Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
ODON – The landscape of northern Daviess County is on the cusp of what likely will be the biggest investment – and change – to come to the community.
An $84 million advanced microchip development and manufacturing operation will be built in Daviess County. WestGate One will be located in the Daviess County section of the tech park just outside of the Crane gate in Odon.
Westgate One will be a combined effort of NHanced Semiconductors, Everspin Technologies, Trusted Semiconductor Solutions and Reliable MicroSystems. The four semiconductor companies plan to invest $300 million in the campus.
A groundbreaking took place in November. Indianapolis-based StrongBox will construct the facility.
It is expected to add 549 high-paying jobs between 2024-2028. The new, specialized jobs will be critical in advancing American-made microelectronics verification, validation and production of critical microelectronics components in the U.S.
A package of local and state incentives will accelerate the project, including up to $10 million in READI matching funds. Daviess County approved a 10-year $26 million tax abatement covering personal property with the option of a second 10-year abatement based on meeting metrics.
The project is the kind of development that local government and economic development leaders devote their careers to landing.
Bryant Niehoff, executive director of Daviess County Economic Development Corporation, said the county’s proximity to Crane, the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act of 2022 (CHIPS Act), signed into law in August to boost the United States’ competitiveness, innovation and national security; investments from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, commitment of READI funds and Daviess County’s incentive package were crucial in bringing the project together.
“The stars aligned at all levels,” Niehoff said. “NWSC Crane is on the cutting edge of doing this work and are leading this work across the nation. And certainly the Uplands Science and Technology Foundation, Regional Opportunity Initiatives and the IEDC played a vital role.
“A project of this magnitude and this nature – those don’t happen every day and certainly not in southwestern Indiana. Daviess County has a strong economy but it’s very manufacturing and automotive-related. We have a strong construction materials industry. This is one of those projects that many leaders across the state work towards but don’t have the opportunity to see in their careers. It completely changes the landscape in our region.”
Bryant Niehoff, executive director of Daviess County Economic Development
The local incentive package was important, not only for the semiconductor campus, but also to show other companies that will be drawn to the new development that Daviess County has a business-friendly environment. Daviess County Council members Tony Duncheon, Darin Holder, Matt Meredith, county Commissioner Nathan Gabhart and other leaders spent many hours in discussions on the abatement package.
“We’re so very fortunate to have those elected officials who understand the benefit of incentives,” Niehoff said. “We’re investing in Daviess County’s future with this public-private partnership. The leadership has been phenomenal for buying into this project and understanding the benefits that an investment of this scale will bring to Daviess County.”
Meredith, president of the Daviess County Council, said the project will have an economic impact between $50 million and $60 million.
“We know that between all the companies and anticipated job growth, the average salary will be $100,000 a year,” Meredith said. “That’s way above the median for Daviess County. It will be such a huge change for our county … there will be some explosive growth for us.”
The median household income for 2021 in Daviess County was $57,078. The 2021 per capita income was $26,269, according to the US Census Bureau. In Odon, median household income was $33,890 in 2019 and estimated per capita income was $22,230. Many of the jobs will be filled by engineers, but there will also be a need for a range of skills.
“I see what we are doing here as planting a new seed which will dramatically increase the footprint of Indiana in the semiconductor industry,” said Robert Patti with NHanced, the company that will be operating the new 100,000 square foot facility, at the groundbreaking.
Project analysis
A project assessment analysis of WestGate One from Radius Indiana provides additional data on the semiconductor campus’ impact:
The workforce at NHanced is expected to be comprised of Daviess County residents as well as from neighboring counties, and will generate over $3 million in local income tax revenue over 10 years. Including indirect job creation increases that amount to $3.9 million (over 10 years), which means the 10-year total local tax revenue generated from property and income taxes will be $13.8 million.
- In addition to the 449 jobs created directly at the semiconductor campus between 2024 and 2028, there will be additional supplier and consumer-business jobs created by the presence of the NHanced employment, increasing the total employment impact to 858 local jobs created.
- Even with the 100% abatement of the personal property and the anticipated 10-year abatement of the real property, the facility will directly generate $3.8 million in property tax revenues over 10 years and $3.9 million in county income tax, which totals $7.7 million in overall revenue for the county.
Seeing the many benefits for residents from WestGate One and the potential to attract new residents, Meredith said the incentives made sense for Daviess County.
With a project this size, construction and the anticipated job expansion are just the beginning, Meredith said. Hotels will fill up, restaurants will see more business and it’s likely new businesses will develop.
Daviess County is also setting its sights on growing its population. And while Meredith knows some of the workforce coming to WestGate One will live in adjacent communities, Daviess is looking at quality of life and quality of place investments.
“We want people to live in Daviess County,” he said.
Next up for the county will be skilling up the workforce and growing a talent pipeline for jobs at WestGate One.
“This is the economy of the future,” Niehoff said. “It will take some time to ramp up the skill level but the future is incredibly bright for the Radius region and the Indiana Uplands.”