River Ridge Approves Resolutions to Fund Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansions in Jeffersonville and Charlestown

Jeffersonville, IN (March 21, 2022) – During its monthly meeting, the River Ridge Development Authority authorized two memorandums of agreement (MOA) to help finance planned improvements at wastewater treatment plants in Jeffersonville and Charlestown. Both treatment plants provide services to businesses located within the River Ridge Commerce Center.

“These are critical projects for the growth and ongoing success of River Ridge,” Acy said. “Adding treatment capacity at both treatment plants will allow us to continue developing properties and attracting businesses in both the north and south sections of the River Ridge Commerce Center. We are pleased that with this financial support, our community partners will have the resources they need to move their respective projects forward.”

According to the MOA approved for the Jeffersonville project, the RRDA would contribute $12 million toward the city’s planned $38 million investment to expand the North Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plant provides wastewater treatment services to industries and businesses located in the Jeffersonville section of River Ridge as well as about 10,000 acres of Jeffersonville located outside the River Ridge Commerce Center. The planned expansion would double the treatment capacity at the plant to approximately 6 million gallons per day.

Meanwhile, the MOA for the Charlestown project calls for the Development Authority to contribute $12 million to help fund a new $42 million treatment plant in Charlestown. The RRDA has identified several developers interested in investing in industrial/commercial developments within the Charlestown service area of the Commerce Center, which would benefit from the new plant.

The majority of River Ridge’s funding to support the treatment plant expansions would come from proceeds from a planned 2022 bond issue, which also was approved at the meeting.

Continued interest in land sales

In other business, the RRDA also approved resolutions to allow Executive Director Jerry Acy to negotiate two agreements for the sale of nearly 30 acres within the River Ridge Commerce Center (RRCC) to industrial or commercial prospects.

These potential sales include:

• A 14.2-acre parcel off Jim Lewis Avenue. The potential purchaser would construct office buildings and other facilities to house an existing RRCC business.
• A 15.5-acre parcel on Logistics Avenue, east of Trey Street. The potential purchaser would construct an industrial facility on the site.

“It’s still early in the year, but we continue to see high demand and interest in River Ridge,” Acy said. “We are excited that with the ongoing, smart investments in infrastructure and development, we will see more and more companies – and jobs – coming to River Ridge and Southern Indiana.”

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About the River Ridge Development Authority

The River Ridge Development Authority manages the River Ridge Commerce Center, a 6,000-acre business and office park established in 1998 to replace lost economic activity from the closure of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant. The Authority has invested more than $150 million to redevelop about 25 percent of the Center. River Ridge is home to more than 60 companies, such as Amazon, Bose, Collins Aerospace, Enjoy Life Foods, Medline, Optum and HempRise. Onsite employment totaled nearly 10,400 in 2021, and the Center produced a total of $2.5 billion in economic output and supported nearly 17,000 regional jobs. The investments and growth at River Ridge recently earned the RRDA the International Economic Development Council’s Gold Award for Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse.