HAMMOND – The closest thing Northwest Indiana may have to an intermodal operation is just a few negotiation points away from landing in Hammond’s Hessville section.
Redevelopment Commission attorney Dave Westmoreland and attorneys for Hammond-based Thruport Intermodal LLC are about 90 percent done with the agreement that would place the railroad repair and distribution center at 6939 Kennedy Ave., the old East Gibson Yard development. Thruport attorneys Jim Wieser and Justin Murphy presented the project Tuesday to the Redevelopment Commission.
The 155-acre parcel, comprised of a 53-acre former oil tank farm, property from the former Hammond Lead Products Inc. and the city’s former landfill, is bounded by Michigan Avenue/U.S. 20 to the north; Cline Avenue to the east; Kennedy Avenue to the west; and three sets of rail track to the south. The project would be built around the landfill as opposed to through it, Wieser said after the meeting.
The $90 million project’s $15 million first phase would bring the country’s second train repair center that would repair trains as a whole unit, but would be the only one in the country to feature a double loop that would allow two entire trains to move through for repair. The double-loop construction would be on a separate grade that wouldn’t affect traffic and is something Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. has been lobbying for several years, Wieser said.
“I live in Hessville, and believe me, I’d hear about it (if train traffic increased),” Murphy added.
The project’s second phase would build cold storage and dry warehouses, one at a cost of $50 million and the other $25 million, said Murphy, who is listed on online sites as Thruport’s managing member.
Thruport Intermodal could bring up to 230 “good-paying jobs” to Hammond, and possibly more based on the number of inquiries the project has had, according to Russ Millbranth, a Valparaiso attorney who’s one of its developers. While the rail transloader would be the primary business on the property, the warehouses could entice other distribution facilities to put down roots.
“There were efforts to establish a facility in LaPorte County, but it’s not working out because it’s too far away,” Millbranth said. “Here, we’re 25 miles from Chicago and 3.2 miles from the Gary/Chicago Airport. The railroads (CSX Corp. and Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad) have been responsive, too.
“It’s a very creative project, one to really get excited about, and we’ve been so blessed with interest. Once the contract is finished, then we can really make a splash with marketing.”
Thruport is asking the city for between $2 million and $2.5 million in tax-increment financing district monies, and it already has a purchaser for the TIF bond, Murphy said. The company would pay $8 million for the track loop and $3.5 million for the five-bay facility.