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The first major development at a quiet Interstate 65 interchange in Boone County has received approval.
The Boone County Commissioners on Monday morning voted 3-0 to approve the first phase of a plan by Lebanon-based MCI Development Inc. for a 190-acre development called 47 Commons at the southwest quadrant of I-65 and State Road 47. MCI Development, the development arm of construction firm Merritt Contracting Inc., will manage growth at the site about 7 miles northwest of Lebanon.
The $30 million first phase is expected to include a new headquarters for Merritt Contracting, facilities for additional industrial companies that have not yet been announced and infrastructure to serve the area. Future phases of construction, expected to happen over the next decade, could include commercial, retail and residential development.
Merritt Contracting Chief Financial Officer Jake Merritt said the company plans to relocate 150 employees to the site. Merritt Contracting’s headquarters will occupy about 10 acres at 47 Commons and could open next year.
Merritt said he expects four more companies will eventually locate at 47 Commons.
“We kind of view it as a place where local grassroots businesses like ourselves will have the opportunity to continue to participate in the growth of Boone County, and so we feel like it’s a great spot to service that growth, as well as provide [a place for] local people like us who are trying to grow our business,” Merritt said.
Tom Merritt founded Merritt Contracting, a civil and concrete construction company, in 1995. Two of the company’s recent projects include a 330,000-square-foot cold-storage facility for Netherlands-based NewCold and a 616,000-square-foot warehouse, both at Lebanon Business Park.
Total investment at 47 Commons, including future phases, could approach $170 million to $200 million. Merritt said that industrial development will take place south of Spring Creek, which runs through the middle of the site, while areas on the north side of the creek closer to SR 47 will have commercial, retail and residential development.
The I-65 interchange at SR 47, Exit 146, is one of just two exits between Indianapolis and Chicago that have experienced no development since the interstate was constructed about a half-century ago. The other is Exit 188, at SR 18 in White County, about 15 miles north of Lafayette.
“We also feel like if we can work with the county to get utilities up there … our goal is to kind of set the standard for development in that area,” Merritt said.
Boone County officials have sought to manage growth in high-potential areas of the county after the Indiana Economic Development Corp. purchased swaths of land for the 9,000-acre LEAP Research and Innovation District. In 2023, the county created what is known as a zoning overlay district along major thoroughfares and across four key intersections, including at I-65 and SR 47, in unincorporated areas of the central and western half of the county.
Last year, county officials approved the 65/47 Economic Development Area that is bounded by West County Road 750 North to the north, the CSX railroad tracks west of Witt Road to the east, West County Road 450 North to the south and North County Road 350 West to the west.
Establishing an EDA was the first step toward spurring business and residential development. The county plans to follow up with infrastructure construction and improvements, beginning with sewer service.
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