Karaline Cartagena Edwards was tired of the snide comments she’d often hear about her home region of Northwest Indiana. As Edwards says, the area’s critics don’t understand how many talented people live and work in Northwest Indiana, how strong the business community here and how enticing the area’s restaurants, shops and entertainment offerings are.
So Edwards decided to make a difference. After having worked as a teacher for seven years in Texas, she returned to this slice of Indiana to take on a key job: economic development manager of the Michigan City Economic Development Corporation.
And since returning home to Northwest Indiana? Edwards has discovered that the region is even stronger today than it was when she left seven years ago.
“Northwest Indiana often gets a bad rap,” Edwards said. “Being away let me see and appreciate all the good things the area has to offer. I wanted to get involved in something that was positive, wanted to make a positive difference in the area. I never liked our area getting that negative reputation. When I saw the opportunity that the EDC had, I jumped at it.”
Edwards says that she is impressed with how Michigan City has grown while she lived in Texas. The area has attracted new restaurants, shops and entertainment centers. It offers green space and recreation. And it remains a tourist destination thanks to its location along the shores of Lake Michigan and the entrance to the newest national park in the country- the Indiana National Dunes..
“The whole area feels a little more suburban,” Edwards said. “You can feel that growth. This is starting to feel like the beginning steps of our area becoming the new Chicago suburbs. My job is to recognize that and work with the growth that we see happening while also making sure to take care of the people that have been here for years.”
And this recent growth? It’s helping Michigan City’s EDC attract new businesses to the area. And that’s especially important today.
A strong relationship
It’s no secret that the national economy is sluggish today. Consumers are struggling with persistently high inflation and interest rates. This makes the partnership between EDCs and local governments even more important: Cities and towns need all the tools they can wield to keep their business community strong.
Fortunately, the Michigan City EDC has long worked closely with Michigan City’s government bodies and business community. That hasn’t changed today, with the local EDC and community organizations working together to entice businesses to the area.
It helps that Michigan City boasts a strong location in the center of the country and a skilled workforce. The city is also friendly to businesses, providing them with incentives and financial breaks.
Edwards says that her job is keep these relationships strong while also selling potential new businesses on the merits of setting up shop in Michigan City.
Part of this involves maintaining a strong online presence. As Edwards says, many site selectors go online before they take any future steps. Once businesses express an interest in Michigan City, the EDC provides them with all the resources, information and data they need to understand the benefits of locating here.
“They need the data and demographics of the city,” Edwards said. “They want information on what the key industries are and how strong the quality of life is. That’s why we keep our website optimized. Before we ever get a call, businesses are looking at our site to learn more about our community.”
This means, too, that the Michigan City EDC maintains a strong social media presence.
“We use social media to spotlight everything,” Edwards said. “We promote anything business-related regarding expansions and retention. We promote our inclusive and economic initiatives. It’s about spotlighting any opportunity that we can showcase.”
Michigan City itself is in a period of growth, thanks partly to strong investment in the city’s downtown core.
Edwards says that several core projects are fueling Michigan City’s growth today.
First is the South Shore Line’s Double Track project. The South Shore Line, the commuter rail line that connects South Bend, Indiana, and the communities of Northwest Indiana to downtown Chicago, is adding a second rail line along a 17-mile stretch between Michigan City and Gary, Indiana. This is expected to shave about 40 minutes off the trip from Michigan City to Chicago.
This project, Edwards said, is expected to boost Michigan City’s efforts to attract both new residents and businesses.
“A lot of people from Illinois, both residents and businesses, are looking to move to Indiana,” Edwards said. “The taxes are lower. There are more incentives for businesses. With the double track, you can hop on the train and not worry about having to drive in. You can be in Chicago in an hour and then, at the end of the day, come back to a community with a smaller-town feel. You get both the small-town feel and the big-city amenities.”
To complement the double track project, a new Michigan City train station is under construction. This $100 million investment will include 220 apartments with 6,000 square feet of retail on its main floor.
A new mixed-use development, SoLa, is also under construction in Michigan City. The building will include two flagship hotels, TRYP by Wyndham and SoLa Hotel, a Trademark Collection by Wyndham, which will offer a combined 235 rooms.
“We think this is going to transform the area,” Edwards said. “We don’t have a building like this. It’s a statement building.”
Also under construction is Woodland Ridge, a 32-acre development of 113 new homes at market-rate prices. The city is also eager for a redevelopment of the struggling Marquette Mall, a 50-acre site centrally located in the City of Michigan City. Developers have expressed interest in transforming the site, with the city hoping for a mixed-use entertainment and multifamily town center.
Michigan City is also involved in a socioeconomic initiative known as Vibrant Michigan City. This project is supported by the Brookings Institution’s Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking and the Local Initiatives Support Corp., both of which are working with Michigan City officials on a learning lab to help create a more economically inclusive community.
The goal, after several meetings with residents and city officials, is to create a blueprint that Michigan City can follow to become an even stronger community, one that offers economic opportunities to all its residents.
The initiative is focusing on three areas of Michigan City, its east side, west side and Midtown areas, which Edwards says are most in need of investment. Agenda items include ways to boost the participation of residents in community activities, ways in which to build healthy neighborhoods, how to add more affordable housing to the city and how to strengthen local commercial districts and businesses.
“Housing is a huge need for us,” Edwards said. “We are excited that we are seeing new homes being built. We want to make sure we are attracting mixed-use facilities where we can have retail on the bottom and homes on the top in the downtown near the train station.”
The EDC is focusing on other issues, too. For instance, childcare. Many residents are in need of more affordable childcare so that they can work.
“Collaboration is the key to making things happen,” Edwards said. “It is so important for EDCs to work with local community organizations to strengthen the communities. And it’s not just working with city officials, but with residents, too.”