ANDERSON — It doesn’t have the lights and attractions of Exit 26, but Interstate 69’s Exit 22 is fast becoming a destination for business while continuing to be a major entry point for the city.

Since the Flagship Enterprise Center opened in 2003, Exit 22 has become the entryway to Anderson’s fastest growing business corridor, with tenants that include Central Indiana Orthopedics, located northwest of the interchange.

“We perceive that as a gateway to Anderson,” said Karla Hostetler, CEO of Central Indiana Orthopedics.

Convenience is important for a health-care facility, Hostetler said, and Exit 22 provides patients with easy access. The center houses about 85 workers, including 10 orthopedic surgeons, and served more than 23,000 people during a recent seven-month period, she said.

Because Exit 22 is the first exit into Anderson from Indianapolis and the most convenient route into downtown, the city has invested time and money into upgrading Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, the main route taking drivers from Exit 22 into the city.

Linda Dawson, director of economic development for the city, said Anderson officials were dedicated to continuing the development near the exit and along MLK.

“As this development continues, it strengthens our opportunity to attract a variety of businesses to the downtown and west side,” Dawson said. “The Nichol Avenue business district is very easy to access from MLK Boulevard via 38th Street and Raible Avenue. The economic development team promotes this fact continuously, and without Exit 22, we would not have that ability.

“With this growth, the city is being redefined as an excellent place to locate logistics, manufacturing, health industry and research and development activity. Exit 22 has become a crucial component of our economic development strategy and increasing the opportunity of job creation.”

Dawson said that, while Exit 26 was rapidly growing, Exit 22 lagged behind with only one gas station because the area lacked city water and sewage services and costs to expand utilities were too prohibitive.

Once the city secured funding for upgrades, Dawson said, the Corporation for Economic Development created the Flagship business park, which increased development at a “slow pace” until the city and Anderson University partnered to create the Flagship Enterprise Center.

“From that point on, growth is taking place on a quicker pace with the addition of the Orthopedic Center, Ivy Tech, Carter Express, Affiliated Computer Services, Nestlé and other,” Dawson said.

General Motors triggered the boom at Exit 22 in 1998 when the automaker funded a study to determine how Anderson could rebound from the loss of thousands of automotive industry jobs. According to GM, the city needed a new business incubator to develop replacement industries.

Five years and $6.3 million later, work began on the Flagship Enterprise Center. DeWayne Landweher, the center’s executive director, said this month that the business and technology park had reached full capacity for the first time. He credited a prime location for helping the Flagship flourish.

“It’s right on the interstate, but further than that, it’s just right up the road from the developments that are already occurring, like down at Exit 10,” Landweher said.

He said he’s “tickled pink” by the new businesses springing up around the Flagship.

“The types of businesses we’re attracting, I think, are good businesses,” he said. “They’re small and medium in size, and they’re diverse, so we’re not hurt if one of them leaves like we were when General Motors left town.”

The Flagship isn’t content with only serving its 27 resident clients, Landweher said.

“We’re thinking of other ways we can reach out to the community and help established businesses and encourage new businesses,” he said.

Whatever future businesses come to Exit 22, the growth will come from people on a regional level, said Rob Sparks, executive director for the Anderson/Madison County Corporation for Economic Development.

“It’s hard to say exactly” what will come next to Exit 22,” Sparks said. “Possibly hotels and food restaurants. There’s still quite a bit of land there.”

In July 2006, when Nestlé USA announced its plans for Anderson, Steve Presley, vice president and general manager, said the company started with hundreds of possible locations and that rail and interstate access were a top priority.

Details on infrastructure upgrades, taxes and incentives eventually gave Anderson the edge.

Now Nestlé is making an estimated local investment of $600 million, and Dawson said the company’s presence will help attract more business to Exit 22.

“Nestlé has definitely been a magnet for other companies,” Dawson said. “When a large global company selects a site, it demonstrates this location has excellent infrastructure and is situated on a desirable transportation system. Multiple companies let larger corporations do the research and then follow their lead. It is the same concept where fast-food chains will follow McDonald’s to new areas. Our prospect calls have risen dramatically and partially we credit the exposure Nestlé has provided.”