Tech park off and running

By Laura Thigpen, Staff writer

May 18, 2006 11:55 am

— CRANE — Four shiny shovels dug into ground Wednesday that once belonged to Ron Toon’s family.
But the land will serve a much better use now, said Toon, the director of Greene County’s redevelopment commission.
Because as the first plot for the first building for the first company committed to locating in the West Gate@Crane Technology Park, his granddaddy’s land has now become part of the reality that until now has been simply a decade-long dream.
With the ground-breaking, however, those who’ve worked to make that dream come true witnessed what they believe will be just the beginning of a massive growth spurt in the tri-county area where Daviess, Greene and Martin counties come together.
“We had an economic summit five years ago,” said Dave Reece, former executive director of Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center and former director of the Southern Indiana Business Alliance, the powerhouse of area businesses that worked to help save the base from the most recent Base Realignment and Closure. “We talked then about establishing a tech park, and we’ve been talking and thinking about it a long, long time.”
Now, he continued, the opportunities are here in the tri-county park to attract more and more companies to the area.
And with those companies will come not only jobs, said Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, but good, high-paying positions. That, she added, was part of the commitment she and Gov. Mitch Daniels made when they threw their support behind keeping Crane open — to not just save it but to make it bigger and better.
“It’s all about jobs,” said Skillman prior to the official groundbreaking that took place on the spot where defense contractor EG&G will construct the first building in the new tech park that joins the three counties in economic development and growth. “Today, many dreams are coming true that have been brewing more than a decade.”
Those dreams always involved utilizing the Crane naval base to attract contractors and other high-tech businesses to the area. And many who worked to save the base from last year’s BRAC process believe the tech park promise is one of the reasons southern Indiana was spared the base closing.
“I believe this tech park had an impact on the final BRAC decision,” said state Rep. Dave Crooks, D-Washington, who was one of several state officials on hand for the groundbreaking. “This showed we had a future plan to develop Crane even more, and a way to attract high-paying jobs for years to come. This way we have the contractors both inside and outside the Crane gates.”
Which is exactly what the state hoped to see happen, Skillman agreed.
Because for many years contractors in other parts of the country have done the work for Crane that Skillman and Crooks now hope to see coming to and staying in Indiana.
“Crane spends $100 million each year with out-of-state contractors,” the lieutenant governor told the dozens of elected and appointed officials from three counties, who, alongside those who worked over a decade to make the tech park dream a thriving reality, listened as Skillman ticked off the benefits the venture would bring the region. “I want them to come to Indiana and set up shop, hire Hoosiers to go to work here, and stay here.”
Then the money stays in Indiana, she explained. Better yet, the jobs stay in Indiana, too, and that’s the main reason Toon celebrated the use of his family’s land.
“For me, it’s that more of our kids can stay here,” said Toon, as the 62-year-old lifelong Indiana resident walked toward the pile of dirt where the groundbreaking would happen. “And if the kids are prepared for the jobs, they can stay here at home.”
The reason they’ll someday be able to is the result of a lot of work by a lot of individuals and organizations, said Jerry Ott, economic development director for Martin County.
“It’s been five years of hard work, and belief, and discussions, and introductions, and synergies, and of lots of people persevering,” Ott said. “And the best part is it’s a tri-county tech park. We have to compete with a lot, and separately we don’t stand a chance, but jointly we can capitalize on the assets of the region.”
Nobody who turned out for the sunny ceremony close to the spot where all three counties join believed any differently either, except maybe those who knew the process had taken considerably longer than five years.
“There was a group that started in the mid-90s called CREDO — Crane Economic Development Organization,” said Ron Arnold, who served as master of ceremonies for the groundbreaking and who serves as the economic development director for Daviess County. “They knew then they wanted some kind of development close to the base.”
Some of those who made up that group were on hand to hear EG&G Vice President Vaughn Mahaffey validate their vision as his company prepares to move into a new 25,000 square foot building divided between offices, shop space and storage.
But it’s what comes after that has everybody fired up.
“I think this is going to end up being more than anybody ever realized,” Arnold said. “And with this many people coming together for a project to capitalize on the base facilities, and with what the base has to offer, there’s no end to what can be done here.”
Besides EG&G, Science Applications International Corporation, another defense contractor, has also committed to lease space in the first building.
Then, the Crane Federal Credit Union pledged to buy land in the tech park to build a new branch.
“It’s a big day for rural southern Indiana,” Skillman said.

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