An innovative development that has been in the works for three years will begin taking shape in 2025.
Innovation Mile, which encompasses approximately 600 acres adjacent to Ind. 69, will become a “dynamic business and technology hub that will serve as an anchor for revolutionary thinking and a gateway for innovation, leveraging long-term growth opportunities and catalyzing reinvestment in Noblesville,” according to the City of Noblesville.
The district was announced at Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen’s State of the City address in 2021. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 6, 2023.
“Andrew Murray, our economic development director, pitched the idea to me to master plan the 600 acres adjacent to Ind. 69,” Jensen said. “Post COVID-19, we saw a pretty big boom in Hamilton County (regarding) overall investments. We know that Hamilton County is a hugely sought-after county in Indiana, and we looked at the landscape and realized that, really, out of the four big cities, we’re the ones that have the most room left to develop.”
Jensen said the city wanted to ensure the development was strategic, thoughtful and visionary. Innovation Mile is projected to generate $914 million in net new earnings, create more than 540 full-time jobs and collect $26.2 million in local taxes over the next 30 years.
“We jumped on the opportunity to lay out a vision for those 600 acres, knowing that we wanted to attract high-quality jobs for the future, particularly in the life sciences industry, headquarters, innovation and tech space. We feel that is central Indiana’s bread and butter for the future.”
Innovation Mile will be home to several businesses, including the $93 million Noblesville Event Center and the $35 million Indiana Joint Replacement Institute, both of which are under construction.
“The Indiana Joint Replacement Institute is going to be a premier site for joint replacements in the state of Indiana, but also a research laboratory as they’re studying the future of those surgeries for an aging population,” Jensen said.
Indiana Joint Replacement Institute is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2025.
The Noblesville Event Center will be home to the Indiana Pacers G League team but will also be used for conferences, concerts and events.
“As we researched and looked at different sites to land the event center, Innovation Mile made a lot of sense due to the exposure to the frontage on Ind. 69,” Jensen said. “We are looking to activate Innovation Mile to be a place that’s active during more than just the 8-to-5 realm; an area that’s active in the evenings. Not only will the event center be home to the Indiana Pacers G League team 40 days out of the year, but it will also be home to conferences, events, trade shows, concerts, etc., those other 300-plus nights during the year. So, that is well under construction.”
Deputy Mayor Matt Light said a study by Hamilton County Tourism guided the city when developing the event center.
“We were informed significantly by the findings that Hamilton County Tourism and (its) consultant head and partners identified in terms of the sports and entertainment assets that currently exist in Hamilton County and Noblesville,” Light said. “The seating configuration and the size of our arena, compared to what’s in existence in the area and what’s on the horizon, was a significant part of what led us to where we are today.”
Light also looks forward to seeing how the event center will shine a light on the city outside its borders.
“When I think about the G League, once they kick off in Noblesville in the fall of 2025, their road games will be played in more than 20 other states, including in Canada and Mexico, with the other G League teams around the country. Each time they’re playing, whether it’s on ESPN or the G League app, there’s Noblesville on the ticker showing the score,” Light said. “It just helps tell the (city’s story) and get more exposure to (what) we’re doing here.”
Jensen said the city’s planning and development team’s focus is on delivering the event center on time and under budget, with an anticipated opening date in spring 2025.
“There is a parking structure that’s being constructed adjacent to (the event center) that you can see going up,” Jensen said. “I think the next phase will be a high-end hotel. So, we’re focused on getting those pieces underway, getting the Indiana Joint Replacement Institute open and then at the same time, making sure we get our sewer and roadways put in. We are putting in what I think is a wise investment from the city’s standpoint. Then I think we will see some announcements (regarding the) life science, tech and sports industry in the coming months.”
The district also will have a residential component in the future, according to Jensen.
“I’ll say, in terms of the residential aspect, I think we’re on the cusp of, shortly, in the next, probably 60 days, announcing a new residential opportunity on the north end of Innovation Mile that speaks to a market that we don’t have in Noblesville, that will increase residential opportunities,” Jensen said.
Andrew Murray, Noblesville’s economic development director, is excited about the new district’s “transformational opportunities.”
“It’s really, from my perspective, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Murray said. “It’s fun to ride this wave of momentum, and there’s a lot of exciting opportunities on the horizon.”
Noblesville Community Development Director Sarah Reed said its rewarding to see every department in the city have a role in the new district.
“Being part of a master-planning process with the key stakeholders in the City of Noblesville, we had every department have some input into this master plan,” Reed said. “So, seeing the collaboration that took place and then watching that vision come to fruition is awesome.”
For more, visit innovationmile.com.
Green space at Innovation Mile
Noblesville Community Development Director Sarah Reed said one of Innovation Mile’s signature features is the incorporation of green space throughout the development, making it pedestrian-friendly.
“Within Phase I, there is the heart of Innovation Mile,” Reed said. “It’s almost like a community green space with a park and some water features in the marquee pedestrian boulevard leading directly to the event center, which we envision to have restaurants and multifamily residential fronting.”
As the project develops, there will also be opportunities for more pedestrian-friendly spaces with various uses and amenities that will be easily accessible from other areas of the district, such as the preservation of forests, restoration of landscapes, nature trails, recreation, gathering and picnic areas, a creek play area and more, according to city officials.
“On the far east side of Innovation Mile, which is more of a farther phase, is the soul of Innovation Mile. That is more of a passive park within the floodplain area,” Reed said. “We are preserving that creek and drainage component, making both active and passive green spaces. (We are) making sure we have a ton of pedestrian connectivity. With this new terrain development on the east side of town, we get the opportunity to pre-program what the pedestrian connectivity and parks look like over there.”
