Indy council approves TIF funding for Elanco HQ
INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — Plans for Greenfield-based Elanco Animal Health Inc.’s (NYSE: ELAN) new global headquarters in downtown Indianapolis have cleared a key hurdle. The Indianapolis City-County Council has approved more than $135 million in tax increment financing bonds to support the redevelopment of the former GM Stamping Plant site.
Elanco first detailed plans for the 45-acre campus in December. The project is part of a $300 million investment that will make Indiana the company’s base of operations and is expected to create more than 570 jobs over the next decade.
As part of the plan, $64 million will be made available to Elanco for site improvements. About $51 million will be used for public infrastructure improvements to access the site and about $20 million will be used for financing and debt coverage.
“On June 24, 2011, I waited outside the GM Stamping Plant as my husband Donny became one of the final GM employees to clock out from that facility,” said Councilor Kristin Jones. “The plant’s closure left an emptiness in both the lives of its employees and their families and in the life of The Valley and West Indy neighborhoods. I’m thrilled that the decade-long journey to fill that emptiness has ended this evening with approval of the financing needed to bring Elanco to the site. Through every step of this process, the team at Elanco has faithfully listened to the needs and views of the residents of District 16 and expressed their commitment that Elanco will be not just a neighborhood business, but a true neighbor.”
Dave Kinard, executive vice president of human resources, corporate affairs and administration at Elanco, told the council’s Metropolitan and Economic Development Committee last month the company hopes to break ground later this year, pending execution of the development agreement among Elanco, the city of Indianapolis and the state.
The company estimates the project would be completed in late 2023 or early 2024.
Scarlett Andrews Martin, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development in Indy, says the city and state are also planning a mixed-use development on the south end of the site that will include affordable and market-rate housing, as well as other community amenities. An expansion of the nearby White River State Park is also planned.
“This project also supports the White River Vision Plan as it will expand greenspace and infrastructure connectivity to allow better access to the river,” Martin said in a statement following the council’s vote. “Our team continues to ensure a neighbor-led approach that allows community leadership and stakeholders to have a voice as this development continues to unfold.”