MCCORDSVILLE — Indiana’s second-fastest growing town is taking steps to keep that momentum going.
McCordsville Redevelopment Commission has rolled out “Next Stop McCordsville,” a website aimed at attracting development by providing area facts and figures in one convenient place, said town manager Tonya Galbraith.
The site targets site selectors, business owners and all other visitors with relevant information about McCordsville and what it has to offer, she said. The area is the fastest-growing town in Hancock County and second only to Whitestown statewide, according to the Indiana Business Research Center.
The cost of the project totaled $4,000, with $2,500 funded by a grant from Hancock Health, Galbraith said.
As the one of the largest employer in Hancock County, Hancock Health has a responsibility to help the community achieve even non healthcare-specific goals, said Hancock Health CEO Steve Long. Secondly, as the chair of economic development commission for Hancock County, Long has a personal investment in regional development, he said.
Long added that the success of the new Hancock Wellness Center in McCordsville is dependent on the area’s prosperity.
In 2015, the area boasted 6,025 residents; by 2016, that had grown by more than 400 people.
“If McCordsville grows, the wellness center grows,” Long said. “We look for opportunities like this, and when the right ones come along, we engage in them.”
The site, nextstopmccordsville.org, has been up and running since mid December, Galbraith said. The site’s receive a snapshot of information regarding the town’s demographics, education, income, property tax rates, services and business owners’ incentives.
The new interface is geared toward people interested in relocating to the town and is a convenient source that will negate the need for people to call the town with basic questions that can be answered by following a quick hyperlink, she added.
The website also serves as one-stop shopping for site selectors, said Skip Kuker, director of the Hancock Economic Development Council.
Site selectors, professionals who assist small business owners in seeking out prime locations that fulfill their clients’ needs, always do thorough research on potential real estate options, Kuker said. If a town is not putting out readable and easy-to-access information, they can limit economic growth, Kuker said.
“It’s not site selection — it’s site elimination,” Kuker said. “People are looking at you before you even know it,” Kuker said. “If you’re not telling your story, somebody else is.”
Next Stop McCordsville also supplies readers with information on the work force, area maps, services in the community and other useful data, said Redevelopment Commission Chair Shelley Haney.
It also features information regarding business incentives, to include tax increment financing (TIF) opportunities available to McCordsville businesses seeking public subsidies for their business goals, she said.
“We’re poised for development … and we want to be prepared for the growth that’s coming our way,” Haney said.
