MCCORDSVILLE — A press release from NineStar Connect recently announced that the nonprofit utility cooperative will have a building in McCord Square to serve its community.
Just off the corner of Broadway Street and Mt. Comfort Road, the new building will sit three stories high and will contain approximately 34,600 square feet. Mostly occupying the first floor of the building, NineStar Connect will initially consist of customer service with about 15 to 20 employees located in the building and will provide a 24/7/365 support center.
David Spencer, director of marketing and community engagement for NineStar Connect, shared that the 24/7/365 support center is something that is not only for NineStar Connect customers, but others too as they expand.
“That’s just a line of business of ours, not only for our members and customers so they can call anytime they need to, but it’s a service that we’ve been expanding over the years, providing for other companies and because of that growth, another reason why we needed a new location and a place to house that,” Spencer said.
NineStar Connect shared in the press release that they will not depend upon rate increases to fund the project. Central Indiana Communications, Inc., CICI, is a for-profit subsidiary NineStar Connect established in the 1980s to make investments that support the co-op and its members without impacting rates for the utility’s services.
The press release provided an example, stating “CICI has brought cable and satellite television to unincorporated areas of NineStar’s service territory and paid for prior building expansions to avoid impacting current ratepayers who would otherwise have to bear those expenses. CICI will buy the land and fund the construction of the building. Because NineStar believes in growing the tax-base of the community, it does not intend to seek tax abatements for the project.”
Spencer said that the final cost of the project is yet to be determined.
According to NineStar Connect’s history page, the company’s roots can be traced back all the way to 1895 with the founding of the McCordsville Telephone Company. What once started as a wire strung across a fence to connect a mother and daughter had neighbors wanting to join and so the company began and has grown ever since.
As far as their smaller location in McCordsville where people can walk in and pay their bills, Spencer shared that the plans are yet to be determined, but the space offered there was outgrown approximately two to three years ago.
NineStar Connect shared in the press release that they are “focused on being able to serve those future members of the cooperative by creating a facility that has sufficient room to allow it to grow its presence in the community as the community grows.”
The press release shared that, by some estimates, the greater McCordsville/Fortville area could have a total population of nearly 100,000 people by 2050. Spencer also spoke about the growth in the area, mentioning how Hancock County is one the donut counties for Marion County.
“All of those residents are going to be members of our cooperative, so we really view positioning ourselves in this community and in this place as a way to kind of future-proof and be in a great position to provide tremendous services and customer service for all of those future members of our cooperative,” Spencer said.
The press release also stated that McCordsville officials Tim Gropp, town manager, and Larry Longman, vice president of the town council and liaison to the Redevelopment Commission, are welcoming of the project.
Garmong Construction is the lead contractor and project manager for the building, who were also the ones who recently completed the delivery of the Hancock County Jail project.
Dan Zuerner, vice president for Garmong Construction, shared that agreement to serve as the project’s construction manager was made in November 2022. Currently, the designing and engineering work is still in progress, with Arc Design anticipating wrapping up the design work by the end of the year.
Zuerner shared they anticipate the project will bid out in the beginning months of 2024, with groundbreaking to occur as soon as weather breaks and is suitable for construction.
The press release stated it is planned to have initial occupancy starting in the first quarter of 2025.
