We believe the strength of any community is In its homeowners, so its good news that Plymouth has been awarded a $429.000 state grant to help fund a new housing project.

The grant will be used to build roads and extend utilities to the 18-acre development near Riverside Intermediate School in Plymouth. There is room for 31 homes in the development and already eight buyers have shown an interest in purchasing a home there. Most of the homes will range in size from 1.000 to 1,200 square feet and will cost $90.000 to $120,000.

The project is aimed at providing affordable housing to families. In order to qualify for state funding, the development had to reserve at least half of the homes for families whose income is at 80 percent or below the local median income for their family size. Though new home construction around the country has slowed, statistics from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development show it is increasing slightly in Indiana.

The housing project, which has been three years in the making, is one more sign that the city of Plymouth is continuing to grow. The city recently received a $1 million grant from the Indiana Transportation Enhancement fund, and a local match of $250,000 from a city tax incremental finance district, to pay for improvements to bridges, streets, sidewalks and lighting downtown. Improving access to riverfront property and creating a high-tech park also are on the drawing board.

Plymouth is seeking to grow in all the right ways - residentially, commercially and aesthetically. We have not doubt that all the hard work undertaken by city and state officials and developers will begin to pay off soon.

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Plymouth is stepping out
South Bend Tribune
December 4, 2006

OUR OPINION
These are exciting times for Plymouth. There are plans to dramatically improve the southern end of Plymouth's downtown district. There also are visions of a new downtown park along with a high-tech park near U.S. 30 and Pine Road. The purpose of the high-tech park would be to attract new businesses and their high-paying jobs.

With the help of a $1 million grant from the Indiana Transportation Enhancement fund. and a local match of $250.000 from a city tax incremental finance district, the city wants to improve bridges, streets, sidewalks and lighting downtown. Maintaining and improving Infrastructure is one of the most basic services a town can offer. Enhancing the safety of pedestrians and motorists makes even more sense.

A planned canoe launch and trail head for a riverfront path would provide more recreational opportunities for residents, and acquiring and demolishing a former furniture store on South Michigan Street could lead to even more development.

The Plymouth Redevelopment Commission, which will review the proposals for the downtown improvements, earlier this year voted to spend $570,000 to create a high-tech park. By offering all the necessary infrastructure such as high-bandwidth broadband access. In a visible, convenient location such as U.S. 30 and Pine. This town of nearly 10,000 is hoping to compete for high-paying jobs.

The town also has been involved with efforts to purchase some property along the Yellow River which officials hope can be turned into a downtown park. Plymouth is showing a real commitment when it comes to improving its downtown, staying competitive for new businesses and providing more recreational opportunities. That's not only good for the town's residents now but for the future of Plymouth.

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Eye on the Pie
Morton J. Marcus

Life goes on despite property taxes

Miss Sugar repeated her dominance of the candy and cake eating contest at the State Fair. "Ya gonna write about property taxes again this week?" she asked as we rode the Ferris wheel high above the fair ground lights.

"I should, but I can’t," I said. "My mind fades out when the topic comes up."  

"So whatcha gonna write about?" she asked, chewing her taffy vigorously.

"Plymouth," I replied. "Da rock or da old car?" Miss Sugar asked.

"The city in Marshall County , just south of South Bend ." I answered. "Have you ever been there, Miss Sugar? It has one of the few restored downtown areas that is alive and seems to be commercially successful. I got my latest haircut there."

"It looks nice," she said.

"The barber shop is in one of the old restored building on Michigan St. It has three wonderful wood carvings on the walls by Al Myers, Darryl’s brother and Linda’s husband. They’re the barbers," I explained. "These pictures of balloons used to hang on the walls of the Holiday Inn north of town."

 
"Marshall County," I continued as the wheel took us again high into the night sky "was named after U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall and it gave us Doc Bowen as Governor from 1973 to 1981. It is where two major arteries, US 30 and US 31, intersect. Marshall is a rural county with only 45% of its population living in cities or towns, about half of those in Plymouth . Three quarters of its working residents hold jobs within the county. Of the jobs in the county, nearly 28% are in manufacturing and those jobs generate 39% of the earning in the county."

"Fascinatin’ I’m sure," Miss Sugar said, taking a licorice stick from her bag.

"It is really quite interesting." I felt encouraged. "So many counties with similar characteristics are not doing as well. For example, Marshall ranks 25th of the 92 Indiana counties in percent of population 25 or older who have college degrees. It also ranks 31st in median household income."

"So how did all this good stuff happen?" Miss Sugar asked, struggling to make conversation.

"I’m not certain," I said, "but it seems Plymouth and Marshall County did not give up on manufacturing when other places felt dejected and that it was necessary to diversify. They also took advantage of their favorable highway location, focused on keeping their housing from deteriorating, and maintained community pride by investing in downtown.

"That investment was not at the expense of other commercial areas which have blossomed in Plymouth . Growth and development seem to have been balanced between downtown and the newer areas with the retail big boxes."

"So," Miss Sugar asked, "what’s any of this mean to anyone else?"

"It might be worth a visit to Plymouth to talk with people there about what they have done over the years. None of this happened over-night. It has taken at least 20 years," I said.

"And you’d recommend a haircut" she said, exiting the car and stepping lightly on the ground.

"Definitely," I said.   

Mr. Marcus is an economist, writer, and speaker formerly with the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University .

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A phoenix is rising
South Bend Tribune
December 31, 2006

News that part of a German-based food producer will be moving to Plymouth is as sweet as the fruit toppings the company will manufacture.

Zentis North American Food Solutions has purchased the former Ready Pac manufacturing facility. The vacant building proved to be just the right fit for its parent company, Zentis GmbH, which has been looking to expand into the American market.

Founded in 1893, Zentis makes confections and fruit preserves that it sells to other food producers and the general public. Right now the company has manufacturing operations in Russia, Hungary and Poland.

Plymouth agreed to give the company a 10-year tax abatement on the Zentis' $36.5 million real and personal property investment m the old Ready Pac facility.

The opening of the Zentis plant here will mark the company's first manufacturing venture into North America and is a significant win in the competition for major economic investment and high-paying jobs. Apparently, Zentis was just days away from signing a deal in Illinois until a real-estate broker read a news story about the vacant Ready Pac facility and contacted Doug Anspach, executive director of the Plymouth Economic Development Corp. Ready Pac, which produced a range of fresh cut salads, fruits and vegetables, closed the plant Nov. 9 following a nationwide scare over contaminated spinach. The closure eliminated 200 jobs.

Plymouth is counting on at least 154 well-paid manufacturing, managerial and administrative jobs at the Zentis plant. The average wage, including administrative positions, is expected to be more than $49,000. Salaries for production line jobs are expected to pay about 30 percent more than similar positions in the area.

The plant is good news for everyone in the region. Good-paying jobs. no matter where they are located in Michiana, benefit everyone who lives and works here. We lament the loss of Ready Pac. but that cloud has a silver lining: a new company's investment that we hope will bolster the foundation of Plymouth's economy for years to come.