PLAINFIELD, I.N. - Economic development recommendations for four Indiana properties in the 2014 Duke Energy Site Readiness Program are now in the hands of local government and economic development officials.
Nationally recognized consulting firm McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) developed the recommendations and presented them at local meetings held Sept. 17 and 18.
Those four properties are:
- A 150-acre site in Whiteland (Johnson Co.), near Exit 95 off of Interstate 65
- A 90-acre site in Bloomington (Monroe Co.), at the intersection of State Road 37 and Fullerton Pike
- A 130-acre site in Crawfordsville (Montgomery Co.), at the intersection of County Road 200 South and Nucor Road
- A 185-acre site in Shelbyville (Shelby Co.), at the intersection of State Road 44 and Interstate 74
"We are proud to partner with Duke Energy and their Site Readiness Program to help communities make their prospective large business sites as attractive as possible," said Mark M. Sweeney, senior principal at MSC. "Companies that want to build new facilities have a strong preference for sites where risks and uncertainties have been identified and mitigated as much as possible."
The Site Readiness Program is a key element of Duke Energy's economic development model. It identifies, evaluates and improves industrial sites in the company's service territory to help communities served by the utility compete for new companies and jobs.
"We want to help our communities maximize their economic development opportunities, said Doug Esamann, president of Duke Energy Indiana. The next step is to assist these communities in transforming the recommendations into solid business opportunities and increased jobs."
Duke Energy will now collaborate with county leaders and local economic development professionals as they develop a strategy for increasing each site's marketability, using final drawings and conceptual site plans created by Banning Engineering. Counties will have one year to apply for a matching grant of up to $10,000 from Duke Energy to implement the recommendations.
Duke Energy's overall economic development program has been consistently named by Site Selection magazine as one of the nation's "Top 10 Utility Economic Development Programs."
For more information about Duke Energy Indiana's economic development programs, visit www.locationindiana.com.
Duke Energy
Duke Energy Indiana's operations provide about 7,500 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 800,000 customers in a 23,000-square-mile service area, making it the state's largest electric supplier.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com