Business View Civil and Municipal | January 2021

112 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL JANUARY 2021 Lebanon.” With that surge in employment comes the explosion of residential development in the city, a trend that is forecast to continue alongside population growth over the next ten years. Of particular note, the Waterford project – a 2100-acre, mixed-use development that will include large estate-size golf course lots, apartments, townhomes, and second-story loft living. Krulik notes, “We’re excited to see that variety of housings options coming here soon. The project is being done by Henke – a superior development company that is known for its high-end golf course communities across the northern suburbs of Indianapolis over the last 20 years. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with them on what will be their next great neighborhood – here in Lebanon.” The Waterford is a mixed-use development of commercial / industrial / residential centered around a golf course community that will also have a village center. Mayor Gentry believes the city would not have had the interest from that developer without the revitalization efforts done in the historic core. He notes, “They could see Lebanon as an up- and-coming place because of what we did to our downtown. I think those two projects go hand in hand. And our challenge now is to make sure it doesn’t feel like separate communities, that they are tied in with the rest of Lebanon, as well.” Especially in 2020, the challenges facing Lebanon’s small businesses are huge, so the city is working to create a supportive ecosystem in the downtown with infrastructure, and programming, etc. LePage explains, “Small businesses are what make a community unique and interesting and bring in a lot of visitors – it’s about the importance of ‘shop local’. We’re working with our economic development corporation on a microloan program, so funds are available for start-ups. We’ve also offered façade grants to downtown businesses that own their building, where they can do exterior