GREENFIELD — The Greenfield City Council voted last week to join the Central Indiana Regional Development Authority, otherwise known as CIRDA, which opens the city up to new funding opportunities.
The council voted 6-0 at its April 24 meeting to join the authority, which Gov. Eric Holcomb created in March 2020. Holcomb started the organization was designed to attract regional investments by focusing on talent, quality of place, entrepreneurship and infrastructure.
Greenfield’s mayor Guy Titus said he was approached by another mayor in the region letting him know Greenfield was one of the only cities in the greater Indianapolis area not to be part of the group.
“It costs us nothing to be a member and it gives us access to state funds that are given out to help fund development in different communities. We need to be part of that,” said Titus.
Council president Dan Riley agreed.
“CIRDA is a pot of money from the state that goes towards goals that are established throughout the region. If you’re not at the table, you’re not going to get any of that money,” he said.
While no specific projects have been slated for possible CIRDA funds thus far, Riley said the city would likely apply them to downtown redevelopment projects, which he said have been a top priority for Mayor Titus.
Also at the April 24 council meeting, members gave their support to a company’s proposed downtown mixed-use development which could feature approximately 175 apartment units, 16,500 square feet of retail/commercial space and 380 parking spaces, including a possible parking garage.
According to CentralIndianaRDA.org, CIRDA invests its time in projects and grant opportunities related to quality of place, infrastructure and economic development, with the goal to enhance the region, attract people and business and benefit the political subdivisions within the region.
In creating CIRDA four years ago, Holcomb said the vision was to champion the central part of the state that serves as a “as a hub of innovation, advanced technologies, and diverse communities, setting the national benchmark for strategic and sustainable growth in similar regions.”
