MARTINSVILLE — It's easier than ever to speed past Martinsville now that Interstate 69 is complete between Indianapolis and Bloomington. The city wants to provide reasons for people to slow down and stay for a long time.
The Martinsville Redevelopment Commission discussed how to allocate $40 million of tax increment financing on Wednesday morning. Most of the investment is focused east of I-69, which is empty and has potential for new housing.
"I would like to have 1,000 new homes in the city limits," said Martinsville mayor Kenny Costin. "Going back to the flood of 2008, we lost a lot of homes. We lost a lot of students in our school system. We're hoping this is a way to bring those homes back."
Several new subdivisions are already under construction on former farmland near the interstate.
Costin hopes some of the projects discussed for TIF investment can supercharge new development on Martinsville's empty land. Potential investments east of I-69 include $5.7 for new sewer lines, $760,000 for a skatepark next to the freeway, and $12.5 million to build a recreational sports park.
"I'm thinking this will be something just for our citizens," Costin said. "I don't know if you're familiar with Plainfield or not, but along Highway 40 they probably have four quad baseball diamonds, a lot soccer fields, and two football fields."
The list of potential TIF investments also included $3 million for a new Martinsville Fire Department station east of I-69, but Costin said those plans are uncertain due to the effects of Senate Enrolled Act 1.
