Recent editorials published in Indiana newspapers

The (Munster) Times. September 19, 2019

Banks lead way in Region investment

We all hear the clamor for projects capable of transforming Northwest Indiana into a more attractive region burgeoning with quality of place.

That chorus rises from any person or business believing the Region must become more competitive in attracting and retaining residents in order to thrive.

Five Region banks deserve praise for not just humming the tune but putting their collective money behind such a means to a better end.

Horizon, 1st Source, First Financial, Peoples and Centier banks have joined forces to pledge $25 million to a loan program aimed at financing development around current and future commuter rail stations along the South Shore Line and its proposed West Lake Corridor.

The program, organized by nonprofit One Region and its Northwest Indiana Regional Opportunity Council, is the first public pledge of private money around commuter rail expansion, which promises to be one of the largest economic development projects in Region and state history.

Leah Konrady, One Region president and CEO, credits One Region trips to New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Denver in recent years to showing Region business leaders how contributing private investment funds can seed redevelopment.

The newly announced loan program will weave private investment dollars into the assets surrounding planned expansion of the South Shore Line from Hammond to Dyer and along proposed double-tracking from Gary to Michigan City.

The bank-sponsored program will allow for mixed-use developments - including high-density housing, retail and professional uses - while sharing the risk involved with redevelopment projects.

Peoples Bank CEO Benjamin Bochnowski said Hammond, Michigan City and the Miller neighborhood in Gary are prime sites for potential transit-oriented development, or TOD.

The goal is to assist "anything that's going to drive population to these areas we've identified," he said. "The program's really set up to drive housing density and retail business density around transit."

The One Region loan program adds to a set of financial resources and incentives that could help spur TOD, including transit development districts, which were authorized by the state last year specifically for the South Shore project.

State legislation authorizes local tax dollars to support development by leveraging future growth in property and income taxes within the districts surrounding commuter rail.

Other programs include state and federal initiatives that offer tax breaks to investors in areas designated to be in need of a boost in private investment.

The loan program being fronted by the local banks comes at a crucial time as the Region awaits word from the federal government regarding important matching dollars to finance the actual rail expansion.

Federal programs like to see local skin in the game, and the loan program adds to an already impressive list of state and Region investment toward commuter rail expansion.

Kudos to these five banks for stepping off the platform in a real way and boarding a train toward a more economically thriving Region.

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The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette. September 20, 2019

A good plan made better

Most of the time, our Republican-dominated City Council and the Democratic administration of Mayor Tom Henry seem to work together to allocate public resources properly. A lot of downtown projects are reaching fruition and, appropriately, more attention is turning to neighborhood needs. But when there is money to give out in an election season, anything could happen.

Last month, a solid administration proposal for distributing some $3.26 million in unexpected tax revenue was partially derailed when council members complained they hadn't been consulted. The council said no to a portion of the administration's plan that would reserve $1 million to encourage struggling homeowners to make repairs through zero-interest loans, it rejected $250,000 for commercial facade grants. Consequently, a $1 million allocation for neighborhoods was put on hold.

The city's four area partnerships of neighborhood leaders had already begun to consider uses for the $250,000 windfall each quadrant would have received under Henry's plan. Putting that money into limbo for a long squabble between the mayor and the council would have been deflating and disappointing.

This week, though, the council has offered Henry another way to distribute the funds that is in some ways even better than his original proposal. A resolution proposed by Councilman Michael Barranda, R-at large, would double the allocation to the area partnerships for neighborhood improvements, to $2 million. Each quadrant would receive $500,000 to allocate for sidewalk linkage, improved signage, beautification or other projects. The proposal would preserve two other worthy components of the mayor's original distribution plan: half a million dollars for the opioid fight and another half-million for the job-training programs run by Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana.

Barranda's plan even leaves room for a little of the kind of collaboration he said he wanted to see take place before. The mayor and the council can craft a mutually face-saving plan for what to do with the other $250,000 marked for distribution.

Giving the area partnership more funds to distribute makes sense. It should be noted, though, that the mayor's zero-interest-repairs fund plan was also a neighborhood-oriented proposal with its own merits. Perhaps the area partnerships, with the city's help, will want to direct some of those funds into loans to encourage home improvements.

For the council, finding common ground with the mayor on a way to distribute this year's extra revenue will be good practice for discussing the administration's proposed 2020 budget, which also has a major neighborhood-improvements component.

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South Bend Tribune. September 18, 2019

South Bend Cubs bring championship and more to the city

The unlikely playoff run that led the South Bend Cubs to capture this year's Midwest League Championship is more than just the culmination of a great season.

It's the height of what's been a long and successful transformation of South Bend's Class A affiliate.

The Cubs never lost a game in the three-stage playoff event, going 7-0 in the process of sweeping the Bowling Green Hot Rods, the Great Lakes Loons and the Clinton LumberKings in the championship series.

The Cubs combined solid pitching throughout the season and the series with timely hitting to win its first title for South Bend since 2005, when the club was an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. South Bend, a Chicago Cubs affiliate since 2015, also won titles in 1989 and '93 as an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

But it's been the Cubs affiliation that has rejuvenated the franchise since South Bend first joined the league in 1988.

Cubs owner Andrew Berlin put it this way when the parent Chicago Cubs signed the contract with South Bend to become the Cubs' new affiliate in the Midwest League:

"The No. 1 selling point was the Cubs' faith in our organization and leadership. The reputation we've developed has been impressive. We've had an extraordinary record for player development. It goes beyond the field, into the community."

Four Winds Field has been transformed into more than just a ballpark. It has become an entertainment destination for many in the area with picnic areas, inflatable games for the kids, a splash pad for those hot days and rooftop seating reminiscent of Wrigley Field.

Four Winds also has served as an anchor for other development, including Berlin's own Ivy at Berlin Place, a $22 million mixed-use project that includes apartments and retail space, and the renovation of Union Station and nearby buildings in the former Studebaker complex on the south edge of downtown.

So congratulations to the South Bend Cubs for winning the Midwest League Championship. It means a lot to this community in more ways than just their play on the ball diamond.

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