Mixed-use developments at interstate interchanges are the low-hanging fruit of commercial real estate development. Well-located sites next to busy roads are magnets for hotels, restaurants, housing and, sometimes, office and warehouse space.
Just south of Indianapolis in Morgan County, economic development officials are working on a 90-acre mixed-use project adjacent to a new section of Interstate 69, but they’re not approaching it as a quick development opportunity. County leaders and their private-sector partners see the project, the Whetzel Trace Ag/Life Sciences Park, as a natural location for advanced technology space along the corridor that connects Indianapolis with Indiana’s flagship research universities.
“We could have already turned this site for warehouse users,” said Mike Dellinger, executive director of Morgan County Economic Development Corp. But Dellinger and the Indianapolis-based developer Meyer Najem, which bought the site in January, aren’t interested in the first use that comes along. Dellinger said the goal is to attract high-value users in ag-tech or biotech. “We want to be a space creator that brings value to the Indianapolis region as a whole.”
Adding to the region’s inventory of life sciences space would check that box; the challenge is to figure out how to cover the added expense of developing specialized laboratory space. We have an aggressive interest in helping developers figure this out,” Dellinger said. “We want to help offset the risk.”
Travis Tucker, Meyer Najem’s executive vice president of development and real estate services, said he and his team are committed to creating specialized life sciences space in the park and are working with local government officials on a plan.
Tucker said there’s already strong interest in the site, which is at the southwest corner of 1-69 and State Road 144, a major east-west route immediately south of Indianapolis. Parts of the park fall within the Johnson County town of Bargersville.
In July, Meyer Najem convened government officials from Morgan and Johnson counties. the town of Bargersville, and the leaders of several central Indiana life sciences and ag-tech organizations to develop a vision for Whetzel Trace.
It’s likely that 60 to 70 acres of the park will be developed for ag/life sciences users over the next five years. Tucker said. Site work and infrastructure installation are likely to start this summer. The master plan shows six buildings of 95,000 square feet, but the final configuration will be dictated by the market, not that Meyer Najem is leaving that to chance.
It’s working with local officials and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to put together a deal for the kind of specialized science space the market needs. Meyer Najem doesn’t rule out the possibility of working with another developer with experience in the sector.BioFutures Magazine and IBJ Media Custom Content Publishing.
“This project is all about the greater good,” Tucker said. Anything that moves the needle forward for the state and county.
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