Munster: town of 22,000 celebrates 100 years.

• Author: Skertic, Alison
• Position: REGIONAL REPORT NORTHWEST

This summer, as the town of Munster celebrates 100 years, it will unveil Centennial Park, a 200-acre tract with two botanical gardens, a dog park, walking trails and amphitheater.

Over the next year, more sections of the park will open, including a driving range, clubhouse and nine-hole golf course. While visitors marvel at the sculpture gardens or enjoy a concert, those who've lived in the town a few years may shake their heads in amazement remembering what used to be on this spot. Or, more accurately, still is. Centennial Park is built on top of the former Munster landfill.

The site was a one-time brickyard that became a landfill decades ago. It closed several years ago and the town began the process of reclaiming the eyesore and turning it into a community treasure. The park is the culmination of years of work, an accomplishment that some doubted would ever be built, says Tom DeGiulio, town manager.

The biggest obstacle was the "skepticism of some people that the town would not do what it promised when it acquired the brickyard in 1968," he says. "What the (town) council promised was we would reclaim the land by operating it as a landfill and turn it into a park. We did exactly that."

The confidence of the community and its leaders has made town of about 22,000 a popular bedroom community with a strong business base.

Land on the town's south end that was farm fields a generation ago is now home to office parks. A bit north, plans have begun to replace the 72-acre Lake Business Center--a one-time mattress factory that was turned into an office park--with upscale retail and office development. Zoning changes and creating of an economic redevelopment area and a tax increment finance district to facilitate the development have already taken place.

Town leaders expect "a thriving retail and business area" will be developed, says DeGiulio, town manager since 1984. "It will be our new downtown."

Munster's economic-development efforts have long been known for careful planning and aggressive execution. The town has a reputation for setting high standards in what it wants from its businesses.

For example, most communities are willing to consider tax abatements to bring in a business or help and existing operation grow. Munster does also, but goes a step further, requiring the recipient of the tax break to set aside some of the savings for public art. The result has been a variety of sculptures dotting the landscapes of area business and industry.

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