Michigan City, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD), and Flaherty & Collins Properties are pleased to announce an $80M mixed-use development as part of a three-way development partnership.
Flaherty & Collins Properties will develop the entire City block bounded by 10th and 11th Streets on the north and south sides, and Franklin and Pine Streets on the west and east.
With a placeholder name of “11th Street Central,” the 12-story high-rise mixed-use development will feature a new train station for the South Shore Line stop at 11th Street, 208 luxury residential apartment homes, over 10,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 558-space parking garage.
“Fasten your seatbelts,” said Mayor of Michigan City, Duane Parry. “We are catapulting Michigan City through the present, right into the future. Get ready, this partnership is driving the future of Northwest Indiana.”
“Time to the job market is what matters to our commuters,” said South Shore Line’s President Michael Noland. “The Double Track improvements will make Michigan City an easy 67-minute commute from downtown Chicago. With the additional trains that will be added and the reduction in travel time to and from Chicago, we expect to more than triple our daily ridership out of Michigan City. Projects like 11th Street Central will not only leverage off of the $16 million NICTD is contributing to the project, but will also further support our ridership. This type of economic opportunity is precisely why our 4-county region, the State of Indiana, led by Governor Holcomb, and the Federal Transportation Administration funded the $649 million Double Track project.”
“When the RDA went to local, state and federal officials to assemble the funding package for commuter rail expansion in Northwest Indiana, we promised that the two projects would bring more than $2.5 billion in development to the Region,” said Sherri Ziller, President and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority. “Between Munster, Hammond and now Michigan City, more than $250 million worth of development projects have already been announced, and that’s with the official start of construction still a month away. RDA is currently finalizing Transit Development Districts in communities along both existing line and the West Lake expansion that will take development, and the Region, to the next level."
A first for the greater Chicago metropolitan region, the project is a Joint Development, as defined by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). An FTA Joint Development allows a private developer to undertake a public responsibility, in this case, the construction of a train station and garage to NICTD standards. It is also the first parking garage to specifically serve South Shore Line passengers.
“We could not be more thrilled with this unique partnership with NICTD and Michigan City,” says Brian Prince, Vice President of Development at Flaherty & Collins Properties. “This project will be huge for the region, attract and keep young professionals in Michigan City, and make it more attractive for existing employers and potential new employers. It will have a tremendous impact on the community, with over an estimated $150 million economic impact in the first 5 years.”
The name 11th Street Central is being used, at least temporarily, because it conveys and emphasizes that Michigan City is at the center of Lake Michigan’s southern shore, serves as a connection point between South Bend and Chicago, and sits at the merger point of several historic and arts districts in Michigan City: the Uptown Arts District, the Historic Franklin St. Commercial District, and the Elston Grove Historic District.
A Review Committee - representing a meaningful cross-section of Michigan City, including public and private leaders and residents voted unanimously in selecting Flaherty & Collins Properties. Their vote to select Flaherty & Collins was unanimous.
The project aims to break ground in the summer of 2023 and have new transit station open by May of 2024 and the apartments complete by spring of 2025.
About Michigan City : The strength of Michigan City, population 31,000, lies in its balance of small-town heart with assets typically associated with far larger cities. A true city, not a suburb, it was founded in 1836, making it one of the oldest cities on Lake Michigan. Much of that history has been preserved in its downtown historic and arts districts. It is adjacent to one of the newest national parks, Indiana Dunes National Park, has miles of lakeshore beaches and marinas, and an abundance of natural beauty and parks. Other regional draws include an arts district, with art museums and galleries, a casino and extensive dining options. Michigan City maintains and supports a diverse range of manufacturing, service and retail businesses, and welcomes entrepreneurs and new businesses. Located midway between Chicago and South Bend, Michigan City is where Northwest Indiana comes together to live, work and play.
About Flaherty & Collins Properties: In business since 1993, Indianapolis-based Flaherty & Collins Properties is an award-winning developer, builder, and manager of mixed-use, multifamily properties, with over a half-billion in projects under development in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio, LaPorte, Lawrenceburg and Terre Haute, Indiana, Cape Coral, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Kansas City. Flaherty & Collins Properties current manages 76 properties and nearly 12,000 units in 7 states. For more information on Flaherty & Collins Properties, contact Brian Moore at 317.816.9300 or visit www.flco.com.
About the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority: Established in 2006 through a bipartisan effort, the RDA is quasi-governmental development entity entrusted to make public investment decisions within a regional framework for supporting catalytic infrastructure projects and inducing private sector investment. Years of successful results have made it a trusted and tested partner for growth in Northwest Indiana.
For more information, visit www.nwitdd.com or www.in.gov/rda.
