$8.9 million casino cash, grant boost East Chicago projects

BY STEVE ZABROSKI, Times of Northwest Indiana Correspondent

EAST CHICAGO | Casino tax money and a development grant mean another $8.9 million for the city's North Harbor and lakeshore revitalization projects.

The Redevelopment Commission on Thursday accepted the first installment of $3.9 million from the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority and appropriated another $5 million in lakefront tax increment financing money for Indiana Harbor plans.

The RDA funds will be paid out over the next two years for property acquisition and site preparation of a mile-long stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline between the city's marina and Buffington Harbor in Gary, an area that extends south to the corridor of Main Street and Broadway currently being developed.

Dubbed the Shoreline Park Gateway, the project's goals involve linking the Indiana Harbor community to an enhanced lakefront area, city Redevelopment Director John Artis said. It also includes the expansion of the Jeorse Park beach onto property that serves as a parking lot for casino employees.

The TIF district collects property taxes from the lakefront casino and hotel for use in improving the neighboring North Harbor area.

Developers working with the city plan to build 40 single-family homes and 80 rental units on some 34 city-owned lots around the corridor along Main Street and Broadway in the first phase of the renewal project.

The city has spent the past two years improving the infrastructure of the North Harbor area as an incentive for the developers, who plan to invest more than $40 million in new housing and commercial construction there.

Broadway between Main and Pulaski Streets is currently being rebuilt with new sidewalks and water and sewer lines, and a $2.6 million makeover of nearby Nuez and Callahan parks began this spring.

The city also plans to demolish the old lakefront water filtration plant and build a $54 million facility inland, freeing up 10 acres for development and extending Broadway to Lake Michigan for neighborhood access.

Some $10.8 million in lakefront TIF funds has been appropriated for the North Harbor projects since 2006.