Daily Archives: April 12, 2010

Purdue Gets Nearly $15 Million for Expansion

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Purdue has received $14.9 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to expand Discovery Park’s Bindley Bioscience Center for growing its cancer and life sciences research.

Planning and project design for the addition on the south side of the existing building is already under way, said biology professor Richard Kuhn, director of the Bindley Bioscience Center and head of the Department of Biological Sciences. About 165 jobs also will be created during construction, which is expected to begin in August 2011. Completion is tentatively set for April 2013.

Thirty to 40 new permanent positions will be created to direct and carry out federally funded research activities at the facility, which will be designed to achieve silver level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, Kuhn said.
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Central Indiana Home Sales Rise in March

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More than 2,500 Central Indiana homes recorded pended sales in March, with eight of nine Central Indiana counties reporting increases compared to the same time period last year, according to pended sales statistics compiled by F.C. Tucker Company.

Overall, March home sales jumped 10.6 percent with 2,509 homes pended compared to 2,268 in March 2009.

Shelby County posted a 34.3 percent increase, followed by Hamilton and Johnson counties with a 20.3 percent and 15.7 percent increase, respectively. Boone County was the only Central Indiana county to show a decrease in home sales, with a 21.4 percent decline.
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Notes: Northeast Indiana Economic Development Efforts Tracked

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The Northeast Indiana Foundation’s 2009 Business Dynamics Report found the 10-county region garnered more than $334 million in business investments last year

The Northeast Indiana Foundation’s 2009 Business Dynamic Report, released this month, includes lots of jobs-related numbers for the 10-county area. The net result is a loss of 1,320 jobs.

But comprehensive data reflects more on the efforts of the foundation than on the region’s economy, said Michael Hicks, director of the Bureau of Business Research at Ball State University.

Economic development officials are responsible for attracting and retaining the businesses they work with, Hicks said. They don’t focus on restaurants or grocery stores, for example.

Local officials try to woo businesses that can locate anywhere – “footloose” companies. Those include defense contractors and medical instrument makers, Hicks said.

Northeast Indiana’s 10 counties reported more than $334 million in business investments last year, a respectable win for local officials, Hicks said. Economic development officials around the state point to the Northeast Indiana Foundation’s efforts as an example of how such work should be done, he said.

Tipton County officials are considering a $13 million bond issue aimed at lowering the price of the vacant Getrag Transmission plant.

Eli Lilly will move 1,000 employees from its Faris campus to its downtown Corporate Center.

Concerns remain about a proposed trash-to-ethanol plant in Lake County.