Old Farm Reserve development financing
Summary
The county is creating a new TIF allocation area for a 110-acre mixed-use housing development and letting the developer buy the bonds to pay for roads and infrastructure, repaid only from new tax revenue the project generates. Supporters say it's a no-risk way to finally activate the 20-year-old University Parkway investment; a resident worries about traffic and road impacts on neighboring Rosner Road.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Sep 2, 2026.
Impact analysis
No direct cost to county taxpayers if the project fails, but the county's share of the related Petersburg Road expansion rises; about $5 million in state grant money depends on it.
West-side residents gain new housing, tax base, and long-delayed infrastructure, and the county recoups sewer investments.
Rosner Road residents say construction traffic and the road widening will change their rural way of life and could affect property values and taxes.
Mentions & discussions (3)
Vanderburgh County Redevelopment Commission - Sep 2, 2026
The county is creating a new TIF allocation area for a 110-acre mixed-use housing development and letting the developer buy the bonds to pay for roads and infrastructure, repaid only from new tax revenue the project generates. Supporters say it's a no-risk way to finally activate the 20-year-old University Parkway investment; a resident worries about traffic and road impacts on neighboring Rosner Road.
Vanderburgh County Redevelopment Commission - Jul 15, 2026
The commission took the first step to carve 110 acres out of the 20-year-old University Parkway TIF area into three new allocation areas, letting the developer's own project taxes pay off its bonds. The developer buys the bonds and takes the credit risk, so the county isn't on the hook — but the deal still needs approvals from the Area Plan Commission, County Commissioners, and County Council.
Vanderburgh County Economic Development Commission - Jul 15, 2026
A 110-acre mixed-use development west of University Parkway — 163 homes, 240 apartments, and 30 acres of commercial — needs roughly $10.5 million in infrastructure help. The county would issue TIF-backed revenue bonds, but the developer buys them and they're non-recourse, so county taxpayers aren't on the hook if the project fails. The new development's tax revenue pays the bonds back, and there's no tax abatement.
Related development
Old Farm Reserve Development
This is expected to be the first significant tax revenue producer in a TIF area that's sat mostly empty for 20 years, bringing houses, apartments, and commercial space — plus new roads and infrastructure built to county specs — to the west side near USI.
Old Farm Development — University Parkway Improvements
Roughly a thousand-plus new residents on the west side, new roads and infrastructure built at developer expense, and new tax base for the county — with no county debt obligation if the project fails.
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