Several of central Indiana’s mayors who gathered Wednesday at an event to discuss economic development emphasized how growing regionalism through quality of place, transportation expansion and clear branding is critical to overall development and workforce retention.
The Indy Chamber hosted 10 mayors at its State of the Region event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The roster included Mayors Joe Hogsett of Indianapolis, Steve Barnett of Franklin, Chris Jensen of Noblesville, Mark Myers of Greenwood and Scott Furgeson of Shelbyville.
The panel also included several first-year mayors: Sue Finkam of Carmel, Scott Willis of Westfield, John Stehr of Zionsville, James Coffman of Beech Grove and Deb Whitfield of Lawrence.
Establishing a regional brand
Noblesville’s Jensen said the mission and message of what the region stands for needs to be nailed down and then publicized. He said cities are stronger together and need to collaborate to be more competitive nationally.
“I love the Hoosier Hospitality like the next guy, but we got to chuck it to the side, get out there and be aggressive,” he said, “And tell the rest of the world what central Indiana stands for.”
Part of building that regional identity also means all stakeholders need to get involved, Jensen said, including philanthropic entities and the private sector.
Competitiveness with growing cities like Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, is motivating the Indianapolis region to be better and offer more, Carmel’s Finkam said.
“It creates a hunger for this region,” she said. “You can’t rest on our laurels and not come together.”
It’s important to identify and amplify what sets an area apart, Finkam said. She said Carmel is currently re-evaluating its messaging to ensure its branding is about a characteristic it can own.
“What we’re trying to do in this process is find that spark, find that unique little jumpstart that builds a fire that people want to gather around,” she said. “And then we can use branded stories to get them to stay in the fire.”
Touting a city as a great place to “live, work, play, retire” is tired language that everyone uses, and it is pivotal city leaders rise above typical and vague language that doesn’t clearly represent their community.
Sports a driver for growth
Sports will continue to be a major industry for Indianapolis’ growth, Hogsett said, and specifically mentioned his administration’s plan to attract a Major League Soccer team that will play at a new downtown stadium. It’s part of what he calls a plan to “accentuate the positive.”
“It’s critical for our long-term vision to continue to grow on sports,” Hogsett said. “In that regard, I’ve been spending time on soccer.”
The Indianapolis City-County Council on Monday approved a major piece of the Hogsett administration’s plan by voting in favor of a new professional sports development area intended to fund a soccer stadium.
Noblesville will also soon be home to a 3,400-seat arena for Pacers Sports & Entertainment’s Mad Ants NBA G League team. Jensen said the project is expected to drive millions of dollars of economic impact to the region.
Youth sports also are a ballooning tourism magnet in Hamilton County. Westfield’s Grand Park is bringing millions of visitors to the area, Willis said, but the city needs to do a better job of capturing hotel and dinner reservations in its city limits. City leaders are seeking to turn Westfield into even more of a destination.
Workforce retention starts with quality of place
Mayors highlighted how growing the population of their cities starts with improving quality of place through investments in downtowns, parks and trails.
The mayors exchanged compliments about each other’s downtowns, especially offering praise to Franklin, Zionsville and Beech Grove, and spoke about the importance strong downtowns have in bolstering communities. Lawrence’s and Westfield’s mayors emphasized that revitalizing their downtowns is a key strategy in uplifting their cities.
“Our younger generation are looking for a broader community, are looking for a different kind of development than maybe our generation did,” Willis said. “And we’re going to have to change and adapt to that.”
Zionville’s Stehr said his city intends to ride the growth expected from Boone County’s LEAP Lebanon Innovation District. LEAP stands for Limitless Exploration Advanced Pace.
The mayors of Indianapolis, Franklin, Zionsville and Beech Grove each highlighted their commitment to expanding trails and green space. Several mentioned that two more miles of the Monon Trail will be added in northern Hamilton County through a $2 million extension.
“That is representative of a commitment that the counties around the Indianapolis, [and] Indianapolis, have made to greenways, green spaces, trails, quality of life, quality of place issues,” Hogsett said.
Connectivity through transportation
Growing Shelbyville and connecting to greater regionalism starts with geographical connectivity, Furgeson said, which he said has been “unhealthy” so far. He said his city is trying to catch up to the strides others are making. A major piece of the solution is focusing on the Interstate 74 corridor and shortening travel times, he said.
“The more connectivity we have, the better off we are,” he said.
IndyGo’s $188 million Purple Line will inspire a similar boost of connectivity in Lawrence, Whitfield said. She said it will be intensely beneficial for the city’s growth to connect its residents with downtown Indianapolis as well as bring more people up to its neighborhoods. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.