News Room

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA (January 13, 2012) – The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation announced today the hiring of Dana Palazzo as Project Manager for the BEDC, a new position within the organization effective January 3, 2012. 

“We’re thrilled Dana accepted our offer to join us full-time,” expressed Ron Walker, President of the BEDC.  “Dana has impressed us all with her strong work ethic and ability to communicate effectively with multiple constituencies while she worked with us in a part-time role for the past several months,” stated Walker. 

As a project manager, Ms. Palazzo will assist the President and Vice President in carrying out the BEDC’s economic development projects, including site selection responses, prospect information requests, product development, shovel ready designation activities, and coordination of several initiatives aimed at helping Monroe County businesses thrive.

"I think the BEDC is an excellent organization and I am excited to join the staff full-time,” said Palazzo. “Bloomington is such a vibrant city, and I feel passionate about our mission to attract and retain quality jobs in the area," stated Palazzo.

Palazzo, originally from Youngstown, Ohio, graduated from the University of Tampa in 2008 where she received her B.A. in government and world affairs. She has previously held the positions of Membership Coordinator and hYPe Coordinator/Administrative Assistant with the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, respectively. 

About the BEDC

The BEDC is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership dedicated to the retention, development and attraction of quality jobs in Monroe County.  The BEDC is led by a partnership of private industry leaders, the City of Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College–Bloomington.  For more information click here www.comparebloomington.us.

Bloomington ranked 29^th out of 483 medium size cities (cities with a population between 50,000-99,999) in the Brainpower index rankings completed by The Business Journals On Numbers. Other Indiana cities that appeared in the top 100 were Carmel (22^nd) and Fishers (39^th).

Using the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey data, cities were ranked according to the percentage of adults who had achieved certain educational degrees, including attainment of a high school diploma, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, and graduate and/or professional degree. The point value of each educational level was determined by the relative earning power of people at that level.

According to the US Census Bureau, Bloomington has a high level of educational attainment. Approximately 26% of the City’s population has a bachelor’s degree and 30% has a graduate and/or professional degree. These percentages led to a Brainpower index of 20.958. The top performers, Bethesda, MD and Palo Alto, CA, scored 38.303 and 36.622 respectively.

You can access the main article here.

Indiana was ranked fifth overall among the top states for doing business, first for its rail and highway accessibility, and second as a leader in economic recovery. 

A “push for speed and certainty” in all aspects of state government is what helps job growth here, according to Mitch Roob, Indiana Secretary of Commerce and CEO of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. 

“When people invest in Indiana, they know their taxes are unlikely to rise due to the certainty fostered by maintaining a balanced budget and a low tax burden,” he says. “Individuals and businesses also receive speedy service on everything from vehicle registration…to environmental licensing…In Indiana, we realize we exist in a world marketplace where prospective [ROI] on personal financial capital must be at world levels. We recognize that we have to become a world-class location where world-class companies will create world-class opportunities for world-class Hoosiers.”

Indiana already is known as the “Crossroads of America” due to its ideal geographic location (within a half-day’s drive of over 20 major metros) and notable transportation assets (eight interstate highways; more than 11,000 highway miles; 4,165 miles of active railway tracks; the world’s second-largest FedEx hub, and more). 

Not to rest on its laurels, in 2005 the state launched an aggressive 10-year, $10 billion transportation plan (“Major Moves”) to significantly improve and expand Indiana’s highway infrastructure. The long-term lease of the Indiana Toll Road provided $2.6 billion of funding for over 200 new construction and 200 major preservation projects. Amazingly, no tax increases are called for to fund the program, already well under way.

Indiana wants to attract more companies in the biotech, automotive, new energy, and defense sectors. State programs recently implemented to foster a pro-business climate include new legislation decreasing corporate income tax from 8.5 to 6.5 percent; a property tax relief program that cut property taxes by one third (and established a constitutional cap on tax rates for all property classes); and an R&D tax credit equal to 15 percent of a company’s first $1 million of qualifying R&D expenditures. 

Not surprisingly, Indiana’s GDP grew 4.6 percent in 2010; well above the national rate of 2.6 percent and at a clip placing it as the state with the third-highest growth rate in the nation (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis). 

Governor Mitch Daniels is clear about what it takes to steer Indiana through these hard economic times, and the message is quite different than what is coming from Washington, D.C. “Government does not create jobs,” he has said, “it only create[s] the conditions that make jobs more or less likely.”

To read the full article, please visit http://bit.ly/rhf48l.

Bloomington (November 21, 2011) – The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) is excited to announce the designation of a new 69-acre shovel ready commercial site in Monroe County, Indiana. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) approved the BEDC shovel ready application, submitted in September 2011 for the industrial site, which had previously undergone an extensive remediation process to make it eligible for future commercial use.

“We were glad the State of Indiana encouraged us to seek a shovel ready designation for a brownfield property,” said Ron Walker, President, BEDC.  “We’ve had great support from Monroe County to encourage infill development and Summit Realty readily assisted us in gathering data about the site so we could document the property’s characteristics for future employment use,”  said Walker.

Description of the site:

The County’s new shovel ready site is located at 300 N. Curry Pike in Monroe County’s westside economic development area, a tax increment finance district. The site is zoned General Industrial and is served by the Indiana Rail Road Company.

The former ABB site is the third Monroe County property to be designated “Shovel-Ready” by the IEDC.  The BEDC pursued the shovel ready application process with the support of a Community Growth Partnership grant from Duke Energy.  Click Here to see the property on the BEDC’s Sites and Building’s Database.     

For additional information about the shovel ready property please contact: 

Ron Walker, BEDC, 812-335-7346

Dave Harstad, Summit Realty, 812-822-1123

Mike Heaton, Duke Energy, 317-838-1642