I first met Tom Dickey in 2012.  I had just started this news blog and, to be honest, wasn’t sure at the time how many readers I had, if any.  It was Tom Dickey, then working for the Town of Fishers, that told me he was reading my blog regularly.  It helped keep me going in the early days when I began to wonder whether all this work was accomplishing anything.

Tom spend time at the Town and later the City of Fishers, working in community development and was instrumental in fashioning the early Fishers strategy of economic development.  He later left his work in Fishers and joined a firm on the northwest side of Indianapolis.

It has long been rumored that Tom Dickey would be joining another City of Fishers alum, Shelby Bowen, at  the Fishers-based firm of Rebar Development.  That announcement was made official Friday.

“Over the years, if Shelby and I weren’t talking about a project in which we were working on together, we were calling each other for advice and support,” said Dickey in a Rebar news release. “In many ways, when I sat down in my Rebar office, it felt like not much had changed.”

Rebar started operation in 2017 and has become a bigger player in the local development world in recent years, surpassing $300 million in development since the start.

“I am grateful for the partnerships we have had across central Indiana and the opportunity to develop such impactful projects,” said Bowen, CEO and Partner of Rebar Development. “I’m incredibly excited for what our future holds with Tom joining the team. He’s an extraordinary developer and embodies the sense of character and stewardship that will continue to make Rebar Development the premiere public private partner.”

Rebar currently has projects under construction in McCordsville, Fishers, and Southport. In addition, planned projects include the R.W. Lofts in Warsaw and CityView in partnership with HighGround, a subsidiary of Carmel-based Hageman Group.