CEDS Report Document
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Southwest Indiana Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2010 Commissioned by the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana Serving Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, and Warrick Counties JUNE 2010 PREPARED BY STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT GROUP 2901 N. WALNUT STREET BLOOMINGTON IN 47404 800‐939‐2449 WWW.SDG.US Southwest Indiana Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2010 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Background ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Southwest Indiana’s Regional Planning for Economic Development: 1999 - 2010........................ 5 The Planning Process ...................................................................................................................... 5 The 2010 CEDS Committee ......................................................................................................... 6 DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS Population ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Population by Socioeconomic Factors ............................................................................................ 9 Age .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Race ........................................................................................................................................... 10 Population Projections .............................................................................................................. 11 Economic Vitality .......................................................................................................................... 11 Poverty ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Income ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Unemployment ......................................................................................................................... 12 Employment by Sector .............................................................................................................. 13 Employment Available in Southwest Indiana ........................................................................... 13 Notable Changes in Employment by Sector, 2004-2008 ...................................................... 15 Employment Held by Southwest Indiana Residents ............................................................. 16 Commuting Patterns ................................................................................................................. 17 Major Employers ....................................................................................................................... 19 Education ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Cost of Living ................................................................................................................................. 21 Utilities & Communications .......................................................................................................... 21 SOUTHWEST INDIANA COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2010 1 Housing ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Transportation .............................................................................................................................. 22 Air Travel ............................................................................................................................... 24 ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES Education and Workforce Development Problems and Opportunities ....................................... 25 Health Care Problems and Opportunities ..................................................................................... 26 Infrastructure Problems and Opportunities ................................................................................. 27 Quality of Life Problems and Opportunities ................................................................................. 27 Business Innovation ...................................................................................................................... 28 THE CEDS PLANNING PROCESS Vision for the Region ..................................................................................................................... 30 CEDS Goals .................................................................................................................................... 30 Action Strategies ........................................................................................................................... 31 Performance Measures ................................................................................................................. 36 APPENDIX Southwest Indiana CEDS Capital Projects List CEDS Steering Committee Meeting Agendas and Summaries Commissioners Resolutions SOUTHWEST INDIANA COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2010 2 INTRODUCTION This document is the 2010 five-year Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) document for the four-county Indiana region of Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, and Warrick. The regional economic development organization is the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana (EDC). This new CEDS has the support of the local economic development organizations of each county, the board of county commissioners from each county, and a wide range of community leaders from each sector. Copies of each county’s board of commissioners’ resolution supporting this CEDS can be found in the appendix. Background The regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy focuses on a four county area of Southwest Indiana. It includes Gibson, Posey, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. These four counties compose the region known as Region 13B. All neighboring counties in Regions 13A and 15 already participate in a regional development organization and pursue regional strategic planning on an annual basis. Currently, these four counties are the only counties in southwestern Indiana not participating in some form of regional development organization. These four counties of Southwest Indiana are becoming increasingly interdependent as evidenced by commuting patterns. The four counties have a combined population of 292,709 (2009 data), and are part of the Evansville metro area, which has a total population of 342,815. In 2007 the metropolitan area was ranked 88th in the nation in terms of growth and economic impact. Evansville, the county seat of Vanderburgh County, is the third-largest city in Indiana and the largest in Southern Indiana. Located on the Ohio River, the population of Evansville is 116,584 (2009 data), which is a 2.0% increase since the 2000 census. Evansville is the regional economic hub for the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area, a 24-county economic region with 822,000 residents. Major industries include manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, retailing, health care, and finance and business services. Corporate headquarters include Accuride, Atlas Van Lines, Berry Plastics, Old National Bank, Shoe Carnival, and Vectren. Evansville also is home to American General Finance, a division of AIG, and Mead Johnson Nutrition. Major manufacturing operations in and around the city include AK Steel in Rockport, Alcoa in Newburgh, Toyota in Princeton, and Whirlpool Corporation in Evansville. SOUTHWEST INDIANA COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY 2010 3 Various types of businesses and many corporate headquarters are located in Southwest Indiana. Key sectors in the area include: bio and life science, advanced manufacturing, advanced logistics, and energy. Southwest Indiana is the global center of excellence for plastics and plastics derivatives, including SABIC Innovative Plastics, Berry Plastics, and others; a center of activity for bio and life sciences, including the headquarters and research and development facilities for Mead Johnson Nutrition, the most sophisticated nutritional center in the world, owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb; the headquarters of the Vectren Corporation, an innovative leader in energy delivery services, energy marketing services, coal mining, and energy infrastructure services; and home to cutting-edge automotive facilities, including one of the most highly-advanced auto assembly facilities in the world, the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana assembly plant for the Highlander, Sienna, and Sequoia. The Southwest Indiana region provides unique advantages for these businesses and industries, including a central U.S. location (with respect to geography and population), within 3.5 hours of five cities with metro populations of 1+ million; and a strong, high-sulfur coal industry. The City of Evansville offers a unique pro-business tax structure for companies locating inside the Evansville Urban Enterprise Zone. Established in 1983 as one of only six enterprise zones in the State of Indiana, the 2.1-square-mile Evansville Urban Enterprise Zone offers inventory tax credits and other tax credits to eligible businesses. Major industries include manufacturing,