Earlier this year, ULI held an Advisory Services Panel in Hancock County, Indiana to study development opportunities along the Mt. Comfort Corridor. (View the summary and report).

Tonya Galbraith, ICMA-CM, McCordsville’s Town Manager, shared some thoughts about the experience and the impact it is having on the community.

When the ULI panel visited Hancock County, what was that experience like for you?

From the site tours to the interviews with stakeholders, it was really interesting to take a deep dive into the land use potential in our community. I enjoyed talking to the panel members and hearing their experiences, their tips on implementation, and how they would handle certain issues. That networking was very helpful to us. The panelists saw the development potential, which was illuminating and helped us think differently about our area.

It was also an opportunity to have something concrete that validates a lot of our thinking. We’ve been working together as a corridor for about five years now, but it was very helpful to have outside experts come in and see what we’ve been working on.

We had all kinds of discussions, from agritourism to how we handle stormwater and drainage. The panel helped us with a gamut of experiences, and hopefully that was helpful to them, too.

How did the panel help inform your next steps?

After the presentation, we immediately gathered the steering committee and started working on next steps and how we could start implementing findings from the summary. Now that we have the full report, the town planners are working on implementing the nodes identified in the ULI report and some of the suggestions of where developments should go. We’re seeing how it aligns with our current land use thinking and what we need to modify for a unified corridor. There’s a good foundation of municipality participants and business leaders who are involved and engaged in the process, so we’re picking off the low hanging fruit and wrapping it into planning and budgeting.

What would you say to a community thinking about having a ULI assistance panel help them?

I’d recommend a panel to anyone who wants to get honest feedback about their plans, their thinking, and their community’s potential. It’s a lot of work, but if they’re willing to invest the time and take advantage of the good things that come out of it, it’s a helpful process. ULI laid out a great roadmap for us that we wouldn’t have otherwise, but it will be up to us to take it to the next level. The Mt. Comfort corridor is moving in the right direction, and ULI’s advisory panel helped us get there.

At ULI Indiana, we’re looking for both TAP committee members and TAP panelists to help make a positive impact in our Indiana communities. Express your interest today!