A region comprised of Jackson, Bartholomew and Jennings counties, along with the town of Edinburgh, is receiving a $30 million grant from a state initiative for economic development.

“Those of us on the South Central Indiana Talent Region steering committee are excited with the news today (Tuesday) that our READI grant proposal was met with approval by the state to support our projects and awarded the region $30 million in READI funds,” said Dan Davis, president and chief executive officer of the Community Foundation of Jackson County.

Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said he thinks the future is pretty bright for the region.

Recommendations for grant awards from the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative were announced Tuesday during a joint meeting of the board of directors of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and Indiana Economic Development Foundation. The funding amounts were announced by Jason Dudich of the READI review committee and then approved by the board.

The session was chaired by Gov. Eric Holcomb, who said, “Indiana is definitely ready to do more.”

Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers, who also attended, thanked the 17 regions that applied and said they “worked tirelessly, strategically imagining the future of their counties.”

“I heard for months on end just how proud you were of the collaboration that occurred,” he said.

Davis said strong collaboration has brought the South Central Indiana Talent Region success in the past and will help deliver powerful technologies, prosperous communities and a resilient future moving forward.

The competitive READI grant program encouraged Hoosier communities to partner together on proposals for future growth and improvement in their region, particularly in regards to talent attraction and retention. As part of the program, these regions were required to attract a minimum 4-to-1 match, including a 1-to-1 match from local public funding.

The South Central Indiana Talent Region’s proposal included projects that fall into four categories: Innovation and entrepreneurship, education and workforce development, housing and talent attraction and quality of place.

The plan for the region had a total proposed budget of more than $378 million with $49.5 million coming from READI funds.

“Although this isn’t the full amount we sought, it is a solid state investment in regional innovations in entrepreneurship, education and workforce development, housing and talent attraction and quality of place,” Davis said. “These dollars will join local government and private investments throughout our region.”

Lienhoop said he’s excited, despite the grant coming in at less than they requested.

“Now, we look forward to trying to figure out what comes next,” he said.

Lienhoop said he also expects the state to offer some guidance on how to allocate the funds.

Greater Columbus Economic Development Corp. President Jason Hester said officials are thankful for the award, though they will have to figure out how to make cuts and where to allocate resources as they consider the proposed projects.

“We’ll do it as a region,” Hester said, adding they will continue to engage the private partners who have been involved in the process.

Eric Frey, executive director of the Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corp, said the $30 million, in terms of per capita, is a “big win for the region.” According to the region’s website, the South Central Indiana Talent Region is home to nearly 160,000 residents.

“I’m grateful, excited,” Frey said. “$30 million, I think, will have a significant impact on these three counties.”

He expects that even with the lower grant amount, the region will still see substantial public and private investment with partners working to make projects a reality.

Frey said there will be an organizational meeting Jan. 11 to go over next steps. Officials expect to learn more of the administrative details of the grant at that time.

Furthermore, while READI grant awards were announced Tuesday, the program may not be over yet. According to the Indianapolis Business Journal, Holcomb announced last week he plans to seek a second round of funding for READI in 2023, as the 17 regions that applied sought more than triple the program’s $500 million budget.

Additionally, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. had projected READI was expected to attract at least $2 billion of local public, private and philanthropic match funding.

Both Chambers and Holcomb also suggested at Tuesday’s meeting that a second round of READI is possible.

“We’ve got the financial wherewithal to again seize the day,” the governor said.

That’s good news, Davis said.

“We will hope that perhaps the remaining $19.5 million in funding might be available through READI II as alluded to by the governor,” he said.

The South Central Indiana Talent Region presentation includes 26 projects, including six totaling $7 million in Jackson County.

The Jackson County projects include $2.4 million in READI grant funding for an $8 million sewer expansion in the Uniontown area and $2 million in READI grant funding for a $10 million expansion of career and technical programs at Seymour High School. A third Jackson County project would fund $400,000 of a $2 million expansion of the Jackson County Learning Center.