Ingalls moving to capitalize on I-69 development

Mar. 27—INGALLS — Less than five miles from Neil Stevenson's office, earth-moving bulldozers and other machinery are transforming patches of land along County Road 800 South near Interstate 69.

Early work on the Ingalls Innovation District serves as a suitable illustration for the task Stevenson and other town officials are taking on: Tap into opportunities that come with development in a prime location along one of the country's busiest highways, and use them to revitalize a historic downtown area lacking several amenities that are commonplace in many small towns.

"People ask me like, where is your downtown?" said Stevenson, who has served as the town's manager and planning director since 2021. "We have the start of it, but it's not formalized. What's nice is, we don't necessarily need to rely on economic development here to get the funding for infrastructure improvement. That's happening up near Exit 214."

The innovation district has already drawn a total of $3.7 million in current and planned investments from the public sector, with more than $30 million committed by private entities. Planned industrial complexes include advanced manufacturing and warehousing facilities, commercial and retail outlets and residential space, Stevenson said. He noted that other preliminary discussions have included concepts for sustainable food production, agritourism and other commerce that would attract visitors regionally.

Those possibilities, Stevenson said, "are going to have huge implications for the surrounding communities as well. You talk about Lapel and Fortville, I think many of those people have to drive to Fishers...or they've got to go to Noblesville.

"This (development) could mean you wouldn't have to drive to Anderson or Noblesville anymore to get your groceries."

The district resides entirely within a tax increment financial district, which Stevenson said provides compelling advantages for funneling development fees and other revenue into infrastructure improvements and other quality-of-life projects that would benefit residents.

"We can capture the incremental revenue in that TIF district and spend it on infrastructure improvements, not only for that area but also down here in the old part of town," he said.

Stevenson pointed to landscaping and sidewalk improvements and formalizing on-street parking spots as examples of small projects that would make the area "really feel like a downtown."

Other, larger scale projects would be tackled with income from the town's newly implemented park impact fees, which will require residential developers to pay the town approximately $1,500 for each new housing unit they build. That money will fund future improvements to Ingalls' park system, including walking and biking trails and other amenities.

Stevenson said planning for and tracking development in the Exit 214 area as well as updating the town's core is a balancing act.

"It's really like planning for two different communities at times," he said. "We want to try to maintain the character of the community but also get revenue that we need to improve the quality of life. There are two ideas there, and sometimes it's hard to pass up on new development just because the amount of revenue we do get does help us improve the quality of life of our residents."

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