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Marshall County Economic Development reports $50M in 2024 investment, flags 1,000-unit housing shortfall
Summary
Greg Hildebrand, executive of the county’s economic development corporation, told the council that 2024 brought more than $50 million in capital investment and that independent studies show an estimated need for just over 1,000 housing units over the next decade.
Greg Hildebrand, executive director of the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation, updated the county council on 2024 activity and priorities for 2025, reporting more than $50 million in capital investment, a nearly $9 million annual payroll increase from expansions and persistent housing and workforce constraints.
Hildebrand said county unemployment at the end of 2024 was 3.7 percent, compared with Indiana at 4.5 percent and the U.S. at 4.1 percent. He said the county’s reported average wage is $24.12 per hour — lower than state and national averages — and he described the county’s workforce challenge as shortages of supervisory, engineering and technical staff rather than entry-level production workers.
Hildebrand reviewed 2024 business activity: expansions or relocations at firms including SDC (a die-cast operator relocated from Missouri, about 25 jobs), Bo Marco, AK Industries, Oasis, BCI, Hardwood Interiors, Viking Paper and others; American Container and South Bar continued expansion projects. He said the county received manufacturing-readiness grants and that Marshall County ranked 10th in the state for those awards.
Hildebrand described regional grant awards from the Ready2 program totalling $4.5 million that benefitted three local projects: a $3.7 million “Breaming Growth Project,” a $500,000 Heartland Artists downtown Plymouth award, and a $300,000 Culver Community Youth Center award. He also summarized two housing studies — one by Maycog and one by Marshall County United Way and the Marshall County Community Foundation — which both concluded additional housing units are needed; Hildebrand said the studies estimate “just over a thousand” units will be needed in the next 10 years.
Hildebrand urged participation in a forthcoming county comprehensive-plan process and said the MCEDC will continue business-retention-and-expansion interviews, workforce development and regional partnership work to attract higher-wage jobs and address housing constraints. The council did not take action on the presentation, which was an informational update.
