MONROVIA, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Indianapolis-based Ambrose Property Group says work has begun on a more than 500,000-square-foot building at the Westpoint Business Park in Monrovia. The developer says the $40 million facility, set for completion in September, will be ideal for logistics, industrial and light manufacturing use.
Ambrose says it plans to seek LEED certification for the facility, known as Building IV, with sustainable design and construction elements, including a 100% reduction in irrigation water use, energy-efficient LED lighting, and improved indoor air quality through ventilated warehouse space.
“We’ve seen tremendous demand at Westpoint Business Park so far,” Grant Goldman, executive vice president of development for Ambrose, said in a news release. “We expect that demand to continue given the logistical advantages of its location and the green initiatives we are implementing into the building designs.”
Westpoint Business Park sits on more than 550 acres near I-70 and State Road 39 with three buildings currently completed. The first two are occupied by Love’s Truck Solutions and Deckers Brands, respectively. The third has been leased by an unknown tenant, according to Ambrose’s website.
Ultimately, Ambrose plans to build up to 10 Class-A distribution buildings ranging from 200,000 to 1 million square feet.
MONROVIA, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Indianapolis-based Ambrose Property Group says a fashion apparel company will establish a distribution center at the Westpoint Business Park in Monrovia. California-based Deckers Brands will set up a 507,600-square-foot logistics facility for its Midwest distribution and logistics hub.
Ambrose says this is the second company to lease space at the new business park along Interstate 70 near the Hendricks County-Morgan County line. Deckers Brands joins Love’s Truck Solutions as the first two operations at Westpoint
Ambrose says it is currently working with Deckers to make their buildout energy efficient.
“Deckers is demonstrating their company values and commitment to sustainability by pursuing LEED Silver certification, and we’re proud to partner with them on that effort,” said Ambrose Executive Vice President of Development Grant Goldman.
Goldman says he expects strong demand to continue as construction moves forward on the rest of the park. Ambrose plans to break ground this June on Building III within the park, a 646,000-square-foot speculative warehouse. It will be ready for fixturing by December and be completed early next year.
Ambrose says it plans to build up to 10 Class-A distribution buildings at Westpoint Business Park, totaling more than six million square feet.
MONROVIA, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Indianapolis-based Ambrose Property Group says it has completed construction of the first building at its Westpoint Business Park in Monrovia. The developer says Oklahoma-based Love’s Truck Solutions will be the first company to locate in the Class-A logistics park southwest of Indianapolis in Morgan County.
Love’s will operate a 206,000-square-foot tire retread and distribution center at the facility.
Ambrose says it has also completed a 507,000-square-foot speculative warehouse in the 555-acre logistics park.
The company says it plans to construct up to nine Class-A distribution buildings at Westpoint Business Park. They will range in size from 200,000-square-feet to over one million square feet.
“The past year has further proven the impact that e-commerce and logistics has in both the economy and day-to-day living for most Americans,” said Goldman. “Companies are seeking innovative industrial real estate solutions that help them meet increasingly complex demands.”
Westpoint is located at the intersection of Interstate 70 and State Road 39 and is about nine miles from Indianapolis International Airport.
MONROVIA, Ind. (WISH) – A state police trooper was hurt Monday afternoon when his car hydroplaned and then rolled several times before coming to rest in a ditch off Interstate 70 in Hendricks County.
Master Trooper DuJuan Presley-McFadden, a 20-year veteran of the Indiana State Police, was driving a a 2018 Dodge Charger to a crash scene about 1:45 p.m. when the car hydroplaned on I-70 about a mile northeast of the Monrovia exit for State Road 39, said a news release from Senior Trooper B.J. Patterson.
The trooper’s car stopped rolling after it struck an “I-beam” of a road sign, the release said.
Presley-McFadden was on his way to an I-70 crash about 22 miles away near the Cloverdale exit for U.S. 231 in Putnam County.
The trooper was treated at Hendricks Regional Health hospital in Danville for cuts, abrasions and head injuries and later released.
Indiana received heavy rain on Monday afternoon.
Presley-McFadden was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash.
MONROVIA, Ind. (WISH) — Two people are dead after an overnight fire in Monrovia.
Officials were dispatched out to a home in the 5600 block of Blazing Start Road to calls of a working structure fire sometime after midnight Friday.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that two people are deceased. The deceased have not been publicly identified by investigators.
It is not yet known how the fire started.
The fire remains under investigation. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is being assisted by the Morgan County Major Crime Task Force.
MONROVIA, Ind. (WISH) — A minivan driver is dead and four family members were injured Friday night in a crash involving their vehicle and a semitractor-trailer and on eastbound Interstate 70 in Morgan County, state police said.
Early investigations showed a van was eastbound on I-70 near mile marker 55 when the driver ailed to avoid a slow moving or nearly stopped semi. The driver then swerved to the right, striking the back of the semi’s trailer.
The driver of the van, 43-year-old Shane Oakley, was pronounced dead on the scene.
One of hte passengers who was injured was in critical condition, police said, while the other passengers of the vehicle, Oakley’s wife and daughters, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Two occupants of the semitractor were unhurt.
According to Indiana State Police Sgt. Joe Watts, the crash happened near the 55 mile marker, about 10 miles southwest of Plainfield.
The victims are all believed to be from outside of Indiana, Watts said.
MONROVIA, Ind. (WISH) — A Monrovia man said his miniature horse is dead after two pit bulls came on to his property and mauled the horse.
It happened Sunday when the dogs got loose from their home. Now the dogs’ owner is facing charges. Daniel Cannon of Monrovia has been charged with false informing and allowing a dog to stray outside his property, according to court documents.
The owner of that miniature horse told 24-Hour News 8 this attack should have never happened.
According to court documents, the dogs attacked a neighbor just one week before. The dogs’ owner, Cannon, also has a lengthy history of cases like this in Indianapolis.
Mac McCloud said he got home on Sunday to a horrific scene.
“Pit bulls standing in the door where my stall is all blood-covered…. My mini-horse was laying there almost dead,” McCloud said.
That mini-horse named Big Boy was his granddaughter’s pet and, McCloud said, the horse didn’t survive the attack.
“They mauled him pretty good,” he said. “He was only 29 inches tall so he didn’t have a chance with two of them and they cornered him in the stall.”
McCloud said the dogs also injured another one of his horses before police and animal control authorities arrived on scene. They captured one pit bull at the time; the other ran away.
Police said they tracked the owner down to a house about a quarter of a mile away. That owner has since been identified as Cannon. The second pit bull was found in his home.
On Thursday, 24-Hour News 8 knocked on the door to that home, but nobody answered.
Cannon’s problems with animals isn’t just in Morgan County. He’s had issues in Marion County as well.
“Daniel Cannon has an extensive history of animal violations in the City of Indianapolis, dating back to 2011. He has been found in violation of having animals at large, animals chasing and approaching people in a menacing fashion, animals attacking individuals, and other related offenses. As a result of multiple cases, Cannon has been ordered to pay civil penalties and he is permanently restricted to the type and amount of animals that he can own within the City of Indianapolis and Marion County,” said Indianapolis Animal Care Services spokesperson Kristen Lee in a statement provided to 24-Hour News 8.
McCloud said although nothing will bring back Big Boy, he hopes this incident will encourage responsible pet ownership.
“That could’ve been a grandchild out here playing and the dogs decide to attack them just as easy as they did that horse,” McCloud said.
As of Thursday, the two pit bulls said to be involved in the attack are at the Morgan County Humane Society on a 10-day bite quarantine. A spokesperson there said the dogs were seized by the Monrovia Police Department town marshal. At this point it’s unclear if the dogs will be euthanized or returned to their owner. Cannon’s initial hearing in this case is scheduled for Friday morning.
Cannon’s initial hearing in this case is scheduled for Friday morning.
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MONROVIA, Ind (WISH) — A major drug bust in Morgan County yielded $1.25 million worth of tubes of THC used for vaping.
It happened last week on I-70 near Monrovia. Morgan County officials call it one of the biggest busts in the county’s history.
Police said 33-year old Ryan Ferrand of New York was only planning on driving through. They believe he picked up the trunkload of THC in Los Angeles and was headed back to New York. While passing through, they said, Ferrand was driving suspiciously; braking for no reason, crossing over the centerline and not using a turn signal. Deputies with the county sheriff’s office pulled him over.
“The officers used a K-9 to search the vehicle, which detected there was illegal drugs in the vehicle,” said Capt. Brent Worth of the sheriff’s office.
In the trunk, hidden in duffel bags and buried under clothing, officers said they found 31,000 vape tubes containing THC. They also found more than $600 in cash.
“We’ve probably set a record with this bust. We’ve had large-sized drug arrests in the past, but as far as moneywise, or the value, this is probably the biggest,” said Worth.
Officers arrested Ferrand. He allegedly told police that he was only transporting the drugs.
The bust comes just days after the sheriff’s office and the Mooresville Police Department teamed up to form the Morgan County PACE team. The acronym stands for Pro-Active Criminal Enforcement. The Morgan County Substance Abuse Council funded the team with a $25,000 grant, according to Worth. The money is used to pay officers overtime to patrol the streets more. They hope to make more big busts. The goal is to expand the program to all county law-enforcement agencies. The PACE team first hit the streets on July 1, four days before officers arrested Ferrand.
“This is the first large bust. We’ve made multiple arrests with the team already on a smaller scale. This is the biggest bust, obviously, that the team has made,” Worth said.
Those in the community hope the team keeps up the good work.
“Those are lost lives and people not contributing to society. So, it hurts us all,” said John Hadley.
Richard That added, “I think it’s a good thing because we don’t need anything like that around here. I’m anti-drug.”
The Morgan County prosecutor charged Ferrand with possession of marijuana, dealing marijuana and conspiracy to deal.
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MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — One man was taken into custody in connection with child pornography charges Wednesday morning.
It happened when authorities executed a search warrant at a home in Monrovia in the 2600 block of West McCracken Road following a five month investigation.
32-year-old Michael Polston was soon arrested on ten felony counts of possession of child pornography.
He was later taken to Morgan County Jail.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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MORGAN COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) — Two people were found dead in a Morgan County home on Saturday, according to authorities.
Morgan County Sheriff Robert Downey told 24-Hour News 8 deputies went to a home on Briarwood Lake just southwest of Monrovia for a welfare check around 12:45 p.m.
Two people, who Downey identified as the home’s residents, were found dead inside. Downey said it’s unclear at this time if foul play was involved.
Their names have not been released.
An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday morning.