City of Whiting Indiana: Commercial Redevelopment Plan 2004

The City of Whiting was established in 1889 as a railroad stop and company town for Standard Oil’s refinery on Lake Michigan. This community of 5,200 people is located 20 miles from Chicago’s downtown in Lake County, Indiana. Whiting is a charming, pedestrian friendly community with ample recreational facilities and a vital main street district on historic 119th Street. With industry and other cities surrounding it, Whiting has not had significant new development in many decades. The restructuring of local industrial operations has left 60 acres of vacant land along the eastern edge of the downtown, providing a rare opportunity for new development.

There is great potential for this redevelopment effort in Whiting. The City’s lakeside location, ample transportation access, tremendous labor force, good real estate market, extremely well-preserved main street and the community’s capacity to support business development all promise success. However, there are several challenges that face the City as it plans for the redevelopment of its former industrial property. Environmental concerns limit the range of feasible uses and construction techniques. Municipalities in Lake County, Indiana also face budgetary restrictions as a result of a 2000 Indiana Supreme Court order that created a greater property tax burden for area homeowners. Uncertainty about property tax rates has stymied development interest over the past three years. New development must also respect existing assets, like the community’s Main Street and public access to Lake Michigan, rather than compete with them. 

The Whiting Commercial Redevelopment Plan effort began in December of 2004 with conversations between Whiting’s City Hall and the UIC City Design Center (CDC). This plan reflects the joint effort of the three graduate research assistants on the CDC team, who wrote the plan as a requirement toward the completion of their Masters Degree in Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Three UIC planning professors provided oversight and supervision of the plan.

During the first three months of 2005 the CDC project team conducted extensive research into existing conditions in Whiting. The project team conducted baseline analysis to assess the existing conditions of the land and real estate market and current local economic development initiatives. The CDC project team then convened a meeting of community residents to suggest redevelopment visions. The project team formulated plan recommendations to balance municipal and community expectations.

The plan recommendations are based on the community’s vision, stakeholders’ needs, economic considerations and principles of sound planning. To meet these criteria, the CDC team evaluated a wide range of possible development scenarios. The final recommendations balance a number of disparate interests to provide an optimum framework for redevelopment. New homes, park space and shopping are recommended near Lake Michigan. Industry is allotted some space in the redevelopment to provide new jobs and expand the tax base, but this use is buffered from the community by other features.