Interested in what the Regional Development Authority has been doing to boost job creation, improve transportation and infrastructure and raise the quality of life in Northwest Indiana? Then our newest annual report is just for you! Available for download here (or use the contact information below to request a hard copy), the 2013 Annual Report covers developments from July of last year through June 2014. Highlights include:
$5.4 million in funding from our deal-closing fund that helped to bring one company, Tec Air, from Chicago to the region and aided two other area firms, Pratt Industries and MonoSol, in expanding. Combined, these three deals will create nearly 550 jobs in Northwest Indiana over the next five years. In total, RDA efforts through its deal-closing fund have brought over 1,100 jobs to Lake and Porter counties
A $17 million grant to East Chicago for the city's Waterfront Revitalization Initiative at Jeorse Beach. Construction just kicked off on the project this month. The initiative is part of the Marquette Plan to recover and restore the shoreline for public use. The RDA has made similar investments in Hammond, Whiting, Gary and Portage. According to an analysis done in 2012, these improvements will create about 1,010 jobs by 2025.
A commitment by the RDA to provide $8 million annually in matching funds for the West Lake Corridor expansion of the South Shore commuter rail system. By 2033, this new line is projected to carry more than 5,000 riders a day who will inject nearly $150 million annually in combined salaries into the Northwest Indiana economy. West Lake will also spur Transit-Oriented Development in the region, increase property values and create an estimated 2,000 non-commuter jobs.
