Lisa Esquivel Long, (Kendallville) News-Sun
FORT WAYNE — Ryan Twiss’ finger shook as he pressed the button on Northeast Indiana’s $75 million READI 2.0 grant application Feb. 16. However, soon he got the confirmation email and got busy notifying all the groups invested.
Asked by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership leader if he was celebrating, Twiss recalled saying, “No, I got people to tell.”
Twiss, the vice president of Regional Initiatives for the partnership, submitted the application, which seeks the maximum amount, for projects in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Kosciusko, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties.
Gov. Eric J. Holcomb announced Friday that Northeast Indiana was one of 15 regions representing all 92 counties that submitted proposals for quality of life and quality of place funding through the expansion of the Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative.
READI 2.0 is offering a second round of $500 million to accelerate community development investments statewide, and it will be invested alongside $250 million in grant funding awarded by the Lilly Endowment Inc., the state announced. This funding is expected to attract a minimum 4:1 match of local, public and private funding, yielding at least $3 billion invested to increase the vibrancy and prosperity of Hoosier communities.
Northeast Indiana’s proposal includes projects to “Accelerate the region’s trajectory as an innovative, vibrant and winning region by growing hardtech and medtech industry leadership, fostering creative sector innovation, and supporting population growth through infrastructure, housing, childcare, education innovation, community connectivity and cultural vibrancy.”
Three sectors are focused on in the application: creative, hardtech and advanced manufacturing, Twiss said.
• Creative: Allen County’s Sweetwater Sound and Greater Fort Wayne Inc.’s Allen County Together plan’s goal of becoming a top10 music city by 2031.
• Hardtech: The region has Steel Dynamics, Inc. and the two most manufacturing-heavy congressional districts in the United States
• Advanced manufacturing: Kosciusko is home to the Zimmer Biomet and the Orthopedics Capital of the World in Warsaw
The key goals of education innovation, jobs infrastructure, housing and early childhood encircle quality of life.
“At the end of the day it’s all about jobs and population growth,” Twiss said. “You can get people here, you can give them houses to live in, but if they don’t like it they’re probably not going to stay, so we can’t overlook the quality of life here.”
According to the application, it aligns with the state’s economic development goals.
“With an enhanced housing strategy, the plan will increase residential construction, potentially adding 3,992 new households from outside the region over a decade,” according to the executive summary. “This growth is projected to create 1,714 jobs, increase wages by $88.4 million, add $162.3 million in regional economic value, and total an additional output of $286.5 million. The resulting tax revenues are substantial: over $16 million for local governments, $12.6 million for the state, and $20.7 million federally.
“Addressing the early childhood care crisis could reintegrate 8,987 “work willing” parents into the workforce, resulting in an estimated increase of almost $570.7 million in wages and over $20 million in combined state and local income taxes.”
READI 2.0 was part of the governor’s 2023 Next Level Agenda and approved by the Indiana General Assembly. READI 1.0 has awarded $487 million to 353 unique projects and programs across the state, yielding $12.6 billion invested (26:1 investment leverage ratio) in quality of life, quality of place and quality of opportunity initiatives.
Northeast Indiana received $50 million from READI 1.0, which has provided money for Fort Wayne’s riverfront, space for remote workers along with a community gathering space in Adams County, Wells County’s Southern Wells Early Childhood Center, Trine University’s Fort Wayne campus’ Brooks College of Health Professions facility, along with many others.