Two Lake County communities made moves Thursday night to put themselves in the driver’s seat in luring the proposed Lake County Convention Center.
Hundreds of residents gathered at St. Timothy Church in Gary Thursday to learn about its proposed site at the Hard Rock Casino, while members of the Hobart Plan Commission voted unanimously to establish a 213-acre planned-use development for Patriot Park, its preferred location.
The City of Gary, the Hard Rock and AECOM and Garfield Public/Private LLC and the City of Hobart have submitted proposals for a Lake County Convention Center. The Lake County Board of Commissioners have until May 31 to decide on a proposal, according to state statute.
“This project will be a catalyst for phenomenal growth for the future for us,” said Gary Mayor Eddie Melton. “This is the right time, and Gary is the right place.”
In the 1990s, former State Senator Earline Rogers, former State Rep. Charlie Brown, Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, and Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, crafted legislation that brought gaming to the state, Melton said. Gaming has brought revenue to the state and municipalities, he said.
In 2023, Melton crafted legislation, which passed, that did three things: established the blighted property demolition fund, established funding for a new train station in downtown Gary and a fund for the Lake County Convention Center, he said.
As he crafted the bill, Melton said other state legislators blocked his proposed language to specify that the convention center should be built in Gary.
“That was the goal. That was the objective, as the author, however some of my former colleagues downstate never want to make it that easy for the City of Gary,” Melton said. “Folks think this project should not be in Gary. Folks think Gary is not ready for this type of project. I beg to differ.”
The funding for the three projects — blighted property demolition, the train station and the convention center — will come from wagering taxes generated at the Hard Rock, Melton said. The convention center would be paid for through gaming taxes, state matching funds, and $30 million over 20 years from Hard Rock, Melton said. Gary residents’ taxes won’t increase to fund the project, he said.
“The wagering taxes that were going to the state will fund this project even if it does not come to Gary,” Melton said. “We’re trying to do everything that we can against all of the odds that are against us. But it’s not impossible.”
In Gary, officials are proposing a 145,000-square-foot convention center and Hard Rock Hotel near the location of Hard Rock Casino, Melton said. In addition to the Hard Rock Hotel, the property has space for two more hotels, one of which would be a REVERB by Hard Rock Hotel that would be co-developed and managed by Hard Rock, he said.
The center would include two restaurants and retail spaces, Melton said, and space for weddings, graduations, farmers markets, theater performances and more, he said. The Gary proposal includes a pledge to hire Gary workers, unions, trades as well as minority, women and veteran-owned businesses for building and establishing the convention center, Melton said.
The Gary site offers easy access to multiple highways, commuter transportation and the Gary Chicago International Airport and Midway Airport, Melton said, which also opens the center to the Chicago market.
Jeannette Peruchini, managing principal at AECOM, said when designing the convention center, the aim was to showcase steel beams, which honors the history of the steel industry in Gary, as well as sustainable features.
The convention center would have a green roof, Peruchini said, which would help with stormwater retention. The roof would also have solar panels, she said, to help with the building’s energy efficiency.
If Gary is selected, Peruchini said AECOM would need six months to complete the design and then one year for construction.
The Hard Rock brand and the casino’s commitment to Gary and Lake County would help boost tourism and economic growth to the region, said Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana President Matt Schuffert said
“We feel that our track record speaks for itself,” Schuffert said. “We’ve got some of the most prestigious conferences and trade shows already in our portfolio. We already have partnerships with them. Being able to bring Hard Rock and the Lake County Convention to our site, we can leverage that … and bring them to Gary, bring them to Lake County.”
Garfield Public/Private LLC and the City of Hobart proposed a convention center at Patriot Park, which is in the I-65 and U.S. 30 interchange development zone. The developer, Patriot Park LLC, envisions the space around any convention center would include an existing 70-unit veterans transitioning housing along with three other residential buildings that would contain 680 market-rate units; two 100-unit hotels; a 55-acre youth sports complex; mixed retail/office buildings; five multi-tenant, retail and restaurant buildings and five flex office warehouse buildings, among other amenities, Mayor Josh Huddlestun told the Post-Tribune Friday. The convention center, should it be awarded to Hobart, would be in the center of the development and clock in a 149,000 square-feet, he said.
In all, the proposed complex could bring in $523 million in new capital, he said, whether the convention center is awarded to Gary or doesn’t come to fruition at all.
“The Plan Commission voted on it last night because we wanted to show our commitment to developing the area,” Huddlestun said. “I hear a lot of ‘If we get it, we’re going to do xyz,’ but this isn’t a pipe dream for us. We mean business — we are doing it.
“We’ve laid out a plan that will set the stage and allow us to be vertical a lot quicker with zoning taken care of, but we’re also not reliant on the convention center. We’re still going to develop the property.”
Final approval for the Patriot Park PUD will come from the City Council.
The Lake County Board of Commissioners approved two contracts Wednesday for financial and legal consultants to help with reviewing the two proposals, said board president Commissioner Mike Repay, D-3rd.
Six companies filed requests for proposals, and the board approved Johnson Consulting to help the commissioners determine if the convention center proposals are fiscally sound, Repay said. The board approved Dinsmore to help the commissioners make sure the proposals meet all legal requirements, he said.
The companies offered their hourly ranges as the cost of the contract, Repay said. Johnson Consulting’s rate range is $85-$810 and Dinsmore’s rate is $345-$650, he said.
The board is close to making a decision on the proposals, Repay said.
“We expect to do that in short order. We expect to do that with these consultants,” Repay said. “We hope to have a deal in place well before the deadline.”
After the Gary presentation, Pam Johnson and Becky Hanscom, both Gary residents, said they were hopeful that Gary would be selected for the convention center site.
“They’ve given it a lot of thought,” Johnson said. “It’s our time. We ready. We past ready.”
Hanscom said she was proud of Melton and the other officials for putting together their proposal.
“If it doesn’t go here, I’m just going to be outraged,” Hanscom said. “Gary is a beautiful city. It’s going to make us even better than we already are. It’s time for us.”
Michelle L. Quinn contributed.
