Region offers infrastructure, workforce, quality of place — plus, access to Chicago
Da Bears aren’t alone in the hunt to secure home field advantage in Northwest Indiana.
Eighteen months ago, JNE Group of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, moved its team of engineers here.
“We do a lot of heavy industry work, so this is an area we are familiar with,” said Keith Taylor, JNE Group sales vice president.
JNE previously opened a U.S. location in Pittsburgh but opted this time for a less-congested Midwest venue than downtown Chicago.
“For us, it’s about being close to our steel industry customers,” he said. “The talent we were looking to recruit were going to come from that area, so they would be less likely to want to drive into the city.
“We were able to secure office space in Merrillville, which has been a very positive experience. The team is settling in and quite happy with the facilities.”
Many businesses are finding their happy place in this corner of the Hoosier State as companies relocate or expand their operations.
“Northwest Indiana is in play,” said Anthony Sindone, associate professor at Indiana University Northwest’s School of Business and Economics.
“It’s still heavily industrial but is also becoming more diversified,” he said, with growth in technology, healthcare and supply-chain-logistics sectors.
“Employment levels are rising, and the unemployment rate is pretty low.”
The average Northwest and North Central Indiana unemployment rate in February was 3.8 percent, nonseasonally adjusted, according to STATS Indiana. The national seasonally adjusted rate was 4.4%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We are seeing a gross domestic product increase of 3.4 percent a year,” a rate that is close to the golden mean of robust job creation without high inflation, Sindone said.
“We have grown in the healthcare, technology and supply chain sectors, which represents warehousing and transportation,” he said.
“As more firms come in, there are more job opportunities. Personal incomes are actually growing pretty strong. That tells businesses there could be a demand for their services and products.”
Resistance to change
Such development isn’t an unforeseen windfall.
The Region’s private and governmental interests are working together to fight other states for multi-million-dollar projects and overcome resistance such economic expansion imposes on a community’s traditional character.
“The biggest challenges we see tend to be about the realities of relocation,” said Aaron McDermott, co-founder and president of Latitude Commercial, a Crown Point real estate brokerage.
“Moving a company is often a significant undertaking. For many users, especially in manufacturing or specialized industries, the cost to relocate equipment, re-establish operations, and manage downtime can be substantial. Even when the long-term savings are clear, that upfront investment can slow or prevent a move.”
Employee reluctance to move is another issue.
“There’s a segment of business owners less driven by cost efficiency and more focused on maintaining a specific lifestyle,” McDermott said. “Companies have to weigh not just the economics, but also retention, culture and continuity of leadership.”
Jenny Walters, real estate counselor, site selection and incentives director for Sikich, a Naperville, Illinois-based consulting firm, said other bottlenecks could involve a shortage of skilled workers or infrastructure and market-ready spaces.
“If a site isn’t ready, companies look at alternatives,” Walters said. “Speed to market becomes a major factor.”
She said site selectors, economic development organizations and real estate brokers break down the location strategy issues for prospective relocation-ready companies.
“Site selectors typically advise the company on where to go — often comparing multiple states or regions based on cost, workforce, logistics and long-term fit,” Walters said.
Essential tools
Heather Ennis has been an influential proponent of economic development since she became president and CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum in 2014.
“We actively market the Region as the place to do business, working closely with companies, brokers, site selectors, and developers to grow and attract investment to Northwest Indiana,” she said.
Once a company selects a prospective location for expansion or relocation, the city and other local government bodies “do the majority of legwork from there,” Ennis said.
“Economic development is a team sport … done in strong partnership with local municipalities and economic development organizations,” she said.
McDermott said local commercial real estate brokers are engaged at the transaction level.
“We are hired to represent a specific client whether that’s a property owner looking to lease or sell an asset or a company evaluating sites,” he said.
His company works on finding the perfect location for businesses, then underwriting and negotiating the deal “to get it across the finish line.”
“When those two efforts are aligned, it becomes very powerful,” he said.
That model worked when the University of Chicago Medicine selected property for a new primary care location in Valparaiso. Latitude Commercial represented the landlord in lease negotiations for Cumberland Crossings.
“We’re very excited with how Northwest Indiana has embraced us in the community,” said Lauren Hull, chief administrative officer for Northwest Indiana, in an October press release about the expansion of its Crown Point multispecialty facility.
Indiana offers advantages that other states struggle to match, McDermott said.
“We have constitutional caps on property taxes that provide predictability that many companies simply don’t have elsewhere,” he said. “When companies run the numbers side-by-side, those savings can be significant.”
Both Ennis and McDermott noted the proximity to Chicago as a significant advantage.
“Companies are able to maintain access to a major metropolitan market while operating in a much more efficient cost structure,” McDermott said.
Logistics and digital infrastructure are other factors.
“Our proximity to Chicago, the nation’s third largest economy, creates a uniquely dynamic setting for investment,” Ennis said. “Our deep-water port, extensive interstate access, three Class I railroads, and robust fiber connectivity are the envy of Regions across the country.”
Land available
The NWI Forum has more than 600 properties listed for sale or lease on its website.
“We are working with landowners and communities to align sites to accommodate market needs,” she said.
She said examples of major capital investment on the horizon include: the Amazon Web Services data center proposed in Hobart, a 1.2 million-square-foot John Deere warehouse and distribution center near Lowell and a 317,000-square-foot FedEx distribution facility in Gary.
“Seeing these Fortune 500 companies invest in our Region continues to ensure the marketplace that Northwest Indiana is ripe with opportunity,” Ennis said.
Tim Healy, president and CEO of Holladay Properties, said his South Bend-based real estate company developed the AmeriPlex business parks in Merrillville, Michigan City and Portage. He has orchestrated other locations designed to provide attractive amenities, like spec built workspaces “for companies that don’t have time to wait on long planning and construction schedules.”
“The first reason (spec buildings) work is their location on the Interstates (Interstate 65 and Interstate 94),” he said. “They also have thoughtfully designed infrastructure. Power lines are looped underground, so if one line gets cut, you aren’t out of business.”
He said the facilities also have stormwater detention, “so if you buy 20 acres, you can use all 20 acres.”
“We have walking paths and nearby restaurants and hotels, so if you have guests who come in for business, you have a convenient place to entertain them,” he said.
Attracting talent
Paradigm Health, an Indianapolis-based hospice and palliative care provider, recently secured office space in Valparaiso, one of the newest of several locations across the state.
“Northwest Indiana offers a combination of workforce stability, cost efficiency and access to larger metro areas,” said Dawn Selke, chief experience officer for Paradigm. “Quality of life is a big factor. Access to strong healthcare services, safe communities and schools all influence whether employees choose to stay long term. In our field, this is critical.”
She said Paradigm looks for communities where employees would like to live and work.
“Northwest Indiana offers a combination of workforce stability, cost efficiency and access to larger metro areas,” she said. “For us, there is also a growing demand for healthcare services as populations age. As we expand, we are looking at where we can meet needs and raise the standard of care for patients and families.”
McDermott agrees that the perks of living in Northwest Indiana help hiring and retention.
“The conversation around amenities starts and ends with the workforce,” he said. “More than anything else, companies are making location decisions based on their ability to attract and retain talent. If a location doesn’t support that, the rest of the real estate or cost savings simply doesn’t matter.”
He said the Region offers access to a diverse range of professionals.
“Not only from our immediate area, but we’re near major higher education institutions, including campuses throughout Northwest Indiana, Chicago, West Lafayette with Purdue University, and South Bend with the University of Notre Dame,” McDermott said. “That pipeline of talent ranging from skilled trades to highly educated professionals is a significant advantage when companies are evaluating long-term growth.”
Quality of life also plays a role.
“We have access to Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes National Park,” he said. “At the same time, (we are) still closely connected to everything that comes with a major metropolitan area.
“That type of access gives companies confidence that employees can commute efficiently while still enjoying a lower-cost, higher-quality living environment.”
Business-friendly climate
The $1 billion Microsoft data center, a 17-building campus set to go up in the City of LaPorte’s Radius Industrial Park, is where it all comes together, said Bert Cook, executive director of La Porte Economic Advancement Partnership, a government/business partnership.
Cook said his city of 22,000 landed the Microsoft project for several good reasons.
“Indiana has decided to be a low-cost location,” Cook said. “When you look at the entire tax cost, it is so much lower than our neighboring states. That creates an opportunity for us.
“We also have a strong water, electric and natural gas utility network and road infrastructure. We have quality labor unions to build it, and once built, the transferable skill sets that are in demand for the future.”
Crown Point Mayor Peter Land said infrastructure improvements have attracted new developments that “strengthens our local economy by providing jobs across a variety of sectors, including healthcare and hospitality.”
Walters said Sikich has “seen consistent interest in manufacturing, logistics and distribution.” They supported rScan’s move to a larger space in the former South Bend Chocolate Co.’s production facility. The South Bend startup that resells returned merchandise scaled up from 15,000 square feet and 10 employees to 100,000 square feet that could eventually accommodate 152 employees.
“It’s a good example of the broader trend — companies choosing the Region because it offers access, infrastructure, and room to grow, while still managing costs,” Walters said.
“Overall, Northwest Indiana is competitive because it sits in that balance between cost, access and scalability, particularly for companies trying to balance cost and access.” •
Read more stories from the current issue of Northwest Indiana Business Magazine.
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Great ownership transfer
Bridge for skills gap
Passion project
Curiosity at heart
Quality trade show strategy
Employee wealth plans
Inside mid-career learning
Digital infrastructure
Professional advancement
