Any small business owners in the New Albany area? (Jeffersonville: real estate, condos)

[six00ohm]

Hello!

My wife and I operate a small home based business in Ft Wayne, IN and are thinking of moving to the New Albany area. I've been doing quite a bit of reading about the plans to renovate downtown New Albany and was just wondering what the downtown area is like now - and where are they trying to go with it?

From the reading I've done it seems the City of New Albany is trying to duplicate the success that other small towns along the river have had in revitalizing their downtown areas by renovating and re-purposing historic buildings, opening access to the river and bring in shopping and dining to attract people to that area.

There also seems to be quite a few incentives, tax wise, for people who are bringing businesses into the "Urban Enterprise Zone" of downtown New Albany.

This could be great for us as business owners - but do you think that revitalizing the downtown area is going to work out? I've read about the $50 Million Scribner Place project - but that could take years and years to complete. Do you think it would be a safer bet to try to set up shop in an area that's already established?

For the record - we're moving to the area to be closer to our family and to be near a bigger city, Louisville. Our business is manufacturing & selling pocket mirrors, mouse pads and coaster sets that feature offically licensed original artwork. Right now we sell online and at retail shows - but we would eventually like to have our own small shop.

Any and all advice is welcome - Thanks in advance for your help!

[Jodi McGinley]

Hi six00ohm!

I love New Albany, they still have the quaint community feel that is lost on most cities these days.

New Albany is a great area and I personally think it will eventually have the success that other cities, as you mentioned in your post, have had. It has everything going for it, especially with Louisville just being hop-skip-and-a-jump away. However, since my crystal ball just doesn't work the way I want it to, I would suggest you definitely do your homework.

It sounds like you have already done a lot of research, which is awesome! My advice is to take it a step further. Call the commission and ask them what new businesses are set to move into the new area. That will kind of give you an idea of how progressed things are. If there is only one or two businesses so far, they are probably not progressing too quickly. If there are more, then compare the types of businesses to yours and see if you can see yourself along side them.

I hope that helps and if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

[six00ohm]

Hello Jodi!

Thank you so much for the excellent advice! I'll definitely get in touch with the people in the "Develop New Albany" group and see what the progress has been so far.

Since my wife and I live in Ft Wayne it would be pretty easy for us to make a weekend fact finding trip down there as well.

We had initially looked at moving into Louisville - but it looks like we can get more for our dollar in Indiana - Plus we're already incorporated in this state.

Thanks again for the help!

Matt

[LouisvilleJake]

six000ohm,

New Albany is doing some great things in their downtown - but the revitalization is going slowly; it's not quite "booming". It is absolutely better than it was just 5 years ago, but it still has a long way to go I feel.

You need to get into the city and explore the downtown on your own I think. And with the heavy emphasis on downtown revitalization in New Albany, I bet you could actually have some economic development officials personally contact you and give you all the details in their incentive programs.

Another city you should explore is Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is only 5 miles from New Albany over in Clark County, and it also has a historic old downtown area. Jeffesonville, however, has a much more vibrant core along the river. There are lots more shops, lunch places, and even new condos, in Jeffersonville - so I think that is a place you shouldn't write off either.

[CanopyRE2007]

Hello,

I own and operate my own real estate business in Clark county, just east of Jeffersonville. I too feel that it will take a long time for downtown New Albany to grow as planned. Jeffersonville and Clarksville and Sellersburg has had tremendous growth in the last several years. Charlestown and New Washington are on a roll right now. Your best buy would be New Washington area if you are looking for a developing area for the future. Prices are still low in that area and it is just 30 minutes from Louisville. There are options all over the Clark county area, just depends on how much you want to pay. If you are selling online and at trade shows then you can do like I do. Work from home. It is wonderful. I can be in Jeffersonville or Madison, another historic river town within 20 to 25 minutes. Either way, southern Indiana is a great place to live. Being close to the river near Bethlehem is great because the water is clean here. We can play on the river, we have the public access ramp to the river with no fees to pay and the air is fresh. You can email me or post me with any questions, this is my area of expertise! Good luck!

[Jodi McGinley]

Hi six00ohm!

You are welcome!

LouisvilleJake is right, Jeffersonville is a wonderful town too. When you and your wife go on your fact-finding trip, you should visit all of the cities by the river that way. If anything, it is beautiful scenery that I recommend everyone experience.

The best thing about New Albany for your business is all of the incentives that they are offering. You will not find that in the more developed cities, but of course, you need to do what is best for you and your business to prosper.

Keep us updated & good luck!

[six00ohm]

Originally Posted by LouisvilleJake

six000ohm,

New Albany is doing some great things in their downtown - but the revitalization is going slowly; it's not quite "booming". It is absolutely better than it was just 5 years ago, but it still has a long way to go I feel.

You need to get into the city and explore the downtown on your own I think. And with the heavy emphasis on downtown revitalization in New Albany, I bet you could actually have some economic development officials personally contact you and give you all the details in their incentive programs.

Another city you should explore is Jeffersonville, Indiana. It is only 5 miles from New Albany over in Clark County, and it also has a historic old downtown area. Jeffesonville, however, has a much more vibrant core along the river. There are lots more shops, lunch places, and even new condos, in Jeffersonville - so I think that is a place you shouldn't write off either.

Hi - Thanks for the advice! - I definitely feel that being down there is going to give us a lot more perspective on what areas we are attracted to. I'm definitely going to add Jeffersonville to the list of places to visit when when we're there.

Originally Posted by CanopyRE2007

Hello,

I own and operate my own real estate business in Clark county, just east of Jeffersonville. I too feel that it will take a long time for downtown New Albany to grow as planned. Jeffersonville and Clarksville and Sellersburg has had tremendous growth in the last several years. Charlestown and New Washington are on a roll right now. Your best buy would be New Washington area if you are looking for a developing area for the future. Prices are still low in that area and it is just 30 minutes from Louisville. There are options all over the Clark county area, just depends on how much you want to pay. If you are selling online and at trade shows then you can do like I do. Work from home. It is wonderful. I can be in Jeffersonville or Madison, another historic river town within 20 to 25 minutes. Either way, southern Indiana is a great place to live. Being close to the river near Bethlehem is great because the water is clean here. We can play on the river, we have the public access ramp to the river with no fees to pay and the air is fresh. You can email me or post me with any questions, this is my area of expertise! Good luck!

Hello - Thank you for the insight! In fact right now my wife and I do work from home: we sell online through our website and spend about 6 - 7 months of the year on the road selling at shows. Southern Indiana is a great area because we're still within a days drive of a ton of big cities. I think that a retail store for us would be a few years down the line. We'll for sure add these towns as places to check out - Heck we might need to spend a whole week down there!

Originally Posted by Jodi McGinley

Hi six00ohm!

You are welcome!

LouisvilleJake is right, Jeffersonville is a wonderful town too. When you and your wife go on your fact-finding trip, you should visit all of the cities by the river that way. If anything, it is beautiful scenery that I recommend everyone experience.

The best thing about New Albany for your business is all of the incentives that they are offering. You will not find that in the more developed cities, but of course, you need to do what is best for you and your business to prosper.

Keep us updated & good luck!

I'll let you know how it goes! We spent a weekend in Louisville proper a couple of months back and loved city - especially the things that we don't have up here in Ft Wayne - but we both thought that we could save some $$ by staying in Indiana plus we could keep our business in this state.

Thanks again to all who responded - it really helps to have this kind of information: stuff that you wouldn't be able to find out just driving through towns or searching on the internet. We really appreciate it!