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37 acres? Absolute garbage land use.
This might be the one use of land that’s worse than a data center
Huh? What better use can you think of for land adjacent to a highly traveled freeway? Plenty of relatively good paying jobs and tax money being generated. So much better than another gross Love’s truck stop.
Pull the area up on Google Maps and get back to me on appropriate land use for that area.
I’m with Joe. This is probably better than another warehouse, since it will not remain agricultural land. Now we just have to convince them to put solar arrays over those gas pump canopies.
Maybe the developer will put the data center on the other 40 acres.
Would be better to be re-forested or planted as a prairie if it can’t remain farmland, which the article never says it can’t
Michael, it’s next to the highway and to the north is nothing but warehouses.
Sure, in a perfect world you buy 40 acres at the decaying husk of an exit to the north (Main Street) and redevelop, but unless the city of Greenwood wants to do that, no one else will. And given how Mayor Mark Myers nearly got primaried for a guy whose campaign was run on the idea of “Greenwood should stop changing so darn much”, I can see why he didn’t want to go down that road even if it would be a good idea.
Michael, you’re welcome to outbid Buc-ees anytime and buy the land to re-forest it or farm it. Or donate the money to The Nature Conservancy to do so.
Until then, we can safely assume that neither is on the table and the land WILL be developed, probably for a highway related use (gas station, restaurant, hotel, warehouse).
Chris, I’m beginning to believe you might not be in good-faith. Why does it become my responsibility to buy up land to be turned into what I’ve described as a better use? Debate me on the merits of what I’m arguing. Tell me why a buc-ee’s is a better use of land than a nature preserve with hiking/biking trails, an education center, etc. Your first defense of data centers is always that they don’t have much traffic or trucks spewing diesel once built, yet in this situation you’re not worried about the same at all? Be consistent, be direct, and stop with the fallacious arguments already, It’s getting boring eviscerating them every time.
Joe, that might all be true, but it’s not really a rebuttal against the argument that this is a bad use of land, which is all I’ve pointed out. Reforesting land is good for communities in a whole host of ways and we know that climate change issues are ultimately land use ones. A Buc-ee’s travel stop is good for travelers and for Buc-ee’s executives. It’s worthwhile to push back and add some friction to these types of developments, even though we all know they’ll still likely move forward. I’m not naive. But it is naive to just accept that these corporations have the interests of the communities they expand into as their top priority. That’s not how for-profit corporations work.
Michael, throwing up a non-sequitur (reforesting extremely valuable development land at a highway interchange) is what’s not serious. That battle was lost the minute the Worthsville interchange was opened after years of planning for a cross-county arterial road.
When we’re talking about the actual development of “development land”, wherever it is located, the argument is about what types of development are suitable, and what produces the “highest and best use” for the tax base, the community, and for economic development.
No one is saying forest or ag land is bad, but I will say directly that since we’re in the real world here, what you’ve suggested is patently ridiculous unless you’re willing to fund it or find the funding for it. Without a funding source, “alternatives” that require massive funding are just a pipe dream…and no municipality is going to rezone land to eliminate potential jobs and tax base and instead spend money on land to remove it from development.
You haven’t shown that reforestation or prairie restoration isn’t the “highest and best use” for the tax base, the community, and for economic development” as you put it. There’s a horde of supporting data that cities that prioritize their natural amenities increase property values (and thus the tax base), decrease healthcare costs by promoting healthier lifestyles and helping to mitigate noise and air pollution (especially impactful next to a highway), and attract talent, jobs and other investment. It’s not even that expensive! And the investment pays dividends. It’s okay to advocate for more creative ideas, Chris. I understand that it’s unlikely to go my way, but it’s okay to speak out. I’d like to leave the world a healthier place than I grew up with for my son, but these types of developments all but guarantee that won’t be the case.
Again Michael: “ideas” and “concepts” without funding are not serious. If you’re going to troll, do better.
If you want to make the change you suggest, get serious about raising the money to actually do it. Or convince the taxpayers of Greenwood, Johnson County, or Indiana that it’s a great idea and they should pay for the land and the cost to implement it.
Bring it on and the sooner the better!
I am a little conflicted that a mega project like this is celebrated?
People make this a travel destination and not a gas stop? C’mon kids let’s pack up and go to Bucc-ees for the day. I may be in the minority here but I just don’t get it as anything other than a VP on mega steroids. For those that go….enjoy. Hope some people get jobs close to their homes and receive a decent wage.
The average wage at a Buc-ee’s is $16-21, so the decent wage thing won’t be happening. It’s sad that places like Greenwood, Lebanon, Whitestown, Plainfield, etc, who are desperate to grow into thriving communities that people want to live in, turn to these car-centric developments that turn their cities into glorified pit stops as folks make their way into Indy or the northern suburbs who have actual family-centric destinations
Michael, I’m detecting some urban snobbery.
1. Have you ever been to I-65 and Worthsville Rd.? That highway interchange is far from the center of Greenwood that the City has developed over the past few years with walkable amenities.
2. That intersection is the essence of car-related development. Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, Fishers…all have similar places that are about as far from “walkable downtowns” as one can get. Picking on a handful of places that also do this is ridiculous.
3. For the 60-65% of Hoosiers who do not have college degrees, advanced training, or journeyman skill levels at any trade, $16-21/hour is not a bad starting wage, nor is working for a company that promotes from within, when it holds the promise of some advancement. It’s also pretty good wage for a part time or full time second worker in a family where the other worker does have some skills, training, or degree.
I guess we’re just going to have to agree to disagree, Chris. You think I’m a snob, and that’s fine. I think you lack creativity, vision, and have low standards for the way your city and state builds itself up, and that’s fine too.
https://ncejn.org/unveiling-buc-ees-burden-ncejns-statement-at-the-mebane-press-conference/
Michael, Chris made most of the points I would have made. Greenwood has invested about as much as one would expect on the Southside around Freedom Park and into downtown Greenwood.
If Greenwood should have done anything, it would have been to move the airport 30 years ago and go for a big project with that area. Sadly, Charlie Henderson wasn’t exactly a mayor with a vision.
Michael, Indiana is a car- and truck-oriented place. More people work at home than commute in a carpool or via transit. So the highways and cars are here, and they need gasoline.
Frankly, I prefer one well managed mega-station to the dozen crappy and dirty gas station/c-stores selling Kratom and bath salts and CBD littering most other highway interchanges and their surroundings. If having Buc-ees drives others out of business, that’s probably a good thing.
Then the old gas stations can become neighborhood bakeries, restaurants, pubs, and probably even more bank branches.