Celebrating its bicentennial this year, Shelbyville, Indiana, has benefited because of its location in the economic heartland of the United States. Having gained the confidence of the community’s long-standing partners, Mayor Tom DeBaun has now trained his focus on holistic growth to ensure the long-term future of the city.
While Shelbyville stays closely engaged with companies by constantly seeking feedback from all its stakeholders, the city has increased investments in developing its human capital and in improving the quality of life of its residents. Amid the steady growth in travel between the city and two adjacent counties, officials have begun infrastructure projects to ease travel for commuters.
And as industry became the main driver of economic growth, Shelbyville has reclassified a lot of its farmland for greenfield development to welcome new investors, resulting in new opportunities for construction and engineering companies to build needed infrastructure.
“Because sustainability is key to most decision-making, we have spent a significant amount of time, effort and resources on things that attract top talent the most, such as housing, education, quality of life and the overall holistic vibe of the community. Being open and accepting has been a key strength of Shelbyville,” DeBaun explained.
“Diversity has been a big driver for us in the last 10 years. The city will continue to focus on attracting top talent, work closely with companies that have come in, take in the feedback it receives from the community, and stay the course with our efforts. Shelbyville hopes to see more diversification in the industries we welcome,” DeBaun added.