Upcoming summit to address economic development on the southside

<p>Central Indiana mayors are participating in a summit that will address the economic climate on the southside and in Johnson County.</p><p>The University of Indianapolis is hosting the Southside Business Summit on Wednesday. The centerpiece of the summit will include a panel discussion featuring area mayors who will talk about how to make the area attractive to businesses and will talk about projects going on in their cities and towns.</p><p>Featured speakers include David W. Wantz, president and CEO, Independent Colleges of Indiana, Angela Smith-Jones, Indianapolis’ deputy mayor of economic development, Joe Hogsett, the mayor of Indianapolis, Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett, Southport Mayor Russell McClure and a representative from the Greenwood mayor’s office.</p><p>The goal of the summit is to gather area leaders to discuss strategies on how to get the southside and parts of Johnson County to become an area for businesses and people to relocate, said Corey Wilson, who is the special advisor to the president for external affairs and associate vice president for the Professional Edge Center at the university.</p><p>“We are really targeting business owners, but the event is open to anyone that is interest in the topic,” Wilson said.</p><p>The event is targeted toward an area that includes south of Washington Street in Indianapolis down to Franklin, he said.</p><p>The university is looking toward the southside for economic development and wanted to find a place where the leaders could get together to discuss the issue. University leaders are also routinely asked questions about what the economic climate is like on the southside and in the northern and central part of Johnson County, Wilson said.</p><p>“We want to continue to drive economic development,” he said. “We want to drive conversations broader than what happens beyond the boundaries of our campus.”</p><p>A long-time resident of the area will be moderating the discussion part of the summit and will prompt each of the featured speakers with questions geared toward economic development. The questions will hopefully bring out ways the cities, towns and businesses can collaborate for the community, Wilson said.</p><p>Development that is already happening in the area will also be discussed, including projects in the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis and Greenwood. The IndyGo Red Line will also be discussed, he said.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>What: Southside Business Summit</p><p>When: 7:30-10 a.m. Wednesday</p><p>Where: Schwitzer Student Center at the University of Indianapolis.</p><p>Cost: $5. Proceeds go to the Gleaner’s Food Bank.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]