New Vermillion Rise Director Pitches Mega Park

A more than 7,000-acre site that was once home to military chemical warfare production and storage operations has turned the page on its deadly history and is open for redevelopment. Bob Grewe, the new executive director of the Newport Chemical Deport Reuse Authority which oversees the property, says the Vermillion Rise Mega Park near Clinton is poised for companies that are "high-intensity" consumers of resources like water, gas, electricity and heavy transportation. The park currently has four tenants, which employ around 100 people, and a recently-opened shell building. During an interview with Inside INdiana Business Television, Grewe said successfully landing business will be due in large part to getting the word out about features of the property.

Grewe, who previously worked for Evansville-based environmental and civil engineering firm Lochmueller Group Inc, says "I think — back to turning the page toward economic development — is sort of getting into the marketplace and making sure that folks understand thew resources here. You know, CSX and their Site Select program will really help us in that regard as they out reach to their customer base, they’ll be able to create awareness of the site. And with our other partners of Duke Energy, Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the like, we hope to get the message out about this value."

Grewe says the shell building serves as the only building on the property without a tenant. The 50.000 square-foot facility was constructed by Terre Haute-based Garmong Development Company LLC and is expandable to 200,000 square-feet. He says the property is attractive to large-scale companies because of the heavy-volume, "robust" resource pipelines that were put in place by the U.S. Army years ago.

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