Terre Haute is competing with six other communities for a portion of $84 million in state grants that aim to boost economic development in the state's mid-sized cities.
Economic development leaders from Vigo, Knox and Sullivan counties have been working together to develop a plan that would renovate the Wabash riverfront into an economic and tourist destination.
The plan would combine public and private funds to build shops, hotels and restaurants along the Wabash River--a project that is being called the Wabash Valley riverSCAPE.
The heads of the project are taking inspiration from other cities with riverfronts, including San Antonio's Riveralk, Little Rock's Riverfront Park and the Tom Hanafan River's Edge Park in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
"We are trying to improve quality of place and attract additional population to that area," says Mary Jane Michalak, who is representing the region. "We have a lot of a unique characteristics we can offer to individuals as well as companies.
In total the project would cost $34 million. The area's leaders hope they can get state money to cover about 20 percent of the costs.
Earlier this year, the state legislature approved the Regional Cities Initiative, which will allocate $84 million to two chosen projects.
Seven regions submitted projects by Monday's deadline. Those are Central (Indianapolis are), East Central (Muncie), North Central (South Bend), Northeast (Fort Wayne), Northwest (East Chicago), Southwest (Evansville) and West Central (Wabash River Region).
Each of those regions are trying to prove to the state that their project would have the biggest return on investment.
In the Wabash Valley, some of the projects have already been completed or are in the works.
A new aquatic center for Vigo County Schools, for example, aims to attract more tournaments and events that would bring visitors from outside the region.
In Vincennes, developers spent nearly $10 million to renovate a former junior high school to become an affordable senior housing complex.
Michalak says the projects' stakeholders plan to complete their projects even without state investment, but getting state money would move the process along more quickly.
In total, the seven regional proposals are planning $3.8 million in investments for 400 projects.
