FAQs
What is a Transit Development District?
Transit Development Districts, or TDDs, are half-mile areas around existing and proposed stations on the West Lake and existing South Shore lines. These districts collect incremental property and income taxes in order to provide a way to fund infrastructure improvements and development incentives so that NWI communities more quickly realize the benefits of rail expansion.
Within each TDD, the Regional Development Authority can capture all or part of the incremental property and local income tax gains from new development to fund those improvements. The percentage of new incremental revenue that goes to the RDA and the percentage that is passed through to local government will be the subject of negotiation between the RDA and each city or town.
What are the benefits of TOD?
Some of the benefits of TOD include:
Reduced household driving and thus lowered regional congestion, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Walkable communities that accommodate more healthy and active lifestyles.
Increased transit ridership and fare revenue.
Potential for added value created through increased and/or sustained property values where transit investments have occurred.
Improved access to jobs and economic opportunity.
Expanded mobility choices that reduce dependence on the automobile, reduce transportation costs and free up household income for other purposes.
Why hasn’t the existing line brought development?
Sustainable development has to be planned for. The existing lines may have had the intention of just providing a station and parking lot for transit riders, without considering surrounding land uses and development opportunities. Development is most successful when it can be directly adjacent to stations. In most cases this is not possible if a station sits in a large parking lot or if adjacent zoning does not allow for high-density development. By proactively planning and establishing the TDDs to fund development, we can set the stage for transit-supportive development in the four station areas
What types of development does RDA hope to spur around existing South Shore stations? How will this process unfold?
According to our analysis, West Lake and double tracking should generate about $2.5 billion in investment, more than $2 billion of which will be private investment. This will include residential commercial and professional development, much if not all of which will transit-oriented development (TOD) designed to take advantage of the proximity to transit.
But as to the exact shape such development takes, that will be up to the individual communities. This isn’t about RDA coming in and imposing something on a local community. We want each community to have the kind of development it wants as much as possible in terms of design and density and location and other factors.
Will my property taxes increase?
For existing homeowners, property taxes will only increase if the transit investments cause an increase in the value of the property in question. It is likely that property taxes will fall over the entire municipality as the investments cause the property tax rates to fall.
What will the commute times be?
On average, overall commute times are estimated to decrease by more than 25%. Here is the approximate station by station table of commute times by NICTD:
Hammond Gateway: 32 minutes
South Hammond: 37 minutes
Munster Ridge Road: 40 minutes
Munster/Dyer: 45 minutes
What is Transit Oriented Development (TOD)?
Transit-oriented development, or TOD, is a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other commercial development and amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood and located within a half-mile of quality public transportation.
Will my home be taken?
No one’s home will be taken for transit-oriented development.
Why are these projects so important to the future of Northwest Indiana?
Northwest Indiana has lagged the nation and the state in economic and population growth for 50 years. As the top region in steel production with a significant manufacturing base, the region has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs and people. We recognized that we needed to transform the economy of Northwest Indiana. Tinkering around the edges was not going to work. Fortunately, we have an asset that we can seek to leverage to reignite the region – the Chicago economy.
State and local leaders recognized that if Northwest Indiana was to thrive we had to rebuild aged infrastructure and reposition the communities along the commuter rail line as part of the greater Chicago market.
The West Lake and Double Tracking project will transform the South Shore line. The line was built in the early 1900s as inter-urban railroad with the intention of providing regional connectivity. With the new investment, it will become a modern commuter line that will offer greatly reduced travel times to Chicago.
Our plan uses this transit investment to catalyze $2.5 billion in private investment. West Lake and Double Tracking will leverage NWI’s most unique asset, proximity to Chicago, in a way never done before.
Commuter rail expansion will create new businesses and approximately 6,150 new permanent jobs in Northwest Indiana, offering the opportunity for more than $2 billion in new private development over the next 20 years.
Do you have questions specifically regarding one of the transit lines?
West Lake Corridor, please visit:
South Shore Line, please visit: