Mar. 1—VALPARAISO — The commuter rail-centered effort to kick-start population growth and boost incomes in Northwest Indiana also relies on a strategic approach to building the housing new residents and younger generations demand, a series of speakers said during a forum Monday.
Officials from Michigan City, Hammond and Munster also shared their emerging successes in that regard at the Destination 2024 Summit, hosted by One Region and the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority at Valparaiso University.
"A once in a lifetime opportunity is before us in Northwest Indiana," One Region President and CEO Marie Foster-Bruns said. Denser housing near transit and offering a walkable environment will help create "modern, vibrant communities," she said.
The 2024 in the event's title referred to the year of completion for the South Shore Line's Double Track project.
RDA President and CEO Sherri Ziller said the types of housing envisioned for areas around current and future rail stations aren't the typical apartments seen in the Region now, but a variety of multi-family designs that "appeal to a larger range of demographic groups."
"Workforce housing is an important component of that development," Ziller said.
The focus of Monday's forum was creation of "market rate housing" around transit-oriented development along the South Shore Line and the forthcoming West Lake Corridor — mixed-use residential, commercial and recreational neighborhoods that take advantage of projects that will link the Region more conveniently and efficiently to the city of Chicago.
The program included a presentation by one former mayor who led a reinvigoration of a city decimated by heavy industry's decline — Tom Murphy, of Pittsburgh — and another by a former mayor who helped lead a TOD-type development near the Region — Dan McLaughlin, of Orland Park.
In the last decades of the 20th century, Pittsburgh lost half its population as the local steel industry declined and became "the second oldest place in America," Murphy said. "We needed to rethink who we were."
The city leveraged strong universities, including Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh, accepted the risks associated with redevelopment — "there's always money for a great idea" — and refocused its economy, Murphy said.
"Our economic driver is not steel anymore; it's technology," he said. Google turned an old Nabisco facility into the base of a 1,000-employee presence because of the high-tech higher education environment, and new developments supported the new population with reimagined streetscapes and lifestyle amenities like riverfront trails and arts districts.
"Cities that will succeed need public and private leaders that are nimble, curious and have an appetite for risk," Murphy said.
McLaughlin's primary project as Orland Park mayor has been a frequent example for supporters of the rail projects and transit-oriented development in Northwest Indiana. Starting in an underdeveloped area around a small Metra commuter rail station, the village took control of developing a 30-acre parcel whose first project became an upscale apartment building.
Since then UChicago Medicine has built a major facility there, and a variety of retail and other amenities have helped make the area a "downtown" for a community that hadn't had one.
"No one developer can actually pull this kind of development off," McLaughlin said. The village accepted risk by financing the initial apartment project and purchasing various parcels, though "every purchase raised the ire of the naysayers."
Pete Novak, CEO of the Greater Northwest Indiana Association of Realtors, pointed to Indiana's advantageous home prices, tax rates and general cost of living as incentives for Illinois residents moving here, but noted that the net impact of that has still been relatively low population growth in Lake County.
The rail projects and associated development can be part of the solution to that problem, he said, particularly as a new generation — Generation Z — enters the housing market.
"We're tying into the same place that Orland Park is; why can't we have the same things they have?" he asked rhetorically.
Several officials of communities with current or future train stations suggested that's on its way.
Skyler York, director of planning for Michigan City, talked about several recently announced projects the city hopes will help it create the population "critical mass" it believes its downtown needs. Long focused solely on the lakefront, the South Shore's Double Track project can help expand the idea of downtown, he said.
Apartment developments totaling about 500 units are part of plans in the works for the city's Transit Development District, including the 11th Street Central development announced last week that will include the new South Shore station, parking and retail space.
Phil Taillon, Hammond's chief of staff, showed the ambitious downtown plan developed by urban planner Jeff Speck that will include a city-financed South Shore station. Current projects in the works include revitalizing the old Bank Calumet building as a residential tower, the creation of a new Rimbach Plaza multi-use development and the new Madison Lofts apartment building, all on Hohman Avenue.
All three projects could begin this year, along with a redesign of the street from Sibley to Russell that will make it more pedestrian friendly.
Munster Town Manager Dustin Anderson said the town's recent development has focused on Centennial Village, a mixed-use development that takes advantage of a realigned 45th Street and proximity to Centennial Park, and to the town's medical corridor on Calumet Avenue.
Much of the town's efforts regarding forthcoming opportunities at the Main Street and Ridge Road stations will benefit from upgraded zoning codes, new streetscape standards and a comprehensive plan in development now.
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