By LISA ALLEN, Herald Bulletin
lisa.allen@heraldbulletin.com
The city says the economic development “planets” are perfectly aligned to spur significant investment in Anderson, particularly on former GM land.
“This city — it’s time is here,” said the city’s economic development consultant, Greg Winkler.
General Motors owns 500 acres of Anderson, stretching from Scatterfield Road to Noble Street, through the heart of the city. For years, the city has been trying to get General Motors to settle on an exit strategy in which the property would transfer to the city for redevelopment.
Already in place on 140 acres bisected by Scatterfield are overlapping economic development districts, including a Foreign Trade Zone and a Community Revitalization Enhancement District (CRED). The CRED, which allows the city to capture new development’s sales and income taxes to in turn attract more development, is Anderson’s trump card, Winkler said.
There are only 10 such districts in Indiana, according to the Indiana Budget Agency. Cities can capture up to $750,000 of the state taxes per year for 15 years. Stack atop new market tax incentives to entice financiers and the city has a few carrots to dangle.
But there is a lot of work to be done first, said Mayor Kevin Smith.
The city is playing catch-up, Smith says, because needed engineering work and infrastructure needs weren’t mapped out. “That should have been done 10 years ago,” Smith said. “If we had that in place and spec buildings, we’d already have businesses there.”
“We’ve learned a lot about economic development in the past 24 months,” said Rob Sparks, chairman of the Board of Public Works. Companies want all the infrastructure in place before they’ll even consider a community. They don’t come on promises of paved roads, adequate water, power, drainage and sewer.
“There is logic to this,” Smith said. “It appeals to outside investors because that’s how business is done.”
Once infrastructure is in place, the city wants to entertain a variety of proposals for the soon-to-be-former GM properties through a formal bid process. They would be reviewed by a redevelopment commission, Smith said.
“We know that some people have not wanted to go through that process,” Smith said.
While awaiting a deal with GM, the city drafted proposed uses for the 140-acre plot. The plan, drafted by local architect Jessie Wilkerson, includes a smattering of various sized buildings to support a diverse pallet of businesses, from light industrial, to professional offices to retail and service businesses.
The plan would funnel development west toward Columbus Avenue.
It is because of that overall plan that the city ignored a plan by Gary Hoover and a group of local investors called Anderson 2025. They wanted to convert the former Plant 18 into an interactive travel museum.
Had the city given what they deem the best 80 acres of all of the 500 acres of GM land, it would have closed off development to the west, leaving Columbus Avenue to sit and rot, Sparks said.
“Connectivity” is the key, said Smith and Winkler.
But the city is being cautious with its golden goose. Once a business goes in, of any size, the 15-year CRED clock begins. “We want to get the most bang for the buck,” Smith said.
Smith said Anderson’s advantage is that those incentives are all still available.
“Marion used theirs up,” Smith said.
Jay Julian, economic director for Marion, disagreed. Marion has 12 more years on its CRED credits and got the Legislature to expand its CRED district before the state imposed a moratorium on the tax incentive program, he said. Marion also bundles several tax incentive programs to make its city attractive to investors. It’s working.
“We’ve had a good run the last 15 to 18 months,” Julian said. The city has lured several businesses to the area, creating hundreds of jobs.
“We want many ideas (for the property),” Smith said Wednesday on his weekly radio show, “not just one,” referring to a plan by Hoover, an Anderson native, to develop a nostalgic travel museum and educational experience.
“We think it’s in the best interests of the community in the long run to open this up,” Smith said.
Smith heeds advice he heard at a Fort Wayne economic development meeting: “Go at it strategically, put in your infrastructure and stick to your guns.”
The city’s plan for the property, said Katie Goar, director of community and long-range planning, “is for 500 acres, not just two buildings.”
As for Hoover’s group, “They can come back and submit a proposal,” once all of the groundwork is in place, she said.
“If you get rid of the best property (Plant 18), you have no leverage,” Sparks said.
@ 2005 The Herald Bulletin.