Flagship Prepares for Bright Expansion

Start-up company Bright Automotive plans to expand its office space at the Flagship Enterprise Center after outgrowing its current area.

On Wednesday, the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals approved a special exception for an amended development plan at the Flagship, which will include a one-story 2,600-square-foot addition off the northeast corner of the building.

krM Architecture associate Dave Montgomery, who has worked on designing the addition, said it would house some office space and a large open space for Bright.

“They just feel like they need more room,” Montgomery said. “I’m not sure what they’re going to do in there.”

The addition will be free-standing and connect to the Flagship with a concrete patio. It will look similar to the current Flagship building, Municipal Director Assistant Director Tim Stires said.

“This new office complex, which will house the Bright Corp. hopefully as it gets started, will be another piece in the city’s economic development effort,” he said.

Last year, Bright introduced its Idea, a 100-mile-per-gallon utility van. The company is working on securing federal funding to continue its operations in hopes of expanding into mass-producing the Idea. Company leaders have not yet said whether they would build their manufacturing facilities in Anderson.

Municipal Development Director Michael Widing said an Indiana Department of Transportation grant would provide for additional landscaping near the new addition. The grant is part of INDOT’s project to create a truck lane from Enterprise Drive to Interstate 69 that is set to open soon.

Contact Aleasha Sandley: 640-4805, aleasha.sandley@heraldbulletin.com.