The IEMD strengthens local economic growth by expanding access to flexible capital, business support, and employer partnerships that create good and promising jobs. Through tools like the Economic Development Loan Fund and the Incentives for Jobs Program, the District provides targeted investments that help small contractors, developers, and employers grow while prioritizing local hiring. We seek to build long-term relationships with businesses and guide redevelopment across post-industrial sites, ensuring that growth aligns with community needs.
Together, these efforts support business expansion, attract new investment, and ensure that economic development directly benefits residents and strengthens neighborhood vitality.
Strategies
- A low-interest financing tool supporting small contractors and developers engaged in local redevelopment and housing projects
- An earnings-support program that incentivizes employers to hire local residents and helps workers transition into stable employment
- A district-level strategist role focused on driving long-term post-industrial redevelopment and strengthening economic partnerships
Initiatives
Economic Development, Entrepreneurship & Business Enterprises, Housing Innovation, Social Enterprise, Workforce Development
IndyEast Promise Zone
"[The IEPZ] is a microcosm of the story of Indianapolis or Indiana. You’ve got an area that’s heavily dependent on manufacturing jobs...Now many of those are gone, and so you’ve got a community in transition. But the great thing about where the [IEPZ] is, is that a community can stay in transition for a long time, until it decides it wants otherwise."
Latest News
Central Indiana nonprofits relieve medical debt of more than 100,000 residents
