Indiana town buying junkyard, with plans for $150M project

WHITESTOWN, Ind. (AP) - An auto junkyard that's well known to travelers along Interstate 65 has been purchased by a suburban Indianapolis town for a planned $150 million redevelopment project.

Whitestown officials agreed last month to pay $6.5 million for the 135-acre site that's long served as the site of the Wrecks Inc. junkyard.

Officials in the Boone County town about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis hope to enter a public-private partnership to develop the land following a site cleanup.

The Indianapolis Business Journal reports that a conceptual plan proposes building a mixed-use campus incorporating Little League International's planned Central Region Headquarters, a community center, sports facilities, an amphitheater and a convention center.

Whitestown Town Manager Dax Norton says about 30 acres of the site remain in a state remediation program to address contamination concerns.

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Information from: Indianapolis Business Journal, http://www.ibj.com