Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
BORDEN – Radius Indiana and the town of Borden have been awarded a $250,000 grant to renovate and re-purpose a historic building for use as a trailhead along the Borden section of the Monon South Trail.
The old Borden Bank building will be renovated to include public restrooms and a water bottle refill station.
The grant award was announced Monday by SoIn Tourism.
“We are so excited to be able to preserve a part of our town’s history, and to see how it’ll blend with new growth along the Monon South Trail,” said Brenna LaDuke, Borden’s town development coordinator.
The building dates back to the early 1900s and served as Borden Town Hall many years ago. With the building empty and in need of interior repairs, LaDuke said the town had looked for grants to fund a restoration project but the funding amounts were never sufficient to get the project started.
“With the opportunity of SoIN and Radius Indiana, this is going to be great for the trail and the community,” LaDuke said.
The bank building still has the original vault, which will remain in the building, LaDuke said.
“We loved the enthusiasm we found among our Borden and SoIN partners to take an innovative approach to our trailhead in downtown Borden, said Jeff Quyle, president and CEO of Radius Indiana. “This kind of collaborative effort to reuse a historic asset like the bank building breathes new life into the building and adds to the economic growth potential we want to see the Monon South Trail bring to Borden.”
The Monon South Trail will stretch from Mitchell to New Albany, and pass through Campbellsburg, Salem, Borden, New Pekin and Saltillo. Phase 1A of trail construction began in 2024 and will complete 20 miles of paved and aggregate sections. To date, the Orleans and Mitchell sections are open to the public.
The Borden project was one of four projects in Clark and Floyd counties approved by the SoIN Tourism board of managers. Each project was awarded $250,000. Funding for the projects will initially be covered by a municipal bond paid off by SoIN Tourism over time.
Other projects awarded SoIN grants:
- Charlestown Family Activities Park Expansion – city of Charlestown
- The Central Green: A Community & Cultural Destination – Cornerstone Group / town of Clarksville
- Falls of the Ohio State Park Outdoor Education Pavilion – Falls of the Ohio Foundation / town of Clarksville
“Those receiving awards demonstrated an alignment with our goal of building up Southern Indiana as a visitor destination,” said SoIN Tourism Executive Director Jim Epperson. “Each of these projects improves SoIN’s quality of life and will help turn visitors into future residents.”
The funds are derived from the Tourism Capital Development Fund (TCDF) which is aimed at supporting various community-related projects.
The TCDF program has been in place since 1984 when the Indiana General Assembly enacted an innkeeper’s tax to support marketing Clark and Floyd counties to visitors. The tax included 1% earmarked for capital projects that help to attract visitors. That percentage increased to 1.5% in 2019. Since its inception, the program has awarded nearly $9.5 million to projects in Clark and Floyd counties.