Pharmaceutical company to move to Lanesville - wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather & Sports

LANESVILLE, IN (WAVE) - There are signs of a big economic boost for a small community that could use it.  

Lanesville, IN is making a big-time push to establish a global pharmaceutical headquarters on a piece of land off of Interstate 64.     

Lanesville is proud of its heritage. The empty field that sits just to the north of the interstate at the Lanesville exit might give residents reason to be equally proud of the future. That is where Areva Pharmaceuticals' headquarters would be built.

"We envision some office buildings, some high-end retail and other projects that might generate high-end employment," said Darrell Voelker, Director of the Harrison County Economic Development Corporation.

Voelker said it started with a plan nearly a quarter-century ago.  Now, with roads widened and plans for other infrastructure, Areva is building for the future.

"We plan to start moving our company from Kentucky down to Indiana here once the first phase is started," said Areva president Victor Swaminathan.

He said phase one includes about 70 jobs over the next three years. He also said Indiana and Lanesville just make sense.

"There are a lot of pharmaceutical companies that are in the state," Swaminathan said. "We need to be closer to our global partners, and UPS provides us with that ability, and Lanesville falls under that radius."

Voelker said Harrison County is putting up $5 million to develop the land and put up the building. He added that more than half of the adults in Harrison County commute to Louisville to work and that this might keep them home.

"To create $25 to $30-an-hour jobs in Harrison County, that's an outstanding use of those funds," Voelker said.

Swaminathan said the company's plans over the next ten years include adding research and development jobs and eventually to manufacture the pharmaceuticals out of the Lanesville location, as well.

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