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New industrial park planned for former east side Ford Visteon site

The former Ford Visteon site near English and Shadeland avenues in Indianapolis will become an industrial park named Thunderbird Commerce Center.

INDIANAPOLIS — The former Ford Visteon site located on the east side of Indianapolis will be transformed into a 150-acre industrial park, according to Lauth Group, which plans to purchase and redevelop the brownfield site in a joint venture with Covington Group

The redeveloped site at 6900 English Avenue, just west of Shadeland Avenue, will be branded Thunderbird Commerce Center "with a nod to its former owner," according to Thursday's announcement.

"We've been working with the city of Indianapolis since 2018 in concert with Ford, so it's really been a partnership I would say with all three parties to advance the site forward," said Michael Garvey, chief investment officer and partner at Lauth.

Plans for the site call for up to 2 million square feet of build-to-suit and speculative industrial buildings.

“Revitalizing a former brownfield site in the heart of Marion County will energize additional development in the surrounding area and bring new jobs to the community,” said Lauth CEO Mike Jones. “We have a great opportunity to partner with Covington Group to develop ground that has been idle for over a decade."

The property already features rail access and offers a huge opportunity for growth and development, according to Mark Wasky, Indiana Economic Development Senior Vice President of Community Affairs. 

"Projects like this are great examples of how Indiana is investing in building on our partnerships to provide opportunities for innovative businesses to grow and thrive,” Wasky said as part of the announcement.

Carmel-based Lauth is already working on plans to build on 44 acres of the southwest corner of the site. Plans also call for construction of a 608,000 square foot warehouse to be completed in 2023. The project won't be easy to complete.

"It has literally miles of pipes within that slab, so we'll be responsible for breaking up the slab to accommodate development then removing any hazardous materials out of those pipes," Garvey said.

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