OHIO RIVER CORRIDOR
The Southern
Indiana-Louisville Metro Area
Indiana-Louisville Metro Area
With a $21-million project from Steel Dynamics in Jeffersonville and an $8-million expansion from auto supplier D.A. Inc. in Charlestown, southern Indiana is making the most of its proximity to both the Louisville and automotive marketplaces.
Both Louisville and Charlestown are also making the most of military redevelopment potential. In Louisville, it's the old Navy facilities seeing re-use, and in Charlestown, it's the former Army Ammunition Plant, where the first phase of redevelopment involves some 600 acres (243 hectares) being reborn as the River Ridge Commerce Center.
Marc Elliott, executive director of the River Ridge Development Authority, says the acreage, with utilities and short rail in place (CSX service is adjacent) should be transferred by the Army by the end of 2004.
Asked if the several parcels, ranging from 62 acres (25 hectares) down to a few acres, could be assembled into one large site, he says the idea is a good one, but the reality is that "the Army encumbered large portions of the site with long-term leases prior to the creation of the Authority, and the site clean-up will be accomplished over the next decade and not at a single point in time." He says most inquiries have come from developers thus far, as his organization gets land ready for area agencies to market.
Charlestown is also seeing the development of 65 acres (26 hectares) adjacent to the already-full, 56-acre (23-hectare) city industrial park. One of that park's tenants is the expanding D.A. Inc., which will realize some help with the water needs for its 90,000-sq.-ft. (8,361-sq.-m.) expansion from River Ridge water supplier Aqua Indiana, running a line under U.S. Highway 62, which separates the properties. The water is being made available to the community, which in turn will make it available to the company. D.A., a Daiwa subisidiary, makes injection molded automotive parts, and could add as many as 45 jobs.
Zoeller Engineered Products in 2003 pursued a $7-million, 128,000-sq.-ft. (11,891-sq.-m.) expansion in Louisville. It's one of several medium-level industrial investments in the city and surrounding Jefferson County: Hi-Tech Mold and Tool is investing $6 million; industrial adhesive maker Bostik Findley is investing $5 million and barrel maker Blue Grass Cooperage invested $3 million. (The adjacent Kentucky county of Bullitt saw nine projects in this period, many in the distribution business.)
Two recent projects have occurred in the metro's Eastpoint Center complex. First, there was the doubling of space to 130,000 sq. ft. (12,077 sq. m.) by linear actuator manufacturer Linak US, a division of Denmark-based Linak A/S. Then, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced it would build a 240,000-sq.-ft. (22,296-sq.-m.) complex to consolidate 1,200 area employees from three leased buildings.
Both Louisville and Charlestown are also making the most of military redevelopment potential. In Louisville, it's the old Navy facilities seeing re-use, and in Charlestown, it's the former Army Ammunition Plant, where the first phase of redevelopment involves some 600 acres (243 hectares) being reborn as the River Ridge Commerce Center.
Marc Elliott, executive director of the River Ridge Development Authority, says the acreage, with utilities and short rail in place (CSX service is adjacent) should be transferred by the Army by the end of 2004.
Asked if the several parcels, ranging from 62 acres (25 hectares) down to a few acres, could be assembled into one large site, he says the idea is a good one, but the reality is that "the Army encumbered large portions of the site with long-term leases prior to the creation of the Authority, and the site clean-up will be accomplished over the next decade and not at a single point in time." He says most inquiries have come from developers thus far, as his organization gets land ready for area agencies to market.
Charlestown is also seeing the development of 65 acres (26 hectares) adjacent to the already-full, 56-acre (23-hectare) city industrial park. One of that park's tenants is the expanding D.A. Inc., which will realize some help with the water needs for its 90,000-sq.-ft. (8,361-sq.-m.) expansion from River Ridge water supplier Aqua Indiana, running a line under U.S. Highway 62, which separates the properties. The water is being made available to the community, which in turn will make it available to the company. D.A., a Daiwa subisidiary, makes injection molded automotive parts, and could add as many as 45 jobs.
Zoeller Engineered Products in 2003 pursued a $7-million, 128,000-sq.-ft. (11,891-sq.-m.) expansion in Louisville. It's one of several medium-level industrial investments in the city and surrounding Jefferson County: Hi-Tech Mold and Tool is investing $6 million; industrial adhesive maker Bostik Findley is investing $5 million and barrel maker Blue Grass Cooperage invested $3 million. (The adjacent Kentucky county of Bullitt saw nine projects in this period, many in the distribution business.)
Two recent projects have occurred in the metro's Eastpoint Center complex. First, there was the doubling of space to 130,000 sq. ft. (12,077 sq. m.) by linear actuator manufacturer Linak US, a division of Denmark-based Linak A/S. Then, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced it would build a 240,000-sq.-ft. (22,296-sq.-m.) complex to consolidate 1,200 area employees from three leased buildings.
