INDIANAPOLIS — Gov. Mike Pence’s commerce agency bypassed Northwest Indiana last year when it doled out $126 million in Regional Cities Initiative grants to local governments elsewhere in the state for quality of place projects.
But recently that agency, known as the Indiana Economic Development Corp., decided to provide the Region a little bit of money to help officials develop projects that will attract talent and new business to Lake and Porter counties.
Identical awards were provided to three central Indiana regional organizations that also submitted requests for Regional Cities funds, but likewise saw their dreams dashed by the Pence-led IEDC board of directors.
“The IEDC board’s decision to fund a phase two of the initiative triggers further growth and collaboration at the local level and gives communities large and small the opportunity to work together and leverage each other’s strengths to enhance Indiana’s ability to attract and retain talent,” Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb said.
RDA CEO Bill Hanna said the money will be used to pay part of the cost of hiring the consulting firm KPMG to study and plan transit-oriented development opportunities along the current South Shore Line and the proposed West Lake extension from Hammond to Dyer.
He said KPMG is doing similar work for commuter rail lines in Texas and California, and the firm will guide the RDA as it develops land around the South Shore expansion to “really make things known and attractive to the private investment market.”
Hanna anticipates $2.3 billion in new development will be built adjacent to or near eight West Lake or existing South Shore stations.
His goal is for the private sector to direct and pay for at least 80 percent of that work.
“The planning this grant will fund is critical to ensuring that this investment produces the maximum return for residents of Northwest Indiana and the state of Indiana,” Hanna said.
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