Knox County Indiana Economic Development is sporting a new name — and now a new website, too.
Two months ago, the organization — formerly the Knox County Development Corp. (KCDC) — officially began the process of rebranding it self and approved the use of a new logo for the first time in years. With that then in hand, creators with TD Advertising in Columbus moved into the final stage of developing a new website to go with it.
Leslie Beard, the organization’s marketing committee chair, unveiled the new website — announcing that it is now officially live to the public — to members during their regular meeting held Friday morning at Vincennes University’s newly-renovated Learning Resource Center.
“There’s a lot of animation,” she said scrolling through the new website, a giant screen reflecting its images.
The new home page rotates through images of the city’s Fourth of July fireworks on the banks of the Wabash River, its rich agricultural industry as well as moments captured within VU’s campus.
“It’s eye-catching,” she said, “updated, and there’s a lot of big graphics here.”
The website is already loaded with information about Knox County and what it has to offer potential new industry and business leaders, but officials with Knox County Indiana Economic Development opted to highlight three areas they see as the area’s biggest draws: connections to its investment partners, existing Opportunity Zones and other tax incentives.
For instance, the new website features an easy-to-use graphical map of the county’s Opportunity Zones as well as a downloadable prospectus developed by the organization to better outline their benefits.
The idea behind these Opportunity Zones, an initiative approved by Gov. Eric Holcomb years ago, is to spur development in economically depressed areas. Selection was limited to certain Census tracts that qualify as low income, or with a poverty rate of at least 20-%.
Knox County has two, areas comprised much of downtown Vincennes. The boundary lines extend from downtown Main Street north to Niblack Boulevard, from the Wabash River east to Upper 11th St. and as far as North Sixth Street out past St. Clair Street.
The incentive for businesses is in the deferment of a small percentage of capital gains taxes over a period of ten years. Essentially, the longer the businesses are there, the more potential savings there would be.
The city’s two Opportunity Zones have been popular amongst investors, and Knox County Indiana Economic Development’s CEO Chris Pfaff said he’s already directed people to the website to check out the organization’s prospectus, developed by locals with a grant two years ago.
The website, too, has direct links to a handful of local industry leaders as well as initiatives like its CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program for high-school juniors and seniors.
Links also exist to direct visitors to the results of a recent housing study as well as a survey identifying gaps in high-speed internet service.
Communication, too, is made easy, Beard said.
“Almost every page has a quick message at the bottom where people can easily contact us,” she pointed out.
Front and center, too, is a listing of all the sites the organization has for sale, ones primarily located in the U.S. 41 Industrial Park.
Pfaff said that was high on his wish-list, an easy-to-find site selector.
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