September 2011
Phone: 260-463-4901 • Fax 888-439-6528 • The Hometown Treasure
LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation
Purchases Fawn River Crossing Business Park
The LaGrange County Economic Development
Corporation (LCEDC) announced today that they have
purchased land in the Fawn River Crossing Business
Park in Howe, IN.
The Fawn River Crossing Business Park is located at
the southwest corner of the intersection of the I-80/90
Interstate Highway and IN State Road 9. The park is
currently home to DRV Luxury Suites, a manufacturer
of high-end fifth-wheel recreational vehicles and
Lennard Ag Company, who operates a large potato
processing facility, in addition to the Holiday Inn
Express and the Howe Travel Plaza. The LCEDC took
ownership of the approximately 64.4 developable acres
left in the park. The land is shovel-ready with all utilities
in place, including a brand new 500,000 gallon water
tower and treatment plant and connection to the City
of Sturgis, MI municipal sewer system, and is zoned
for industrial use. The LCEDC also owns a purchase
option on approximately 114 acres of “Certified Site
Ready” industrial land adjacent to the business park
that is privately held.
“We are excited that we have been able to acquire
the land in the Fawn River Crossing Business Park,” said
Joe Pierce, LCEDC Board President. “Controlling this
land gives us a large competitive advantage to be able
to offer it for future developments. We are thankful
to both the LaGrange County Commissioners and
the LaGrange County Council for recognizing our
vision for the future development opportunities that
this land brings.” “Our research with site selection
consultants over the past five years has indicated time
and again the need for communities to have local
control over developable land” said Dale Buuck, Vice
President for Business Development of the Northeast
(269) 651-6751
Indiana Regional Partnership. “LaGrange County
has embraced this concept over the last few years and
has been working hard to improve the quality of the
product that Northeast Indiana has to offer.”
“This project fits squarely with our newly developed
strategic plan” said Keith Gillenwater, Executive
Director of the LCEDC. "Developing shovel-ready sites
and having control over them is one of the single most
important tools for future economic development,
and I am confident that having these sites ready to
go, coupled with our aggressive business recruitment
strategy and attractive incentive packages will better
position us for economic growth well into the future.”
More information about the Fawn River Crossing
Business Park and the LCEDC is available at www.
lagrangecountyedc.com and at www.fawnrivercrossing.
com.
Shipshewana Lake Speed
Limit Petition Turned Down
The Natural Resources Commission of the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) received a
petition from area citizens to exempt the speed limit
on Shipshewana Lake every day from 1 to 4 pm. The
petition was reviewed and the following was determined:
• The exemption to the speed limit would not
result in an unreasonable haza &BF?W'6??2??(
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