Northeast Indiana RDA Recommends Regional Cities Initiative Funding for 4 Projects

February 11th, 2020

Projects Located in Adams, Allen, Noble and Steuben Counties

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) has recommended Regional Cities Initiative funding for four projects in Northeast Indiana.

The Northeast Indiana RDA board voted to fund the following projects:

Community Learning Center project in Kendallville in Noble County for $183,000 of the total project cost of $1,052,009;
Hanna Nuttman Park Revitalization project in Decatur in Adams County for $50,000 of the total project cost of $3,610,339;
CASS Housing project in Fort Wayne in Allen County for $200,000 of the total project cost of $1,100,000; and
Enterprise Center phase two in Angola in Steuben County for $100,000 of the total project cost of $668,260.

Previously, the Northeast Indiana RDA board was considering recommending a total of $250,000 to fund regional projects. However, through a combination of lower construction costs and additional fundraising from previously-approved projects as well as interest earned, the Northeast Indiana RDA board recommended a total of $533,000 to invest in transformational regional projects.

Gene Donaghy, president of the Northeast Indiana RDA board, said the board reviewed nine presentations from potential projects in Northeast Indiana in January.

“All nine projects were impressive, and it was a difficult decision for the board. However, we selected these four projects for Regional Cities Initiative funding because they have great potential for the transformative impact on their community and our 11-county region,” said Donaghy. “These four projects align with our Regional Cities Initiative goals for talent attraction and building national brand identity and Northeast Indiana’s Road to One Million plan.”

Craig Snow, vice president of the Northeast Indiana RDA board, said the board remains hopeful that it could continue to support the projects that have already been submitted to the RDA if other funding becomes available.

“While we are not accepting new proposals at this time, if there was more money to be found through a project or projects being under budget or returning interest, we could maybe make additional awards. We continue to look for other sources of funding, as well,” said Snow.

Now that the Northeast Indiana RDA board has recommended Regional Cities Initiative funding for the four projects, the application goes to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) for final approval before funding disbursement.

To date, the Northeast Indiana RDA board leveraged $42 million of state Regional Cities Initiative funding to generate over $264 million of total public-private investment in 28 quality of place projects in Northeast Indiana’s 11-county region.

To learn more, visit the website at www.neindiana.com/news.

About the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority

The Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA), currently the largest RDA in the state, consists of Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties. The RDA is overseen by a five-member board, each appointed by consent of the executives of the member counties and municipalities, and receives staffing support from the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. Only the RDA may apply to the new state-funded Indiana Regional City Fund (administered by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation) for matching grants and loans; it may also accept loans, grants and other contributions from federal, state, and private sources. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com/rda.

About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership

The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s mission is to build, market and sell Northeast Indiana to increase business investment. Founded in 2006, the public-private partnership strives to build a globally competitive region. The Partnership’s Vision 2030 framework supports collaborative regional efforts to increase per capita income, population growth and educational attainment by focusing on business attraction, talent attraction and talent development. The Partnership represents 11 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Virag
Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Communications
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.414.2431
kate@NEIndiana.com

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