Regional Development Authority setting up development incentives

A three-member board of directors for the new Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority land development entity is expected to be in place by the end of the month as the RDA works to get the new nonprofit agency up and running.

RDA President and CEO Sherri Ziller told the RDA Board of Directors Thursday that the board will be expanded if necessary in the future.

The new entity, an important part of the RDA’s new 20-year strategic plan, will help identify, acquire and remediate parcels for redevelopment in Lake and Porter counties.

The new entity will have to complete all kinds of paperwork to get it up and running, which Ziller hopes to accomplish as quickly as possible so it can get to work fulfilling its mission of transforming parcels currently plagued by brownfields, complicated ownership issues or other problems into land suitable for redevelopment.

The RDA is also establishing a task force to develop a menu of financial incentives for projects in transit development districts.

A 2017 state law creating transit development districts provided them with all the features of a tax increment financing district, while capturing the increased value of income taxes over the 20-year life of the district. Given changes in state law regarding local government financing and uncertainty in the private market, the task force aims to find ways to help private developers get their projects off the ground.

“Developer interest remains strong, so that’s a positive,” Ziller said.

“We’re talking about $50 million, $60 million, $100 million projects,” Economic Development Director AJ Bytnar said.

Each transit development district surrounds a train station, within a radius of approximately 800 meters, with the option to expand once, doubling the original size.

Bytnar said mixed-use projects combining commercial and residential use are sought after, but investors must be convinced of a strong return on investment.

The increased value of property and income taxes is already starting to pile up in Michigan City and a few other districts. This money will provide incentives for future projects.

But while we wait for this money to accumulate, how can projects get started? That’s one of the things the task force will look at, Bytnar said. In the world of economic development, the question is often which comes first, the chicken or the egg. “You have to build the nest first,” he explains.

The recommendation is expected to come before the RDA board in May or June, Ziller said.

For now, the plan is aimed at transit district projects, but there could be opportunities to use the incentives elsewhere in the future, she said.

On other fronts, the RDA is working to designate part of US 12 as a scenic byway and eliminate blight in Gary.

The first step of the scenic byway plan involves an RDA-led committee looking at the entire corridor to see what is needed and address long-standing traffic issues like those at Indiana Dunes State Park, Ziller said.

With a scenic highway designation, truck traffic would be diverted to U.S. 20. Ziller hopes for a mid-year engineering study to meet state and federal scenic highway requirements.

The scenic byway designation is being sought as a way to boost tourism in state and national parks as well as lakefront communities.

Gary’s blight removal goal this year is to work near Holy Angels Cathedral, focusing on complex projects like the old hospital, Ziller said.

A separate blight removal project involving private contractors donating equipment and labor time has focused on the Aetna neighborhood for the past two years, said RDA member Dewey Pearman.

They plan to raze about 100 homes this year, he said.

“These programs sort of operate on parallel tracks,” Bytnar said, with Gary officials coordinating the two efforts and covering the costs of hauling and removing the rubble created by the private companies’ efforts.

Another task force is focusing on the Lake County Convention Center project to ensure funding will be put in place. RDA, Lake County and Gary are all involved.

The leadership of the RDA board will remain unchanged this year, with Milton Reed elected vice president and Chris Campbell treasurer. Donald Fesko remains president, a position appointed by the governor.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.