INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) announces the North Manchester Industrial Park has achieved Indiana Site Certified (ISC) Gold.
The Indiana Site Certified program endorses sites that are ready for economic development. By certifying a site, it illustrates that the community is committed to economic growth, mitigates risks for businesses who want to locate or expand their operations into Indiana, and it serves as a marketing tool to promote sites that are ready for development.
The North Manchester Industrial Park is located in northern Wabash County and sits just south of downtown. The 106 acre site is located 36 miles from I-69 and Indiana’s second largest city, Fort Wayne. The North Manchester Industrial Park is 1 mile from SR 13, 10 miles from US 24, and is serviced by an on-site railroad.
“We are thrilled that our Industrial Park received the shovel ready certification. This will help us market the great community we have built in North Manchester,” said Jim Smith, Town Council President.
“This certification shows the dedication the town has to fostering industrial development and we are thankful to OCRA, IEDC, and our partners for making this possible,” added Keith Gillenwater, President and CEO of EDG of Wabash County.
The Indiana Site Certified program consists of three tiers of readiness: Silver, Gold, and Prime. North Manchester achieved Gold status. The Gold tier requires a minimum of 20 contiguous acres, a location no more than 5 miles from a state highway, a completed geo tech study, a seismic hazard map, proper zoning, a desktop archaeological investigation, utilities be located to the property line, and the area be free from recognized environment concerns.
Communities of any size may apply for the designation through OCRA. Applications for certification are accepted on a rolling basis. The first step is to contact your OCRA Community Liaison who will be able to offer current program details, evaluate readiness to proceed, and provide application instructions.
For more information regarding the tiers and general programmatic parameters, please visit the Indiana Site Certified webpage.