MT. COMFORT — As someone passes Mt. Comfort exit on I-70, it’s apparent that buildings are popping up left and right. On the south side of the interstate, Hancock Health has created their own area — Gateway Park — to bring healthcare, more residential living and commercial opportunities for Hancock County residents.
Rob Matt, senior vice president, said in 2017 officials with the hospital created a strategic plan that addressed the growth on the western edge of the county. While there were physician practices in McCordsville and New Palestine, there was no hospital or ancillary services offered.
Matt said as the western side of the county has matured — McCordsville and New Palestine area — those people don’t typically drive east to Greenfield. Matt said, with that reality, they needed to put health services in the traffic patterns of those residents — hence Gateway Park.
Over the course of the next couple of years, Matt said they bought the 140 acres for the hospital and decided to develop the rest of the area for multiple reasons, such as serving and supporting a health care campus and to enhance the picture of Hancock County.
“The truth of the matter is, there is no development like this in Hancock County,” Matt said. “We are the best, we are the biggest, the best multi-use development in the county, and we felt an obligation as Hancock Health to make Hancock County a little more distinguishable.”
Harold Gibson, director of property development, started working with the hospital approximately two years ago to help with the development of Gateway, using his experience as a land surveyor.
“The striving for excellence and the commitment to Hancock County is easily seen when you’re here on a daily basis,” Gibson said. “And we’re putting the same type of care towards this project.”
Gibson said that if they can create a destination place in the county that helps retain those dollars in the county, it helps the hospital, the county and the people in the county.
With creating their own planned unit development (PUD), Gibson said they were creating their own zoning code that increases the standards for what they thought the development should be like.
By creating their own PUD, Gibson said that this 140-acre development just south of the interstate is approximately a 10- to 15-year project.
After speaking with Realtors and commercial people, and hearing that the population just wasn’t high enough for them to invest, Gibson said they acquired an additional 60 acres, which sold rather quickly to a developer up north for a mix-use development. That development alone is said to be a five- to 10-year project.
Gibson said with the original plans changing just a little bit by adding the mix-use development, they still have some of the 140 acres saved for future offices.
Randall’s Residence, another section of Gateway, just recently had their grand opening, offering senior living facilities with in-house memory care for those with dementia. And currently being built right alongside I-70 is a pediatric oral surgery center, a joint effort by five surgeons coming together to offer their services in the county.
The recently approved dual hotel and conference center with Sun Development will also be in Gateway. More on that project can be found at greenfieldreporter.com.
Gibson said that the hotels and conference center has been one of the biggest developments he and county officials have been involved in with a chance to make an impact on Hancock County, with the developer bringing to the table a project as good as they could have hoped for.
Gibson said that while they have recently been meeting with developers for space and signed a purchase agreement for a retail center, they would like to see some upscale restaurants added to the plans.
“We have a plan going forward, that hopefully within six to 12 months we’ll have that,” said Gibson, also mentioning that with the added developments, it should draw some attention to the area.
Gibson also said they want to expand their health facilities, designing a medical office building currently and then looking to add a second hospital onsite by the next 10 years, depending on how fast the process goes.
Gibson said as time continues their plan and vision for Gateway may change at some point, however their strive for excellence will not.
Matt said that with the number of things going on in the county, the county is coming to “a reflection point.”
With the developments at Gateway, Community Foundation of Hancock County’s work with quality of life, Amplify Hancock and more, Matt said there is a significant amount of healthy projects and initiatives underway in the county.
“You can feel the rumble,” Matt said. “… I think it’s an exciting, exciting time.”
