The county is taking a proactive approach to attracting new businesses through speculative construction. “We broke ground a month or two ago on speculative buildings in the city of Wabash,” Zartman explains. “The city is partnering with a private developer that’s putting up multiple speculative buildings in a 15acre site in an existing industrial park. By March of 2025, we’ll have actual buildings we can market to just continue on that business development growth.” Wabash County’s industrial profile is both diverse and specialized, placing it as a national leader in metal and aluminum recycling, tying for third place behind only Cook County and Los Angeles County. This expertise has attracted related industries and strengthened the county’s manufacturing base.“We remain a heavy manufacturing county, especially in advanced manufacturing,” Zartman emphasizes. “We’re really proud of Wabash County and our metal recycling industry, so we’ve got a lot of spinoffs of that.” Nevertheless, agriculture continues to play a vital role, with agriscience sectors complementing traditional farming. The county is also actively expanding into healthcare and logistics while exploring emerging industries.“We did a target analysis two years back, which has really helped us redefine our goals and where we’re targeting companies coming from,” Zartman shares. “We’ve spent a lot of time working with international companies, domestic companies, and then also helping our existing companies grow.” THE VISION OF IMAGINE ONE85 AND ITS RIPPLE EFFECT When Wabash County leaders discovered their community had experienced four decades of population decline, they chose a bold response: Imagine One85, a comprehensive initiative uniting every municipality in the county. “In 2019, the leaders of Grow Wabash County and the Community Foundation of Wabash County went through a population loss study,” explains Alex Downard, Imagine One85’s Director.“At that point,they gathered the leaders of all incorporated cities and towns to sit around the same table and say, if we’re going to change this population trajectory, we have to do something different and we have to do it together.” 4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 02
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