February 2008

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                                         February 2008

HEALTHCARE CORRIDOR PROJECTS
Porter Health Systems
Porter County Commissioners approved the proposed Porter Health Systems site 2 to 1 at its most recent meeting. The site, located at IN 49 and US 6, will be the new location for the planned 225-bed facility called for in the agreement in which Community Health Systems purchased Porter Hospital. This will be a 225+ million dollar construction project. 

South Bend Memorial Hospital Project
The Valparaiso Redevelopment Commission approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district for the zoned medical office technology district at Ind. 49 and CR 500. Purchased by South Bend Memorial Hospital, the proposed 100-bed hospital is scheduled to break ground in spring 2008.  In conjunction with the proposed 100-bed hospital, a companion high-tech business park will be developed by South Bend-based Holladay Properties. This project will create approximately 1,000 new jobs for the area. 

MATT MURPHY ATTENDS BALL STATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
Matt Murphy, Vice President of the VEDC and Valparaiso Economic Development Director graduated from the Economic Development Institute in January. The week included intense programming on economic development principles. The institute, held at Ball State University, stresses an intense program focused on retention dealing with existing business needs, retention, seeking out new firms looking for new locations, and new business start-ups. Murphy was the recipient of a scholarship provided by NIPSCO to attend this program. 

GERRY DICK, INDIANAPOLIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS REPORTER, FEATURED SPEAKER AT VEDC ANNUAL LUNCHEON ON FEBRUARY 14
The host and creator of Inside INdiana Business television, Gerry Dick, spoke on the February 14 at noon at Strongbow Inn. Dick also serves as president and managing editor of Grow INdiana Media Ventures, LLC, a diverse media company focused on producing and distributing Indiana business news and information through multiple media channels. “Gerry has done an outstanding job in reporting business development trends in a fast paced, timely manner throughout Indiana. His presentation is one our investors need to hear and will enjoy,” states VEDC President Rex Richards. Recognized with an Ernst and Young's prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Gerry was also honored by the Small Business Administration as its Journalist of the Year. 

TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM
The VEDC sponsored a “Technology Infrastructure Forum” on Tuesday, Feb. 5 at the Valpo Chamber.  The purpose of gathering these companies together was to ask for their input on what the VEDC and the City of Valparaiso could do from a strategic planning viewpoint with respect to our technology infrastructure, i.e. bandwidth needs, to retain, grow and recruit new technology, life sciences, etc. companies to our area.  Both Golden Technologies and Memorial Hospital brought up a model called the St. Joe Valley Metronet in South Bend

·     ●“The mission of St. Joe Valley Metronet, Inc. ("SJVMI") is to encourage technology-based economic development by providing state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure at cost-effective prices. SJVMI's goal is readily available, cost-effective access to high-speed telecommunications for local businesses, education and healthcare institutions, and government agencies. The infrastructure SJVMI provides the "Metronet" - is a dark fiber network linking local users to long-haul trunk line points-of-presence ("POPs").The Metronet is vendor neutral, and is open to all telecommunications service vendors and users who want to subscribe.”

Matt will be visiting with the St. Joe Valley Metronet Friday, Feb. 22 and will report back his findings.   

VEDC BOARD DEVELOPS AGENDA FOR 2008
In January, the full VEDC Board participated in a retreat to highlight and identify core projects for work during the 2008 year. Specific areas identified were assisting local economic development projects and solving workforce issues as well as developing a marketing strategy to seek out selected firms for expansion in the Valparaiso area.  The healthcare corridor on Ind. 49 has significantly gained the attention of firms exploring new expansion sites in northern Indiana.

Rex Richards
President, VEDC