The Town of Avon was frustrated when recent development proposals lacked the character and quality the community desired. Residents were also increasingly opposing developments and demanding the Town raise standards.
To develop a solution, the Town turned to HWC and Civic Blueprint.
The HWC team first led a public engagement campaign to solicit input on current concerns and future expectations. This robust process included:
Public and stakeholder input was used to inform recommendations, which included merging their Zoning and Subdivision Control Ordinances into a new Unified Development Ordinance. Incentives were added to improve quality. Process changes were also recommended to increase transparency and provide more opportunities for the Town Council to guide development early in the process.
With development pressures increasing along the I-65 corridor and interchanges, the Town of Whitestown engaged HWC to assist in developing both an economic development strategy and a Comprehensive Plan update that shared a unified vision that promoted responsible growth that retained the character of the Town. This unified plan focused on developing new primary employment opportunities, engaging the I-65 corridor, diversifying the community’s industrial base, and growing a quality workforce.
HWC completed an update to the City’s 2002 Comprehensive Plan. This update focused on new opportunities and goals for future development within the City and supporting recent successful efforts at downtown revitalization. Major ideas identified during the plan included a renewed focus on core neighborhood revitalization, emphasis on improving aging infrastructure, continued reinvestment in downtown redevelopment, encouraging a broader mix of housing options, and developing the I-65 gateway corridor to maximize its full potential.
In 2015, our team completed the I-65 Economic Development Plan for Franklin with a focus to improve economic success of the community’s primary eastern gateway along I-65. The I-65 Interchange Economic Development Plan was intended to redevelop the interchange and create a dynamic gateway into the community. The planning process focused on 420 acres and included interchange-specific strategies and communitywide economic development goals.
Now complete, the gateway has resulted in new restaurants, retail, and commercial investment in the corridor totaling over $220 million.
In 2013, Rushville’s Mayor, Michael Pavey, knew he needed a catalyst to spark major changes in his community. Rushville had approximately 6,000 residents, and its population had been in decline for decades. HWC was selected to lead a planning process that provided the spark Rushville needed at a time when it needed it most.
With HWC’s help, the City asked residents and community stakeholders what they thought Rushville needed. Those ideas resulted in a Comprehensive Plan outlining specific steps to implement the community’s vision. Since acting on the plan and winning Stellar in 2016, Rushville has seen more than $460 million in federal, state, local, and private investment in the past seven years among 200 different projects. Rushville now proudly proclaims they are “Leading the Way in Rural Indiana.”
In 2020, Rushville selected HWC to complete an update to the original Comprehensive Plan that helped the community experience a great deal of success. The updated plan brought together various groups and organizations to develop a common set of goals to help the community build on its recent success for many years to come.
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