Cities Launch I-74 Economic Development Region
Shelbyville, Greensburg, Rushville, Batesville team with county partners to seek READI funding
Four of Indiana’s most innovative and successful rural cities near the Interstate 74 corridor southeast of Indianapolis have joined forces along with their county partners to grow their communities and workforce talent. Accelerate Rural Indiana, a not-for-profit organization being launched by the cities and counties, will apply for a portion of the $500 million Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) planning grant and funding.
Shelbyville, Greensburg, Rushville and Batesville, along with Shelby, Rush and Decatur counties, are formally cooperating through Accelerate Rural Indiana. Accelerate Rural Indiana is focused on delivering lasting growth and success to one of Indiana’s greatest assets, its rural frontier. The communities along I-74 already have compiled an impressive record, having landed a more than of $64 million in grants and philanthropic funding to leverage more than $1.4 billion in private investment in the past five years.
“As a publicly traded company headquartered in Batesville, we continue to support efforts that provide the city with recruiting or economic advantages,” said Hillenbrand President and CEO Joe Raver. “This funding will help improve the quality of life in the community, attract more employees, and continue to contribute to economic growth, while also allowing us to be more successful in attracting corporate talent from the tri-state area.”
Shelbyville, Greensburg, Rushville and Batesville boast remarkably similar strengths. The top 10 industry sectors in each city are identical; each city has made dramatic progress in revitalizing their downtowns; each has attracted jobs and private investment by leveraging private dollars with public funding. Moreover, each city has been a finalist in Indiana’s Stellar Communities Program, which supports communities in improving their quality of place.
A READI grant would enable the community partners of Accelerate Rural Indiana to combine their strengths and ambitions to further increase quality of life and workforce initiatives, thereby helping attract and retain a 21st century workforce. Successful experiences gleaned by the cities also hold potential for sharing with other rural communities. The region hosts corporate partners including Knauf, Honda, Hillenbrand and Hillrom.
The READI program was funded by the 2021 General Assembly and is administrated by the Indiana Economic Development Corp.