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[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=54065.42

Co. Committee To Look At Intermodal
Officials to start advisory task force to ensure ‘transparent’ process in development.

Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch

LA PORTE - An advisory task force is being created to help county officials evaluate prospective developers and sites for an intermodal freight terminal in La Porte County.

County Commission President Barbara Huston said in a press release Friday the commissioners are developing an "orderly and fair process" that would involve public input. The task force will have 15 to 20 members.

The convergence of rail lines, coupled with closeness to major interstate highways, has positioned La Porte County as a prime location for a facility that could create jobs and boost economic development. It would serve as a place where cargo is transferred between trucks and trains.

Two railroad companies are said to be eying locations here, but are saying little publicly about their plans. Some property owners have said they have been approached by a real estate company that has been buying options on farmland in southern La Porte County.

"We will put a very public, transparent process in place to evaluate developers and sites before we ever give approvals to anyone," Huston said.

Huston said the county has received multiple inquiries from real estate firms, venture capital groups, railroads and real estate investment trusts interested in prospective county locations. She said county attorney Shaw Friedman and county economic development coordinator Matt Reardon will coordinate contacts and issue a request of interest to identify serious proposals.

Her own preference is to use the Kingsbury Industrial Park as the site of the intermodal facility, but she and the other commissioners are open to all possibilities, she said.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.post-trib.com/business/546456,intermodal.article

Transit hub called economic engine

September 7, 2007
BY DANIELLE BRAFF Post-Tribune staff writer

Baseball fields, fire stations, government centers and roads are some of the perks a proposed intermodal could bring to LaPorte County if it follows in the footsteps of the Illinois intermodals, economic development officials said Thursday.
The intermodal also would generate thousands of jobs with average salaries of $40,000 and millions of dollars in tax revenues, Matt Reardon, LaPorte County economic development coordinator, told the Post-Tribune editorial board.

Reardon said he hopes to begin negotiating with real estate development company Grubb-Ellis Cressy and Everett as soon as it makes an offer on property to build the transportation hub.

Northwest Indiana public officials, developers and affected farmers are waiting to hear definitive plans from the company, which is expected to create a 3,000-acre facility in LaPorte County. The intermodal terminal would connect the interstates and ports with a railroad facility designed to make the region the hub of transportation activities.

While the developer has been in talks with LaPorte for 11⁄2 years, it hasn't made any announcements other than optioning land voluntarily sold by some of the farmers living in the designated area.

"We're trying to get to a stage where we can get some information out," John Regetz, executive director of the Michigan City Economic Development Corp., said. Regetz and Reardon have been in regular talks with Grubb-Ellis, but the developer still hasn't given them a timeline of when a deal will be offered.

When that happens, Reardon estimated that the minimum amount of time needed before the intermodal will be completed would be three years.

The developer would have to pass major hurdles, including environmental studies and restrictions and zoning laws. Grubb-Ellis would have to figure out how to expand the roads and determine the impact of the increased amount of trucks and vehicles.

The developer also is facing thousands of angry LaPorte residents who said they don't appreciate the amount of secrecy that has been surrounding the deal.

There are 110,000 people living in LaPorte County, and they will all be affected by the intermodal.