Southern Indiana Commercial Corridors: Jeffersonville, Clarksville, New Albany and River Ridge (2026)

October 3, 2026 at 4:00 AM

by Rob Bergeron

Southern Indiana Commercial Corridors: Jeffersonville, Clarksville, New Albany and River Ridge (2026)

Southern Indiana is where much of the Louisville metro's new industrial space and new jobs are landing. Cushman & Wakefield | Commercial Kentucky's Q2 2026 industrial report counts 36.0 million square feet of industrial space in its Southern Indiana submarket, with 1.63 million square feet under construction and 953,980 square feet completed so far this year. Vacancy there is 9.3%, about double the 4.6% metro rate, because new speculative buildings deliver before they lease. On the apartment side, Institutional Property Advisors' 2Q 2026 report puts Southern Indiana vacancy at 4.0% in March, the lowest in the metro.

This guide covers the corridors on the Indiana side of the river: River Ridge and State Road 265 out to Charlestown, south Clarksville and the former Colgate site, Veterans Parkway and the I-65 corridor, downtown Jeffersonville and downtown New Albany. One honest caveat: public research reports treat Southern Indiana as one or a few submarkets. They do not break out office or retail vacancy by town or corridor, so the sections below are built from projects, sales, public money and dated announcements that can be verified.

River Ridge, State Road 265 and Charlestown

What's there: River Ridge Commerce Center covers about 6,000 acres in Clark County. It passed 20 million square feet of developed buildings in December 2025 and reports more than 13,300 onsite jobs. For 2025 it reported $3.58 billion in regional economic impact, $57.5 million in annual tax revenue and $162.4 million in private investment. Tenants include Collins Aerospace, Meta, Amazon, Medline, CTDI, PharmaCord, Autoneum and Fuji Seal.

Recent moves:

CTDI announced its third River Ridge facility on April 23, 2026: a $44 million, 400,000-square-foot building on Penny Martin Lane in Charlestown with room to expand to 660,000 square feet and 400 initial jobs. CTDI's two existing River Ridge facilities support about 1,600 jobs.
Meta's data center at River Ridge, announced in January 2024, involves $800 million in eligible capital, nearly 700,000 square feet on a 619-acre site and about 100 permanent jobs. Louisville Public Media described it as nearly complete in August 2026.
In July 2026, River Ridge reserved land for a future Clark County 911 emergency response facility.

Public policy: Jeffersonville approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers on Aug. 4, 2026 while it updates zoning. The moratorium does not apply to River Ridge, where the park's development authority controls land use.

What investors look at here: speculative industrial buildings and their lease-up time, land for build-to-suit users, and the apartment demand that follows the jobs. Charlestown/Sellersburg apartments average $1,181 with 8.6% vacancy (Cushman & Wakefield, Q1 2026). Compare with the Kentucky side in our Louisville industrial corridors guide.

South Clarksville: Clockworks and the former Colgate site

What's next: Louisville-based Weyland Ventures unveiled Clockworks in May 2026, a plan for 50-plus acres at the former Colgate plant with an estimated $400 million to $500 million total cost. Plans include restoring the historic clock building as a history center, a hotel with mixed-use and residential space, an exhibit hall, a proposed conference center, an open-air market and youth sports training facilities, plus mixed-use development across South Clark Boulevard. The Clarksville Town Council approved a resolution of support on May 14, 2026. Phase one is targeted for the first quarter of 2027, with full buildout estimated at 10 to 15 years.

Public money: the developer is seeking historic tax credits, and tax increment financing (TIF) is planned for infrastructure. TIF uses the future growth in property tax revenue a project creates to help pay for public improvements. Formal TIF designation and infrastructure funding still require town approval.

Under construction nearby: Denton Floyd Real Estate Group broke ground March 26, 2026 on The George at 1401 Main Street, with 192 apartments and townhomes and more than 10,000 square feet of Class A retail, inside the South Clarksville TIF district.

What investors look at here: land and small commercial buildings near the riverfront before the larger phases deliver, and whether the TIF and tax credits get final approval. Clarksville apartments average $1,222 with 9.3% vacancy (Cushman & Wakefield, Q1 2026).

Veterans Parkway, Green Tree Mall and I-65 in south Clark County

What's there: Green Tree Mall sits off I-65 about four miles north of downtown Louisville. It is 793,837 square feet with Dillard's and JCPenney as anchors, and Namdar Realty bought it in 2023. The third anchor, Sears, closed in 2017.

Recent moves: Texas Roadhouse is moving its original 1993 restaurant out of Green Tree Mall to a stand-alone site on Veterans Parkway near Bubba's 33, with opening expected in mid-November 2026, per a May 16, 2026 report. That is the pattern on this corridor: tenants leaving enclosed mall space for pad sites with their own parking and visibility.

Research view: Marcus & Millichap's 2026 retail forecast names the Interstate 65 corridor in south Clark County, along with the inner East End toward St. Matthews, as the areas where retail leasing should hold up best.

What investors look at here: pad sites and outparcels along Veterans Parkway, second-generation restaurant space, and what fills the Texas Roadhouse space and other mall vacancies. See our Louisville retail corridors guide for the Kentucky side.

Downtown Jeffersonville and Spring Street

What's there: Spring Street Commons, a mixed residential and commercial building along the river in downtown Jeffersonville, was completed in June 2021 with a Blaze Pizza on the ground floor. Norton Healthcare completed its purchase of Clark Memorial Health in Jeffersonville on Oct. 2, 2023; the hospital now operates as Norton Clark Hospital.

What the numbers say: Jeffersonville apartments average $1,230 with 5.6% vacancy (Cushman & Wakefield, Q1 2026).

Honest gap: we did not find a large 2026 downtown Jeffersonville project announcement we could verify from a public source, so we are not listing one. Check our commercial real estate news page for updates.

What investors look at here: small mixed-use buildings within walking distance of the riverfront, hospital-adjacent medical office near Norton Clark, and how the city's data center zoning update affects industrial-zoned land inside city limits. More in our medical office corridors guide.

Downtown New Albany

What's there: The Sprigler Company's plan to rehabilitate the Padgett building at 300 Culbertson Avenue, approved by the New Albany Plan Commission in February 2024, calls for 68,000 square feet of commercial space and 24 apartments, plus a warehouse building for possible brewery use. The broader Padgett District master plan by Schmidt Associates shows 160 apartments in 178,000 square feet near downtown.

Healthcare: Baptist Health Floyd, at 1850 State Street, is putting $10.3 million into an emergency department expansion and a new chapel, reported Aug. 6, 2026.

What the numbers say: New Albany apartments average $1,141 with 5.0% vacancy (Cushman & Wakefield, Q1 2026).

What investors look at here: historic buildings that may qualify for federal historic tax credits, small apartment buildings with lower per-unit prices than Louisville's East End, and service and medical tenants near Baptist Health Floyd.

Southern Indiana apartments

Institutional Property Advisors says Southern Indiana captured more than two-thirds of the metro's net apartment absorption in 2025 and expects vacancy to stay below 4% through 2026. Marcus & Millichap says the Indiana side has grown inventory by more than 5% a year since 2022, but expects 2026 completions to fall to less than 10% of the prior year's volume. Cushman & Wakefield reports a 321-unit portfolio sale of Ashby Apartments, Lakeview Apartments and Carrington Place. Full submarket detail is in our Louisville apartment submarkets guide.

Market-wide numbers

Southern Indiana industrial: 36,008,745 square feet, 9.3% vacancy, 164,755 square feet of positive net absorption year to date, 1,633,796 square feet under construction and a $7.06 per square foot weighted average net rent for warehouse and distribution space (Cushman & Wakefield, Q2 2026).
Louisville metro industrial: 209.8 million square feet, 4.6% vacancy, about 5.16 million square feet under construction (Cushman & Wakefield, Q2 2026).
Southern Indiana apartment vacancy of 4.0% in March 2026 (Institutional Property Advisors).
Apartment rents: New Albany $1,141, Charlestown/Sellersburg $1,181, Clarksville $1,222, Jeffersonville $1,230 (Cushman & Wakefield, Q1 2026).

Indiana has its own incentive programs and tax rules. Start with our Louisville and Southern Indiana development incentives guide, then read why invest in Southern Indiana commercial real estate and our Southern Indiana commercial real estate hub.

Talk to Winner Commercial

Winner Commercial works alongside Winner Realty. Rob Bergeron, Owner–Realtor (KY license #219325), has closed 2,000+ residential and commercial transactions since 2013. Winner works with a lot of out-of-state and long-distance investor capital, and clients come back for the infrastructure: the resources, the systems, the people. We don't always know the answer ourselves, but we know exactly who does. Sellers can reach the 70,000+ buyers on OffMarket.deals. Send us a site or building or call (502) 305-8915.

FAQ

What is the industrial vacancy rate in Southern Indiana?

9.3% in Q2 2026, per Cushman & Wakefield, against 4.6% for the Louisville metro. Southern Indiana also had 1.63 million square feet under construction.

What is happening at the former Colgate plant in Clarksville?

Weyland Ventures' Clockworks plan covers 50-plus acres with an estimated $400 million to $500 million cost. The town council backed it May 14, 2026, and phase one is targeted for early 2027.

How big is River Ridge Commerce Center?

About 6,000 acres, with more than 20 million square feet of developed buildings and 13,300-plus onsite jobs.

Are Southern Indiana apartments tighter than Louisville's?

Institutional Property Advisors puts Southern Indiana vacancy at 4.0%, the lowest in the metro. Cushman & Wakefield's town-level numbers range from 5.0% in New Albany to 9.3% in Clarksville, so check the specific town and property.

Does Jeffersonville's data center moratorium affect River Ridge?

No. The Aug. 4, 2026 moratorium excludes River Ridge, where the development authority controls land use.

Sources

Let's talk

We would love to hear from you!

Get in touch