South Bend - Elkhart receives $50 million in READI grant funds

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - The Indiana Economic Development Corporation announced the recipients for the READI grant on Tuesday.

The purpose of the grant is to help fund projects that attract and retain top job talent.

Seventeen regions across the State of Indiana competed for $500 million in total funding.

The South Bend - Elkhart region was awarded $50 million dollars.

“From South Bend to North Vernon and from east Chicago...this truly is turning our blueprints into beauty and we have the financial wherewithal to seize the day,” said Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.

“Went through a process where we received 171 ideas from across the region that informed our whole plan and strategy that we put forward in our proposal in September,” said Chief Strategy Officer with South Bend - Elkhart Regional Partnership Bethany Hartley.

Andrew Wiand presented the proposal on behalf of the region.

“To represent a big plan for hundreds of thousands of peoples’ lives for the future, so it was really exciting,” Wiand said.

The proposal focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, talent attraction and development, education and workforce, and quality of place and quality of life projects.

“It means an infusion of additional capital that would be a four to one match to that $50 million,” Hartley said.

Every program that applies would have to have a four to one match.

“Now it’s important to understand what are those most competitive projects in our region? We do have a list of those. We have been in dialogue with representatives. Now with the award we can go back and have our conversations and reach out to those who had requested proposals and open the aperture for those who might submit now,” Wiand said.

Some of the money could help with major renovations at the Morris Performing Arts Center and could be used to expand the Memorial Hospital campus.

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