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Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Ind. Econ. Dev. - Gary's Marquette Park gets $20 million

"Visclosky wins $20 million for Marquette Plan" was the headline to a story yesterday in the Chesterton Tribune that reported:

U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., today announced that he has secured $20 million for the Marquette Plan, his proposal to reclaim sites along the Lake Michigan shoreline for public recreational use.

The funding, secured in the Energy & Water Appropriations Act of 2006, will give the Marquette Plan a head start for the design, construction and completion of specific projects along the lakeshore, Visclosky said.

The state law that created the new Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority cites the lakeshore development as one of the projects that the RDA is expected to financially support. The others are enhanced air, rail, and bus transportation and other economic development projects.

“The pieces are in place to successfully invest in Lake Michigan’s shoreline,” Visclosky said in a statement. “We have the support of all five lakefront mayors. We have significant financial support at the federal level, and we have the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA), which is a permanent local funding source that was created specifically to match federal investment in lakeshore and other economic development projects. The fact that we have identified funding sources for the Marquette Plan means that we’ll be able to hit the ground running when it comes to initiating work on specific projects.” * * *

The Marquette Plan, which has been agreed to by the mayors of Portage, East Chicago, Gary, Hammond and Whiting, calls for 75 percent of the lakeshore, from Illinois to the eastern edge of Portage, to be open for free public use. The plan also calls for a minimum setback of 200 fee for projects on the lakefront, with a continuous biking and walking trail.

The Gary Post-Tribune has a story today.

For background, see this ILB entry from 6/15/04.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 8, 2005 01:00 PM
Posted to Environment | Indiana economic development