River Ridge’s Economic Impact on Southern Indiana Tops $2.9 billion in 2023

Annual analysis highlights $90.9 million of private investment and support of 18,558 regional jobs

Jeffersonville, IN (April 10, 2024) – River Ridge Development Authority (RRDA) unveiled its annual economic report for 2023, showing another record-breaking year with more than $2.9 billion in economic output benefits throughout southern Indiana. 

Completed by Policy Analytics, LLC, the report shows the River Ridge Commerce Center saw a year-over-year increase in private, direct employment in 2023.  Companies located in River Ridge directly employed 12,002 people, but when looking at the overall impact, the report credits River Ridge with supporting an additional 6,550+ regional jobs and a total of $884 million in labor income throughout the region.

“Growth at River Ridge continues to benefit Southern Indiana and the metro area,” said Jerry Acy, River Ridge Executive Director.  “Our commitment to providing a worldclass industrial park through the development of quality infrastructure including 2023 investments of $6.0 million in new roads and another $6.2 million in improved utilities.” 

“This builds upon nearly two decades of infrastructure investment within River Ridge by the RRDA.  We strive to create an environment which attracts and grows private investment and job creation, and project announcements in 2023 from some of the largest companies in the world prove this strategy is producing results,” Acy stated.

A major focus for the RRDA was to prepare the Charlestown end of Commerce Center for development by demolishing existing structures and preparing sites for construction.  In October, Charlestown announced it is welcoming a high-profile name to its community.  The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated, an industry-leading restaurant, is opening a large bakery for manufacturing and distributing its iconic cheesecake and other desserts to operators, retailers, and distributors. The bakery and operations will be housed at River Ridge, investing over $74 million into its operations.  The bakery and distribution operations should have more than 200 employees, making an average wage higher than the Clark County average.  

“We know that private investment will follow our public investments, and companies of all sizes are taking note,” added Acy.  “Later in October, we announced Canadian Solar’s commitment to making the largest economic investment in River Ridge’s history, and then matched it with another such announcement three months later with Meta.”

Canadian Solar, an integrated provider of solar power products and system solutions, will invest a projected $800 million to construct and equip a state-of-the-art photo voltaic cell manufacturing plant at River Ridge in Jeffersonville. The new plant will produce an annual output of 5GW – equivalent to approximately 20,000 high-power solar panels per day – and ship the finished cells to the company’s new module assembly facility in Texas, which was announced in early 2023. This new River Ridge facility will create approximately 1,200 new jobs in Jeffersonville over the next several years, including 150 engineers.

In December, River Ridge transferred 619 acres to Meta Platforms, Inc.  But it wasn’t until January 2024, that the company publicly announced plans to establish a new $800 million data center as the first phase of a future campus on the site. The new facility in Jeffersonville will support approximately 100 operational jobs and hundreds of construction jobs.  Meta, which powers products such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp, will establish a nearly 700,000-square-foot facility, their 18^th such data center in the United States.

“We have so much to celebrate from the past 12 months, but the fun is just beginning,” said Dr. Treva Hodges, Mayor of Charlestown and President of the RRDA Board of Directors. “The River Ridge Development Authority’s talented, professional staff, together with my fellow board members’ leadership and vision, has energized us in envisioning what our economic development future can be.”

River Ridge is benefiting the State of Indiana and local entities through added tax impact.  In just one year, the companies located at River Ridge generated $48.4 million in total tax revenue for state and local entities, with wages from these business operations generating $884 million in total labor income. 

A summary of Policy Analytics’ report for 2023 includes the following highlights:

• The River Ridge Commerce Center produced $2.932 billion in economic output throughout Southern Indiana.
• Business activity generated $48.4 million in total tax revenue for state and local entities.
• Businesses that call River Ridge home expanded their employment footprint to 18,558 people.
  • 12,002 employed individuals onsite; and
  • 6,556 regional jobs supported.
• RRDA continued to expand infrastructure, providing $6.0 million in new roads and another $6.2 million in improved utilities.
• The Board of Directors approved the largest land transfer of 619 acres to Meta Platforms, Inc., representing more than 10% of the Commerce Center.
• Private development of $90.9 million in 2023 is estimated to bring an additional 2.3 million square feet once completed.

Additionally, potential new businesses filed a record 126 requests for proposals and hosted 38 on-site visits, more than double the number of visits in 2022.

The full 2023 RRDA Annual Report can be accessed at www.riverridgecc.com/annual-report.

About the River Ridge Development Authority

The River Ridge Development Authority (RRDA) manages the River Ridge Commerce Center, a 6,000-acre business and office park established in 1998 to replace lost economic activity from the closure of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant.  Today, River Ridge is home to more than 80 companies such as Amazon, Bose, Collins Aerospace, Medline, Optum and PharmaCord.  Onsite employment totaled more than 12,000 in 2023, and the Center produced a total of over $2.9 billion in economic output and supported an additional 6,550+ jobs. The investments and growth at River Ridge earned the RRDA the International Economic Development Council’s 2020 Gold Award for Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse.