Innovation district planned for Noblesville

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — During his State of the City address this week, Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen unveiled plans for the Innovation Mile, a master plan innovation district he calls the “next step” in the city’s development. The nearly 300-acre innovation district on the city’s southwest side will be focused on attracting companies in the life sciences, med-tech, advanced manufacturing, and professional and technical services industries, according to Chuck Haberman, workforce development manager for the city.

In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Haberman said the district is designed to foster innovation.

“[That’s] really any type of innovation within our targeted industries,” said Haberman. “We want to have a place for them to go in Noblesville where they can have like-minded ideas, share ideas, innovative ideas and this is our attempt that that.”

The district will be located along 141st Street between Olio and Prairie Baptist roads.

The project is still in the early conceptual stages, but Haberman says the city hopes the district will spur about $500 million in private investment in the area. He says the district will be a great tool for the city to market itself to potential businesses.

“When you have the space that we have out in Wayne Township, it’s difficult sometimes for users to visualize corn fields or soybean fields as an attractive place to come grow a business and so this is our first step in showing them we have space for you. This is where we want you and this is where you want to be,” he said.

A timeline for construction and estimated cost for the project is not yet known. The city tells our partners at the Indianapolis Business Journal the next step will be to update its comprehensive plan to include the development.