just that with a $49.5 million wish list submitted to the state last week.
Like other Hoosier regions, the so-called South Central Indiana Talent Region is competing for a slice of $500 million in READI grants. READI stands for Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative.
READI grants aim to steer strategic investments toward projects that will attract and retain talent, encourage economic growth, bolster available housing and improve quality of life. These are all big but interconnected aims, and local community stakeholders who participated in planning the grant proposal have worked well together in delivering a detailed pitch with many projects worth state funding.
The South Central Indiana Talent Region is bound together not just by geography, but also by a manufacturing economy largely driven by Cummins Inc. Cummins employs some 8,000 people in the region, where more than 37 percent of the workforce is employed in manufacturing — more than four times the national average, the proposal notes.
So it’s unsurprising that the biggest-ticket item in the grant request is the proposed Mobility Test Park and Proving Ground at the former Walesboro Airport.
Cummins and its emissions control partner Faurecia already use the former airport runways as a test track. They’ve proposed a major research and development facility there, planning a $31.8 million investment. They’re seeking $6.9 million in READI funds, matched by a like amount in local public funds.
This project could have untold benefits. It’s shovel-ready 12 months from funding. It appears to check all the grant boxes. Its benefits would ripple across all three counties. Community stakeholders are behind it. The state should fund it.
Another big-ticket READI grant proposal with wide community buy-in is the proposed redevelopment of Columbus’ former Fair Oaks Mall.
The City of Columbus and Columbus Regional Health now own the property and have big plans for it. The proposed NexusPark would be an adaptive reuse of the property with an indoor fieldhouse, along with CRH medical and wellness offices. The total cost of the redevelopment would be about $79 million. READI is being asked for $6 million of that sum.
This is a viable and worthy project that would revive a community destination in a central location. It scores a goal as a quality-of-life project worth the state’s investment.
Elsewhere, Jennings County asks for $4.9 million in READI grants to fund its proposed $10 million Panther Vocational Training Center at Jennings County High School. Invested as our region is in manufacturing, this would be a worthy project to train and hopefully retain talent.
Overall, the grant proposal is rich with projects large and small that merit consideration, and frankly, some that are dubious and may not meet the grant parameters. You be the judge — the entire proposal is online, with details for each proposed project.
Not all of the proposals will be funded. Not all dreams come true.
But the reality is, the document is a virtuous example of regionalism. It provides us a view of where we are, and where we could be, in the ongoing and competitive process of making our communities more thriving, successful and desirable place to live.
