Indianapolis International Airport

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Indianapolis International Airport (IND) is the state’s largest airport and is situated on approximately 7,700 acres of land in the southwest corner of Marion County. IND’s location at the crossroads of several major interstate highways including I-70, I-74, I-69, I-65 and I-465 makes it ideal for the logistics and warehousing industries. It is within minutes of Ameriplex Indianapolis, home of a Purdue Research Park specializing in business incubation, and the growing city of Plainfield, Indiana.

Indianapolis International Airport was named the best North American airport by J.D. Power and Associates serving under 10 million passengers per year in 2010. IND averages 154 daily departures to 35 nonstop destinations. Home of the second-largest FedEx Express operation in the world, IND is the eighth largest cargo facility in the U.S. It is also home to the Aviation Technology Center, an educational facility offered by Vincennes University and Purdue University.

IND is home to 10 major airlines and business partners that include FedEx Express, AAR, Comlux, and U.S. Postal Service. The airport has land available for lease and development of aviation and non-aviation businesses.

Land needed for aviation vs. non-aviation use

Future growth in passenger and cargo operations will require significant additional lands. Land south of I-70 is being protected for future third parallel runway. Growth in FedEx cargo operations will require significant lands for next 30 years. Lands available for non-aviation development are located along Washington Street corridor, High School Road corridor near former airport terminal, and those adjacent to conservation areas located between I-74 and South Kentucky Avenue.

The Development Zone

Underlying all the planning is the guideline that the airport’s aviation infrastructure and resources must be preserved to service future long-term industry and regional needs. Accordingly conceptualizing the Land Use Plan began with the property closest to the core airport elements – the Terminal and the aeronautical infrastructure (the runways, taxiways, and aircraft apron). The airport facilities, functions, and planning constraints, regional geography, environmental considerations, engineering issues, and roadway infrastructure led to the creation of seven development Zones defined as follows:

Zone 1 The International Gateway and Commerce Center
Zone 2 The Future Growth of Aviation Activities
Zone 3 The Future Runway Expansion
Zone 4 The Regional Logistics and Business Complex
Zone 5 The Education and Technology Park
Zone 6 The Multi-Modal Transport Park
Zone 7 The Indianapolis Conservation and Recreation Complex

Overall, the seven Zones encompass 12,005 acres that can be developed over the 30 year planning period. Given the existing focus on, and regional demand for logistics, absorption of the properties potentially allocated to that business segment would be ambitious but not unrealistic. For other non-aviation uses such as retail, office, hospitality, mixed use and conservation, the success of the development effort will depend on two primary factors. The first is the creation of a multi-modal connection that can link some or all of the Zones to one another, and to the airport terminal. The second is the implementation of a theme and uses unique to the Region that will, at the same time meet the needs of its passengers, and establish the airport environs as a destination for the non-travelling public. This will be essential to establish and sustain growth for uses other than freight and logistics.

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