Rail station development districts on track for approval
Times of Northwest Indiana | Andrew Steele
Published June 10, 2022
Original article can be viewed here
MERRILLVILLE — A years-long effort to create development districts around seven current and future commuter railroad stations appears on its way to completion after a public hearing Thursday drew only compliments for the collaborative effort that produced the proposed districts.
The Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, which is overseeing creation of the Transit Development Districts, accepted comment on districts that will include South Shore Line stations at Michigan City, Portage/Ogden Dunes, Gary Miller and East Chicago, as well as the future Hammond Gateway station and the Munster Ridge Road and Munster/Dyer Main Street stations on the West Lake Corridor.
The TDDs will be subject to a second public hearing at the RDA's July 14 meeting, and would need final approval from the State Budget Committee.
The TDDs are being formed in conjunction with the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's West Lake Corridor and South Shore Double Track projects.
"This is the largest economic development project in the state's history," RDA President and CEO Sherri Ziller said before the hearing.
"As we navigate through this process, you really are in a lane — our communities — to compete for those young professionals who work in Chicago and to make our communities more attractive for businesses," she said.
Several representatives of communities that will host a TDD spoke after their district was introduced by Aaron Kowalski, a planner at the consulting firm MKSK, which is working with the RDA on development of the districts.
City of Hammond Chief of Staff Phil Taillon noted that work on the district — including with developers who have already pledged to build in it — has been going on "a very long time."
"We've already announced three developments in downtown Hammond that are located in the district," he said. The $75 million total investment will bring 350 new residential units to downtown, which will gain its own West Lake Corridor station according to the city's plans.
Gary Deputy Mayor Trent McCain expressed hope the rail projects and associated development will catalyze growth in that city.
"We are excited about this project going forward. We know that it will be the economic engine that will revitalize Gary," he said.
The RDA in Lake and Porter counties and local development agencies in LaPorte County will be able to leverage the incremental growth in property and local income taxes within each district to improve infrastructure and support projects directly within the district.
The seven stations covered in Thursday's hearing have been subject of previous public meetings and a host of private meetings among community officials, the RDA and its consultants. Work is continuing on TDD boundaries for other stations, which include Hammond South on the West Lake Corridor and Gary Metro, Dune Park, Beverly Shores and South Bend on the South Shore Line.
Information, including maps of each proposed district, is available online at nwitdd.com.
Thursday's meeting also marked the first for three new members of the RDA Board of Directors. John Dull of Lake County, Jason Gilliana of Porter County and Don Babcock of LaPorte County joined the board as governor's appointees with a vote on issues involving TDDs.
