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BY MARK KIESLING
Times Columnist | Thursday, February 03, 2005 | (No comments posted.)
There are a couple of million dollars on the table, but no one is ready to call yet in a high-stakes municipal poker game between Highland and Hammond.
The money is in Highland's pocket now, but the Town Council is seriously considering handing it to Hammond, which would then use the money to help it buy the River Park Apartments.
The apartments, a plywood-pocked eyesore and a drug-infested blight, sit right on the Hammond-Highland border at Kennedy Avenue. Both municipalities blame the place for contributing to the abnormally high crime rate in the area.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. has a $14.25 million offer to the owners of the complex to buy it, and if that's accepted the 25-unit complex will be razed and made available for development.
This is where Highland comes in.
Most, if not all, the council favors kicking in $2 million toward the purchase of the apartments, a move that will earn them the thanks of the people who live on the north end.
"Ever since they tore down the liquor store that was next to the apartment an influx of their residents have more of a reason to cross the bridge and hang out at the (Highland) liquor and convenience store, so I, for one, will celebrate when the apartments are destroyed," said one Highland resident who lives near River Park.
"Nothing but good will come of this."
To come up with the cash, Highland probably will have to issue revenue bonds, not having $2 million lying around, a feeling I have in common with the town and I'm guessing you do as well.
Right now, political sources say Hammond has agreed to repay Highland at least $1 million once the project sells, paid over seven years. There would be no interest, and Highland would lose about $17,000.
Some on the Highland side instead want in on the project, and want McDermott to make the area a joint Hammond-Highland tax increment financing district to allow bonding that can be used for infrastructure and demolition.
The mayor has balked at this, but has countered with those offers to repay the debt once the city sells the property to developers. The location is excellent, right off the nation's busiest stretch of highway with existing ramp access.
You have a hotel complex right across Kennedy Avenue, and stable middle-class neighborhoods on both the Highland and Hammond sides that would provide a large consumer base.
If the project collapses because of political posturing in Highland, it's going to be a long, long time before anyone tackles the subject again. There are still bluffs to call, stakes to raise and maybe an ace up somebody's sleeve.
This is one of those situations where Hammond and Highland can push themselves back from the table at the end of the game and be winners if both sides play their cards right.
Mark Kiesling's column solely represents the opinion of the writer and not necessarily that of The Times. Readers can reach Kiesling at markk@nwitimes.com or (219) 933-4170.
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