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Upland’s Main Street Mile Reaches Halfway Point in $100 Million Community Transformation

September 3, 2026

Big things are taking shape in one of East Central Indiana’s small towns.

Upland’s Main Street Mile Initiative has reached the halfway point in an ambitious effort to strengthen the connection between downtown Upland and Taylor University while creating new opportunities for housing, business development, recreation, hospitality, and community life.

Launched in 2024, the initiative represents more than $100 million in private investment, partnerships, and grants facilitated by Taylor University. The multifaceted economic and community development effort focuses on the one-mile corridor connecting Taylor’s campus with downtown Upland.

As recently highlighted by Inside INdiana Business, the initiative is now halfway through its planned timeline and remains on pace for completion in 2028.

Read the original Inside INdiana Business story here:
Main Street Mile Hits Halfway Point in Upland

More Than a Mile

The Main Street Mile is much more than a road or streetscape project. The initiative takes a comprehensive approach to community development, addressing several factors that influence a community’s ability to attract and retain residents, businesses, visitors, and talent.

Plans encompass new housing, expanded retail and commercial opportunities, hospitality, parks and trails, infrastructure improvements, and stronger pedestrian connections between the university and the surrounding community.

At the center of it all is a simple idea: the success of Taylor University and the success of Upland can reinforce one another.

Connecting Campus and Community

One of the initiative’s most visible improvements is the Main Street Pathway, a lighted, eight-foot-wide pedestrian connection between downtown Upland and Taylor University.

The pathway connects to the Detamore Trail near downtown and is eventually expected to link with Taylor’s Campus Perimeter Trail and a future connection to the Cardinal Greenway.

The initiative also supports efforts to close a longstanding gap in the Cardinal Greenway between Jonesboro and Gaston. Taylor University has partnered with Cardinal Greenways to route a future section through university-owned property in Upland, helping advance the vision of a continuous trail of more than 60 miles.

These investments create more than recreational opportunities. Trails, sidewalks, and pedestrian infrastructure help connect people to businesses, neighborhoods, schools, and community destinations while strengthening overall quality of place.

Creating New Housing Opportunities

Housing is another major component of the Main Street Mile vision.

More than 100 new housing units are planned through various developments associated with the initiative. Haven on Second has already added 28 townhome apartments, while a planned expansion of Kershner Commons is expected to create 22 new single-family home lots. The Kershner Commons expansion is supported by $1.75 million in READI 2.0 funding.

Another significant investment is taking shape near Taylor University through a $35 million master-planned development.

The project includes a 38-room boutique inn, event venue, 14 guest cottages and new residential options. Plans call for 16 townhomes and 24 duplex villas, with the overall development targeted for completion in 2028.

The hospitality investment also addresses a longstanding need: Upland currently does not have a hotel, despite the thousands of visitors who travel to the community because of Taylor University and other local destinations.

Investing in Downtown Upland

Downtown revitalization is equally important to the initiative.

The Main Street Mile strategy identifies downtown Upland as one of two primary development nodes, with plans designed to support mixed-use development, retail, restaurants, office space, small businesses, and an expanded public library.

Together, these projects have the potential to create a stronger downtown where residents, students, visitors, and entrepreneurs can spend time, support local businesses, and connect with the community.

That increased activity can create a ripple effect—supporting existing businesses while making additional private investment more attractive.

The Power of Partnership

The scale of the Main Street Mile is possible because of collaboration.

In December 2023, Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded Taylor University $30 million through its College and Community Collaboration initiative. Taylor committed to leveraging that investment to facilitate an additional $70 million through grants, partnerships, and private investment. 1846 Enterprises, Taylor’s supporting economic and community development organization, is leading implementation.

The result is an example of how higher education, local government, philanthropy, private investors, community organizations, and economic development partners can work together toward a shared vision.

A Model for Rural Community Development

For Forge ECI, the progress happening in Upland illustrates an important principle of regional economic development: quality of place is economic development.

Housing matters. Trails matter. Downtowns matter. Restaurants, gathering places, hotels, parks, sidewalks, and community amenities matter.

Together, these investments influence whether people choose to stay in a community, move to it, visit it, start a business there, or invest in its future.

The Main Street Mile is particularly significant because it demonstrates what can happen when a major regional institution and a small rural community view their futures as interconnected.

With the initiative now reaching its halfway point and major projects continuing toward the 2028 finish line, Upland is providing a compelling example of how strategic partnerships and long-term investment can create new possibilities for rural communities.

And right here in East Central Indiana, we’re getting to watch that transformation take shape—one mile at a time.