Wabash industrial land earns Shovel Ready Gold designation

Monday, December 16, 2024 at 1:26 PM

The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) has officially awarded its “Shovel Ready Gold” designation to a 232-acre parcel of land in the Wedcor Industrial Park.

The “Shovel Ready” designation through OCRA signifies that certain due diligence processes, such as geotechnical reports and environmental surveys, have been completed ahead of time. The extensive research and preparation required for this program was completed in collaboration with Banning Engineering, whose work on this project was funded in part by the Wabash Valley Power Alliance.

Having these logistical pieces completed ahead of time allows for a business to purchase and begin construction in a shorter timeframe and keeps Wabash County moving at the rapid speed of business development. This same property was also designated as site ready through the Duke Site Readiness program this summer.

“OCRA’s Site Certified program aims to indicate a site such as this is ready for economic development. Grow Wabash County’s hard work and commitment made this accomplishment possible and will now help to better market the site to prospective developers," said Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs Executive Director Duke Bennett. "Congratulations to Wabash County on this gold-tier site certification.”

The work done to bring this 200-plus acre property online for the purpose of industrial development was in direct response to the growing demand for land in Wabash County, adding to the list of initiatives and project spearheaded by Grow Wabash County to ensure our communities remain competitive in the arena of business attraction, retention and expansion.

"Having 232 acres of contiguous land to market to prospective businesses is a tremendous asset for Wabash County,” said Tenille Zartman, president and CEO of Grow Wabash County. “The demand for large tracts of land is steadily increasing, and to stay competitive, we must ensure that land and infrastructure are ready to attract and secure future investments. These efforts are key to fostering quality job growth in Wabash County. We are deeply grateful to our partners including the City of Wabash, Wabash Valley Power Alliance, Duke Energy, Banning Engineering, and OCRA for their invaluable support in driving our county's growth."