Real estate around the state.

• Author: Church, Melinda
• Position: Indiana real estate market

Indianapolis may be overbuilt for now, but what about the rest of the state?

CALUMET REGION

It may surprise some people, but the steel industry's slowdown during the 1980s may well be the Calumet Region's biggest impetus for new growth and development. Thanks to steel, the area has been forced to diversify. "We have been seeing a lot of the benefits of that," says Jeff Ban, marketing director for Gough & Lesch of Merrillville.

"I would say that a lot of the growth has been from approximately 1986 on," continues Ban. "We've seen a lot of action. We've had a lot of positive feedback."

Much influx into northwest Indiana is coming from Illinois. It's the Hoosier basics that are appealing-a lower cost of living, lower taxes and good schools.

And if families are migrating across the state line, their businesses can't be far behind. "You've got to get the rooftops there before you can get the businesses there," says Stan Wolucka, manager of the commercial division of Price Realtors, which has offices in Munster, Highland and Shererville.

"We're getting a lot of residential moving here, and they're also moving their businesses here," continues Wolucka. "It's been going on for a good 10 years," he says, noting that the pace has quickened in the last two years.

Wolucka estimates that the area's commercial vacancy rate is less than 5 percent or 6 percent of the finished space. But, he adds, there's quite a bit of building on speculation. "The two biggest growth areas that we have right now in the Calumet Region are the Merrillville area and Shererville," he explains.

Merrillville has been a fertile area for both commercial and residential development. Downtown Merrillville, especially, has had a surge in office-building construction, according to Wolucka. One project that is scheduled to open in February or March is The Williamsburg, a five-building, 120,000-square-foot office park that Gough & Lesch is developing. Another prominent downtown development is Cambridge Common, a 250,000-square-foot professional building.

Why the surge in Merrillville's popularity? Wolucka of Price Realtors attributes the growth to the city's first-class amenities, such as the Star Plaza. "It was a little Holiday Inn once and now it's a huge hotel and convention facility," says Wolucka. "It's something in the area that helps attract people."

While Merrillville may appear to be one of the most glamorous locations for commercial development in the region, there also is a lot of activity elsewhere. One such large-scale project is the East Chicago Enterprise Center, located in East Chicago just two miles from the indiana Toll Road.

The East Chicago center is a redevelopment project owned by a joint partnership between Crown Point-based Gough Construction Co., Inc., and The Prime Group, Inc., of Chicago. In 1988, the partnership purchased the 1 million-square-foot facility, which is currently 60 percent leased, according to Rich Parks, project manager for the center. Geared primarily toward heavy industry, the East Chicago Enterprise Center lists tenants such as Inland Steel Flat Products Company and Rubber Materials Handling, Inc., a tire recycling company.

Recently, the same partnership that owns the East Chicago center acquired the Hammond Enterprise Center. Just five minutes away from its East Chicago sister site, the Hammond center offers 600,000 square feet, 80 percent of which is leased. The Hammond site currently is undergoing redevelopment. Ameri Container, a manufacturer of shipping containers, will be the lead tenant.

EVANSVILLE

While the powers that be decide the fate of a proposed new road connecting Indianapolis and Evansville, the city continues to develop adjacent to highway improvements that have been made during the past few years. The year-old Lloyd Expressway has created a wealth of opportunities for developers. That new interstate highway, and the entrance points along it, is creating a new belt of growth," says Jim McKinney, managing partner of Regency Associates, an Evansville-based real estate firm with interests nationwide.

Regency is getting a running start on the opportunities, and is developing a multiuse business park at the new interchange at Interstate 164 and the Lloyd Expressway. The company currently is building the infrastructure for Cross Pointe Commerce...