Michigan City. No more incarceration or incineration

The recent announcement of the closing of the Prison in Michigan City marks yet another correction of some historically bad decisions that this city has made over time.

I am not going to sit in judgment though of building a prison in 1860 or a coal-fired generating station in 1931 on arguably one of the best stretches of sand on Lake Michigan. I wish that I could say that the closing of the Nipsco plant and the prison were part of some grassroots effort or agenda that was pushed by our city officials. By all accounts, the evolution of these decisions are all financial in nature. Regardless of the impetus these are monumental for the future of this city and will seem like a dream come true for many of our residents on the west side of Michigan City who have dealt disproportionally with both.  

It seems that Nipsco retiring the plant has already positively affected real estate values on the west side. It appears that the prices are baking in the value that this will create.  Speculators scramble and some long-time residents are faring better on pricing. The real money will be made by speculators that are purchasing now and reselling in a few years.  The Prison is a hundred-acre site and Nipsco is 123 acres on the lake.  The potential of these two sites namely Nipsco keeps local and regional developers up at night dreaming of the possibilities. 
 
The impact to the entire Michigan City area as a result of these two closures will be significant. These are longer-term future projects,  but people will buy and invest in this news and the town will benefit from it.  There is much to be excited about but just as much to be cautious about.  Decisions made now on current projects and the success or failure of those projects could pull forward timelines or push back progress.  The city is littered with poorly executed plans where the concept of doing something for the sake of doing something seemed like forward motion. Overstudied and poorly executed cannot be the standard to move the city forward given the canvas that is unfolding before us.

The next mayor in my opinion understands this and will heed the lessons of history and seek the counsel of the right people to set the table for the next 20 years.