Buying Land in Vigo County, IN: Zoning and the Industrial Park Boom

South of Terre Haute, the Vigo County Industrial Park has become the site of one of Indiana's largest single manufacturing investments in recent years. Here's what that means for a buyer looking at land nearby, plus how the county's joint city-county zoning structure actually works.

This page covers what's specific to Vigo County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

One Area Planning Department, four jurisdictions

Vigo County handles zoning differently from a county with a standalone Plan Commission: the Vigo County Area Planning Department, based at the Vigo County Annex on Oak Street in Terre Haute, administers a single set of zoning, subdivision, and flood-control ordinances covering the City of Terre Haute itself, the towns of Riley, Seelyville, and West Terre Haute, and unincorporated county territory. A joint Plan Commission reviews rezoning requests and recommends action to whichever body actually has legislative authority over that piece of ground -- the Terre Haute Common Council, a town board, or the county commissioners -- while a separate Board of Zoning Appeals handles variances and special exceptions.

For a buyer, the practical upside is one planning office to call regardless of which of those jurisdictions a parcel falls under. The thing worth double-checking is which legislative body would actually need to approve a rezoning or special exception for your specific parcel, since that affects the public-hearing process and timeline even though the same planning staff processes the application either way.

ENTEK's roughly $1.5 billion battery-separator plant

Vigo County Industrial Park II, south of Terre Haute, is the site of ENTEK's lithium-ion battery-separator manufacturing plant -- reported as the largest single investment in the company's history. The project was initially announced at roughly $1.5 billion and has since been cited in reporting around $1.7 billion, and it's backed by a U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office direct loan of up to $1.2 billion, arranged through the department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. Reporting has put expected employment at several hundred construction jobs during the build and several hundred permanent operational jobs once the plant is running, aimed at making ENTEK the first end-to-end domestic U.S. supplier of 'wet process' battery separators for the North American lithium-ion EV battery market.

That said, this is a live, still-developing story rather than a settled one: a 2025 executive order pausing certain federal grant and loan disbursements was reported to have slowed the project's pace, and this research pass could not confirm ENTEK's current construction timeline or production start date. A buyer evaluating land near the industrial park -- for any purpose, whether hoping to benefit from the area's growth or simply wanting to understand nearby development -- should check the plant's current construction status and any related infrastructure work (road, utility, or rail improvements tied to the project) directly with the Vigo County Economic Development Corporation or Vigo County Area Planning Department rather than relying on the project's original 2023-2024 announcement details.

Other industrial and energy activity nearby

ENTEK isn't the only project reshaping the area: ZINKPOWER, a hot-dip galvanizing company, has been building its fourth United States facility in northern Vigo County, reported at roughly $50 million with around 100 employees expected once it reaches production. Separately, a large regional solar project -- Hoosier Jack Solar, proposed to span roughly 900 acres of Vigo County and 600 acres of neighboring Sullivan County -- was reported to have filed a notice suspending development in January 2026, with a related Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission jurisdictional matter terminated the following month. A buyer with land near that project's mapped footprint should ask the Vigo County Area Planning Department directly for the project's current status rather than assuming either that it's proceeding or that it has been cancelled outright, since a development suspension is not necessarily the same as a formal project cancellation.

The broader takeaway for anyone buying land in Vigo County right now: this is a county in the middle of genuine industrial momentum, concentrated geographically around its industrial parks south and north of Terre Haute, with at least one major project's pace tied to unresolved federal funding questions. Confirming current zoning, any pending rezoning petitions, and the real-time status of nearby large projects is more important here than it would be in a county without this level of active development.

Buying Land in Vigo County, Indiana: Zoning and the Industrial Park Boom

One Area Planning Department, four jurisdictions

ENTEK's roughly $1.5 billion battery-separator plant

Other industrial and energy activity nearby

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