GREENSBURG, Ind. – It was announced Thursday that Accelerate Rural Indiana (ARI) will receive $30 million from the state’s second Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI 2.0) to solidify Interstate 74’s southeastern corridor as a top destination for talent.
ARI was awarded over $300 per capita of READI 2.0 investment, the state’s largest per capita READI investment. This historic investment into one of only two exclusively rural/rural-mixed regions in Indiana will accelerate growth along the I-74 corridor and reimagine one of Indiana’s greatest assets – its rural frontier.
The coalition of Batesville, Greensburg, Rushville, and Shelbyville along with Decatur, Rush, and Shelby counties was named a funding recipient of Indiana’s READI 2.0 by Gov. Eric Holcomb.
In 2021, ARI was awarded $20 million in READI 1.0 funding, also the highest per-capita READI award in the state. The region’s READI 1.0 project portfolio is expected to attract nearly $500 million of public and private investment by 2026. ARI has already disbursed almost $10 million in funding to seven regional projects.
In February, the region submitted its READI 2.0 application which included five key priority areas: Rally Housing Investment, Raise Incomes, Revitalize Quality-of-Life, Reinforce Educational Attainment & Innovation, and a ‘Rural. Reimagined.’ Marketing Campaign.
In 2023, ARI formed the Accelerate Rural Indiana Regional Development Authority (ARI RDA) to govern the region. The ARI RDA Development Board will work with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation to decide which of the region’s projects will be funded with this round of READI funds.
