A Portion of $40M in READI Grants Going to Boost Workforce Development in Elkhart Region
The South Bend – Elkhart Regional Development Authority awarded $40 million in Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant funds to 19 “Quality of Place” projects and set aside $7 million for programmatic funding during its meeting at the Beacon Health Elkhart Health and Aquatics Center this week.
The $40 million in grant funding will be leveraged to infuse $465 million of total regional investments across those 19 projects.
Many of the grant recipients were outdoor and arts-related projects, such as the Bremen Sunnyside Park Improvements in Marshall County; the Downtown Elkhart River District; George Wilson Park in St. Joseph County; and the Morris Performing Arts Center’s “Morris 100 Project” in St. Joseph County.
Other awardees are likely to have a positive impact on the regional economy for some time to come.
$800,000 was awarded to the South Bend International (SBN) Air Cargo and Logistics Center for site acquisitions surrounding the airport.
St. Joseph County has long been seeking a developer to build an air cargo logistics facility to serve South Bend International Airport. Cogent Industrial Partners, which acquires and develops industrial property, has acquired 29 acres adjacent to the airport and is planning on two buildings totaling 300,000 square feet. The company said their plan is to “fill a significant void in the air cargo facility sector within the Midwest.”
Marshall County Career Innovation Center was awarded a grant of $1.75 million. According to reporting earlier this summer from WYMR-FM, Max 98.3, the funds are needed to enhance workforce development and train the next generation of workers.
The news outlet quotes Greg Hildebrand from the Marshall County Lifelong Learning Network, who pursued the grant, “In Marshall County, we have hundreds of kids in CTE programs which is fantastic, and we are at or over capacity in welding. We are at or over capacity in building trades, and we are over capacity in digital manufacturing, which is the advanced manufacturing, or smart technology – smart manufacturing 4.0 is what they call that.”
“We received an impressive array of applications for well-thought and creative projects,” said John DeSalle, RDA chair and executive engineer-in-residence at iNDustry Labs at the University of Notre Dame. “These projects will impact arts and culture, economic development, housing, and recreation and wellness in Elkhart, Marshall, and St. Joseph counties in a transformative way.”
