GREENFIELD — Greenfield Redevelopment Commission recently took the first step in creating a new economic development area in the city, which, if passed, would allow the area to receive tax increment financing funding.

The RDC approved a declaratory resolution Nov. 10 to declare 9.6 acres as an economic development area. The undeveloped land is between GBC Bank’s flagship location and Culver’s on the Interstate 70 corridor. The 9.6 acres is made up of several parcels, owned by Hancock Regional Hospital since 2020. Three of the parcels are in the 1800 block of North State Street (Ind. 9). The other two parcels, the larger ones, have Fields Boulevard addresses and are west of the State Street plots.

The declaratory resolution passed 4-0, with commission member Rick Roberts abstaining from the vote as he is a board member of GBC Bank, which has helped Hancock Health in the plans for the area.

Leaders and stakeholders — including Harold Gibson, director of property development for Hancock Health — hope the creation of an EDA will attract development to the land.

“It’s our opinion that without this assistance, the land will not be developed, and the land will not be used in its best and highest way,” Gibson said. “We think this is another continuum of how we want to be a partner and make sure this stays in the community.”

Hancock Health had originally explored the land as an option to consolidate some of its services into a wellness center in 2019, with the city having tentatively reached an agreement with Hancock Health in which the city would be responsible for the infrastructure developments on the site.

However, as the pandemic shifted potential money away from developing the infrastructure of the infill land to later in the decade, Gibson said the plans for the site changed. In that time, Hancock Health has continued to receive interest from buyers wanting to develop the land.

“There are a lot of people interested in the frontage lot,” Gibson said. “In our conceptual plans, that area seems to work out well for a sit-down restaurant.”

Gibson also added that Hancock Health has tried to explore other uses for the site as well, and one of them was for a grocery store. However, he said a grocery store on the site would only be able to take up about 50,000 square feet, with major grocery stores like Walmart having over 100,000 square feet.

“Most grocery stores that are looking at this area want way more than 50,000 square feet; they want 100,000 or 125,000 square feet,” he said. “The stores that are the unique stores, the ones that are more high-end, can get by with space like this, but Greenfield demographics aren’t ready for that just yet.”

Hancock Health is now taking the role of a developer/seller for the land rather than a user, Gibson said, and is having discussions with neighboring land owners for access usage. A proposed access point would be at Muskegon Drive.

Gibson said having a building for Hancock Health on the property is still not entirely out of the question, but other options have been considered, including lodging, multi-tenant commercial space and retail space. If the property is fully developed, he projects the total assessed value would be around $14 million-$20 million, with at least 150 new jobs created and a project tax increment of $275,000-$450,000 a year.

Currently, the only projected infrastructure costs placed on the city would be shared access drives, onsite detention, extension of the water main and various other utilities items at a cost of around $1.5 million to $2 million.

Mayor Guy Titus said his office has had several meetings with Hancock Health leaders and supports the project.

“We want to see this area be developed, and we see no other development approaching us at this time,” he said.

Hancock Economic Development Council executive director Randy Sorrell also pledged his support, saying the land is prime real estate ready for development. He said infrastructure needs in the area are the major hurdle in getting development in the area, but he believes Hancock Health has a good plan to put infrastructure in.

On the financial side, city financial adviser Buzz Krohn said he anticipates about $250,000 a year in TIF revenue once the area is fully built out.

“Whether it’s one hotel or two or three restaurants, it’s not a tremendously large commitment, and it’s probably the only way anything would get built in that infield project,” he said.

The RDC’s approval of the declaratory resolution kickstarts a process that must unfold before the commission can approve a confirmatory resolution cementing the area as an EDA. The next step is for the city planning commission to approve a resolution to affirm that designating the land as an EDA is consistent with the comprehensive plan. If the planning commission passes the resolution, the matter would go to the city council for a vote to approve the declaratory resolution.

If the council passes the resolution, the RDC will conduct a public hearing before passing the confirmatory resolution. Since the city planning commission will not meet again the rest of the year, the matter will progress over the first few months of 2026.

Gibson said he hopes development will begin around summer 2026.
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