CITY SPOTLIGHT Columbia City.

• Author: ASP, KAREN

Columbia City, located 20 minutes west of Fort Wayne, is living an economic developer's dream. For the past several years, businesses have flocked to Columbia City, the county seat of Whitley County.

In 1995, the county created a tax increment financing (TIF) district on the east side of Columbia City. "By creating the TIF district, we were able to tap into tax dollars for an improved infrastructure, including sewer, water and roads," says Dorinda Heiden, executive director of the Whitley County Economic Development Corp.

As a result, Whitley County has experienced a phenomenal surge in new investment. In 1994, for example, one year before the TIF district was created, county-wide investments totaled $3.5 million. In 1995, investment rose to $7 million. In 1996, investment climbed to $14 million, $50 million in 1997, and then a staggering $280 million-plus in 1998.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) was the main newsmaker in 1998 when it announced plans to invest more than $250 million in a 440-acre steel mini-mill that sits in the TIF district. SDI plans to employ 300 with salaried jobs averaging $56,000.

In the Park 30 industrial park (also in the TIF district), Autoliv North America, manufacturer of a steering wheel airbag component, has expanded to 100,000 square feet and will employ up to 300. Pyrotek Inc., manufacturer of high temperature gauges, is expected to bring in about 30 new jobs. UnderSea Sensor Systems Inc., manufacturer of submarine-detection sensors, is completing a 96,000-square-foot building to bring in 150 jobs with an average salary of $45,000.

In addition to businesses in its industrial parks, residents find employment through Columbia City's top five employers: Preferred Technical Group with 719 employees, Whitley Memorial Hospital with 416, C.F. GOMMA with 330, Fort Wayne Foundry with 300, and Superior Essex with 290.

Many residents also work in Fort Wayne. "We're a bedroom community of Fort Wayne," says Mayor Joseph Zickgraf. With such strong employment possibilities in and out of town, Columbia City's unemployment rate has sunk to an impressive low of 2 percent.

With these investments in the economy, retail and commercial activity has increased. Most people point to the growth on U.S. 30, where at least 22,500 cars travel daily.

Yet Patricia Hatcher, executive director of the Columbia City Area Chamber of...