HANCOCK COUNTY — If Walmart’s enormous distribution facility comes to fruition, it’s going to bring 1,000 workers and a new stream of truck traffic in and out of the Mt. Comfort area every day.
The two-lane county road leading to the chosen site, however, remains built for rural traffic. Even Mt. Comfort Road, for which the county has big plans, won’t be enough at the outset to handle all the expected traffic.
County officials have known about Mt. Comfort’s appeal to developers since long before Walmart came into the picture. With help from the state and the distribution facility’s developer, they plan to widen roads to handle the increase in traffic and add roundabouts to make traveling safer.
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Walmart’s facility would be more than 2.2 million square feet and have more than 2,000 parking spaces on more than 200 acres near the southwest corners of County Roads 500N and 500W. The site is north of Indianapolis Regional Airport and abuts McCordsville’s southern border. It would be Walmart’s biggest distribution center in the country, officials have said.
The county already had planned to improve a nearby stretch of Mt. Comfort Road. Gary Pool, Hancock County engineer, said it will consist of expanding it from two lanes to four lanes with center left-turn lanes between County Road 400N and a half-mile north of 500N. To increase safety, it will also include roundabouts at 400N, Airport Boulevard, 500N and possibly about a quarter-mile south of 500N. It will include walking paths as well.
Pool said the road improvements will cost about $20 million. Almost $9 million will come from federal funds the Indiana Department of Transportation disburses.
“We’re working really hard on that one,” Pool said. “The state’s been very generous.”
The remaining funding, he continued, will come from money raised from within Hancock County’s tax increment financing district.
Walmart would improve County Road 500N by widening it to 12 feet and strengthening it for its future heavy truck traffic, Pool said.
With the pandemic calling so much into question, Pool doesn’t know when work on the road improvements will begin.
“Everything is just kind of unpredictable right now,” he said.
He doesn’t think the work will be finished before the Walmart facility would open, which is anticipated for 2023. That doesn’t trouble him, however, as he doesn’t expect it to be too long of an overlap and said the facility won’t be running at full strength right away.
Walmart is seeking tax abatements from the county for investments of $150 million in real estate and $456 million in personal property equipment. The Hancock County Council will hold a public hearing and final vote on the abatements at a meeting that starts at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, at the Hancock County Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield.
The Walmart project is among more than two dozen large facilities announced in the last couple years for the Mt. Comfort area. The projects are transforming the western part of the county into a warehousing/logistics hub.
Hendricks County, west of Indianapolis, is no stranger to such facilities, many of which are in Plainfield. Hancock County shares strategies in common with those the town used to build its road system amid its industrial growth. Major, multi-lane arterial roads, such as Ronald Reagan Parkway, which runs from Interstate 70 at Indianapolis International Airport to north of Interstate 74 in Brownsburg, have been key in driving that growth.
Tim Belcher, Plainfield’s engineer and executive director of development services, told the Daily Reporter in an email that the town’s industrial development has taken more than three decades and continues.
Plainfield leaders have kept in mind that a good road system not only benefits businesses, but residents as well, Belcher said.
He emphasized the importance of phasing projects and assuring land is reserved for future widening.
“This can be done at no cost to the public if a good road plan is in place ahead of time,” he said, adding that involves good ordinances for planning, zoning and subdivisions, which can in turn draw private investment.
Another part of Plainfield’s strategy over the years has been developing partnerships with developers when possible to leverage public funds with private investment.
“Use every funding method available to leverage private investment,” he continued, whether that’s federal and state grants, tax increment financing or economic development funds. “There are always more projects needed than dollars available, so get good financial advice and be creative.”
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WHAT: Hancock County Council meeting
WHEN: 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12
WHERE: Hancock County Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield
WHY: The council will hold a public hearing and final vote on tax abatements for a proposed Walmart distribution facility
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Improvements coming to Mt. Comfort Road
- Expand form two lanes to four with center left-turn lanes between County Road 400N and a half-mile north of 500N
- Roundabouts at 400N, Airport Boulevard, 500N and possibly a quarter-mile south of 500N
- Walking paths
- About $20 million
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