New 12-story, $101 million Franklin Street tower touted as part of Michigan City renaissance, will feature Lake Michigan views and rooftop sky lounge

A 12-story tower with views of Lake Michigan and a rooftop sky lounge will soon rise over downtown in one of the lakefront city's biggest housing projects in decades and one of the few high-rise housing projects to be built anywhere in Indiana.

Developers broke ground Thursday on the $101 million Franklin at 11th Street Station, a new high-rise mixed-use building and parking garage planned by the new South Shore Line station that's being built at Franklin and 11th streets as part of the double-tracking project that will shorten the commute to Chicago to about 65 minutes. The new building will include more than 5,600 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the first floor.

“The project was originally envisioned as only a parking garage but is now another platform for housing and amenities to our residents, guests and South Shore riders,” Economic Development Corporation Michigan City Executive Director Clarence Hulse said.

The 431,693-square-foot mixed-use development will include 220 market-rate apartments, including studio, one-bed-room, two-bedroom and three-bedroom. About 68% of the units are one-bedroom and the average size is 778 square feet.

It's one of just three high-rise housing projects recently built in Indiana, the other two being in downtown Indianapolis, Flaherty & Collins CEO David Flaherty said.

"We pride ourselves on doing complex public-private partnerships, but this one kind of takes the cake as far as challenges go in dealing with construction costs going up and interest rates going up," he said. "The lending environment changed while we were midstream here. There were a lot of challenges but we got it done. This is a great example of how public-private partnerships are supposed to work. There's city, state and federal money in it as well. It takes everybody to come together to make this happen."

Once built, the Franklin at 11th Street Station will generate $800,000 a year in property taxes. The overall economic impact is estimated to be $150 million for the first five years of the development, Flaherty said. It will create hundreds of construction jobs as well as permanent jobs.

The project on a 1.5-acre site in downtown Michigan City will cater to young professionals commuting into the city of Chicago. It will be attached to a parking garage with 549 spaces for commuters headed to the city.

"We'll be putting approximately 300 people in downtown Michigan City with good disposable income to support the economy and businesses downtown and really throughout the area," Flaherty said. "This is the first high-rise mixed-use transit-oriented development in the state of Indiana, so that's pretty special."

The new train stop will be incorporated into the development, which should help spur more development in downtown Michigan City, Flaherty said.

"We've had success in Northern Indiana already, a successful mixed-use  development in LaPorte as well as Mishawaka and Elkhart," he said. "That helped us get going here as well. It will be heavy on the young professionals who will gravitate toward the high-end amenities and easy lifestyle. You can walk out of the door to your apartment and get on the train. We'll provide a living environment that just does not exist here. Without it, people would move away and we'll get people who wouldn't move here otherwise."

Indiana Economic Development Corp. Chief of Staff Vincent Ash said the state agency invested in the project because it was needed. He noted there hasn't been a new subdivision in Michigan City in nearly 50 years and no major development projects downtown in nearly 30 years, save for the Artspace Uptown Artist Lofts.

"Investing into housing and quality of place amenities in places that have not seen that investment across the state is pretty meaningful to us," he said. "The South Shore Line is going to be a very significant project to the state of Indiana, the state as a whole. We'd like to see a lot more investment along the South Shore Line, to attract more investment and attract more people to live."

Northwest Indiana Development Authority CEO Sherri Ziller said it was another huge win for the Region, like the double-tracking project.

"Today is even bigger," she said. "The reason why the RDA spent most of the past decade fighting for that local, state and federal funding that enabled the Double Track and the West Lake Corridor is because we knew it would have a transformational effect. We knew that better connectivity to Chicago meant more people, more jobs and more opportunities in the Region. We knew the billions of dollars in development it would bring would more than compensate our towns, cities, counties and state for their investment into the rail project. The rail project we've been talking about for decades is real. As you can see, the development is real too."

The Franklin at 11th Street Station will include amenities like heated swim spas, an outdoor movie screen, an outdoor lounge, a co-working cafe, conference rooms, a pet spa, a dog park, a gym, fire pits, grilling decks and EV charging stations. Units will have modern finishes, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, LED lights, washers, dryers and private balconies.

The building also will have a rooftop sky lounge. Many of the apartments facing north will have views of Lake Michigan. 

"Today is a day of hope, celebration and aspiration," said U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland. "The double-tracking was designed to make sure we were spurring and investing in private development. It's a collaboration of city, state legislators, U.S. Senators and Congress members who came together for the betterment of Northwest Indiana, to make sure we are creating a community that works and creates wealth and quality of life. So when we invest in work and wealth, we create a community that is able to spur growth. It's the first affordable housing development in Michigan City in 35 to 50 years. We can build upon the school system. It can build upon the economic development that will make a difference in this community and all of Northwest Indiana."

Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said it's transformational project that's part of a renaissance of the city. It's been in the works for years, dating back to the Ron Meer administration, she said. 

"This has been a labor of love for all of us in Michigan City," she said. "About 100 years ago, this property was developed to be a train station. In 1927, we had the train station developed here. It was the multimodal regional hub. I'm here to tell you Michigan City is the hub for all of northern Indiana. It's going to continue to grow. I want people to be put on notice."

The state offered more than $33 million in incentives for the project.

"That's unheard of in Northwest Indiana," she said. 

Construction is expected to be finished in January 2026. Flaherty & Collins will take down contract information for people interested in moving in now and start pre-leasing a few months before it opens. Any businesses interested in space on the first floor can contact the developer now so it can design the space to fit their needs.

For more information, visit thefranklinmc.com.