Lake County, IN has seen quite the spike in interest from developers over the years and that same incline is expected to continue throughout 2022 and well into 2023.
Lake County has been a bountiful area with a surplus of land to be developed and aged industrial facilities ready to be resurfaced. This didn’t happen by chance, but with the hard work of the Lake County Economic Alliance (LCEA). LCEA President & CEO, Karen Lauerman and Director of Economic Development, Don Koliboski worked hand in hand to ensure that Lake County was seen to developers as the proper place to invest and develop.
“The pandemic was a terrible thing for everyone. But at the same time, people were glued to their home desk, laptop, and our business and what we do. We were extremely busy strategizing and working. With all of that work, we were able to offer up what we saw as inventory, because we had already gathered that information and had technical data on available properties. We have properties that need to be remediated and we reached out to everyone we knew,” Koliboski said.
LCEA put in the hard work necessary and because of that Lake County is a hot commodity to developers near and far. The attraction is clear – lower living costs, labor saving costs, better tax structure etc. Residents of Lake County should be just as ecstatic. This means more jobs and higher wages for the people who live here.
“The overall cost of doing business in Indiana is a major draw for investors and companies looking to serve their bottom line while catering to employees, clients, and supply chains,” Lauerman said.
The grind is clear. The Lake County power house of LCEA has been very strategic in marketing the county and is continuing down that path to make Lake County, IN the most in demand area in the Midwest and it seems to be working.
“I have five current projects I have to respond to today. That's not including the three that we had yesterday. That's not including a plan commission rezone last night. That's not including a redevelopment opportunity in the north end of Lake County. The work is always there,” Koliboski said.
Lake County also helps make itself a selling point for LCEA. Lake County is the second largest populous county in the state of Indiana, and adjacent to the fifth largest metropolitan area of Chicago. When businesses are in need for more space and warehouses, Lake County makes the most sense.
As Lake County continues to see increased interest by developers, the question lingers if there’s enough of Lake County to meet their demand. The LCEA is more than confident.
“195 acres. That kind of speaks for itself,” Koliboski said. “There is a major development on the 231/65 corridor. We have another development in North Lake County that's being remediated. There will be another 3 million square feet of logistics space. We've been working for several years on a $600 million investment on a bio feed refinery in Gary. There’s more than enough to go around.”
The LCEA super team are seeing the potential and are committed to ensuring that developers see that as well.
“We do have inventory and we've attracted developers. One example is the 4400 Homelee building which is a major development speculation building that we have a lot of interest in,” Koliboski said.
The LCEA works diligently to continue to to grow Lake County at a vast speed and they couldn’t be more proud of it. They each know their part and work hard to keep up with how the area is growing, getting developers here, and what the residents of Lake County can expect in the upcoming years.
“Economic development is three legs to a stool: retention/expansion, attraction, and workforce development. We learn every day from each other. We have a lesson of the day that we all take away every day from each other,” Koliboski said.
There has been a serious interest in Northwest Indiana and to ensure Lake County remains a powerhouse in that incline, the LCEA is eagerly at work.
To learn more about the LCEA and what they offer and can provide, please visit https://lcea.us/