Southwest Indiana Embraces Regional Cities By Picking A Winner
Evansville, Indiana (PRWEB) April 01, 2015 -- As the State of Indiana prepares to launch its Regional Cities initiative to attract talent and stimulate population growth, Southwest Indiana is moving ahead with a plan that's literally been in the works for three years. The Millennial Plan for 2040, developed for the Sustainable Evansville Area Coalition (SEAC) by the Lochmueller Group and financed in part by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant along with the Evansville Metropolitan Planning Organization (EMPO), will serve as the keystone for the Regional Cities plan. The Millennial Plan was recently named the 2015 Outstanding Plan in Indiana and received an "Excellence in Planning" Award by the American Planning Association – Indiana Chapter.
The Economic Development Coalition and its partners have hired the team of the Lochmueller Group (Evansville), Garner Economics (Atlanta) and VPS Architecture (Evansville) to help craft the Regional Cities Plan with the Coalition’s Southwest Indiana footprint of Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties.
"The completion of the Millennial Plan comes at just the right time as we move forward with developing our Regional Cities strategy," said Greg Wathen, President & CEO of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana. “The consulting team we’ve put together knows our community well and will help us lay a strong foundation for the future.”
The eight-year Regional Cities initiative focuses on quality of place through enhancement of transportation and infrastructure; housing and neighborhoods; economic development; environment and healthy communities; arts and culture; and, land use and building construction. Each potential "Regional City" is encouraged to develop vision and action plans that will shape their communities by leveraging key regional assets with the idea to attract talent, entice new private investment and create new jobs.
About the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana
The Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana acts as the marketing arm as well as the regional economic development and community development organization partnering with local communities to facilitate attraction and business retention activities along with supporting efforts to enhance the business climate through regional capacity building. Since its formation in late 2006, the Coalition has helped to secure over nearly $3 billion in new investment and 3,568 new jobs from existing and new companies such as Haier America, Berry Plastics, Mead Johnson, Toyota Boshoku, Midwest Fertilizer Corporation and AT&T; and, through its Community Development efforts have helped garner more than $73 million in grants for key quality of place infrastructure.
About Lochmueller Group
Founded in 1980, Lochmueller provides infrastructure, planning, environmental services, and engineering design to clients nationwide. It employs nearly 200 staff in offices in Evansville, Indianapolis, and Jeffersonville, Indiana; Chicago and Troy, Illinois; and St. Louis, Missouri.
About Garner Economics
Garner Economics offers site selection, analytical research, industry targeting, strategic planning and organizational development with a wealth of expertise to companies, communities, and organizations globally. Garner Economics is based in Atlanta, GA and has representative offices in both Europe and Asia.
About VPS Architecture
VPS Architecture believes that professional design firms need to stand for something and be involved in local community issues that contribute to quality in our housing, schools, libraries, churches and businesses. Our concern for the quality of the man-made and natural environments gives us the depth to serve our clients in every dimension of their project from planning to realization of their vision.
Greg Wathen, Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, http://www.southwestindiana.org, +1 812-423-2020, [email protected]
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