The Town of Chesterton, Indiana would like to take this opportunity to inform prospective companies of the various incentives and amenities that exist within our award winning green tree community located along the southern shores of Lake Michigan.
Our Town is proudly known as the recreational gateway to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the Indiana Dunes State Park. Our community offers breathtaking views, regional festivals, excellent schools and housing.
We are very much interested in attracting companies that are established and dedicated to light industry, research/life science development, and retail development. The Town has identified several contiguous parcels of land for this future area of growth. These parcels of land encompass approximately 400 acres and provide convenient access to Interstate 94, Indiana Toll Road (Interstate 80/90), and U.S. Routes 12 and 20.
Please take a moment to view our presentation and we will contact you in the near future to discuss the advantages of business expansion within the Town of Chesterton.
The Place to Live
The quality of life in Chesterton is exceptional; it is a lovely clean green town with outstanding schools, wonderful churches, cultural and festivals opportunities, beautiful parks and recreational facilities. The town is continually rated green tree community with a landscape of over 6 miles of rivers and streams. A variety of climate and terrain accommodates almost any type of recreational activity. The range is vast, from scaling the Dunes, to windsurfing on Lake Michigan, backpacking, camping, cycling, and sailing, to exploring the picturesque trails and the rolling hills of the Indiana Dunes State Park. These natural wonders of dunes, forests, lakes and shorelines are preserved within the state’s national parks and wildlife preserves.
The Town of Chesterton’s offers a smorgasbord of cultural activities, everything from outdoor concerts to folk dances and some of the region’s best festivals. There is an abundance of public antique stores and art galleries within the Town of Chesterton, experience our downtown main street retail/office area. This traditional business district has maintained its historical façade with pedestrian movement. Chesterton is within minutes from regional attractions such as the memorial opera house, the northwest Indiana symphony orchestra, and several theatrical production groups. For the sports enthusiast, we are within minutes from Chicago professional baseball, basketball and football arenas.
The Place to Work
Chesterton is the bedroom community to industry leaders such as the International Steel Group (ISG) and the Ports of Indiana. While steel products and international shipping have been our traditional industry; our economy has diversified and has an extraordinary entrepreneurial zeal. Our county also enjoys the reputation of being ranked 4th in the state for high school graduates and 10th for bachelor degree or higher. We are proud to offer one of the most highly educated workforces in the state. Our local universities and vocational schools work closely with employers to train and provide employees with the unique skill sets the future will require.
| Market Research | |
| 2000 Town Demographics | |
| Population | 10,488 |
| Age Under 5 | 711 |
| Age 5-9 | 745 |
| Age 10-14 | 828 |
| Age 15-19 | 803 |
| Age 20-24 | 582 |
| Age 25-34 | 1,290 |
| Age 35-44 | 1,811 |
| Age 45-54 | 1,692 |
| Age 55-59 | 524 |
| Age 60-64 | 385 |
| Age 65-74 | 553 |
| Age 75-84 | 425 |
| Age 85+ | 139 |
| Median Household income: | $55,530 |
| Average Household Size: | 2.57 |
| Total Households: | 4,039 |
| Median Home Value: | $133,500 |
| Median Gross Rent: | $679 |
| % of High School Graduates: | 92.7% |
| % of Bachelor’s Degree: | 30% |
| Families below Poverty: | 3.1% |
| 2004 Consumer Expenditures | |
| Shopping/Retail: | $191,929,004 |
| Potential Expenditure by Store Type: | |
| Apparel | $28,103,028 |
| Reading | $ 2,480,129 |
| Video | $ 8,843,579 |
| Sporting Goods | $ 4,242,472 |
| Toys | $ 2,034,669 |
| Photography | $ 1,130,438 |
| Pet Service and Supplies | $ 2,504,948 |
| Food and Beverage at Home | $46,626,055 |
| Food and Beverage | $27,843,412 |
| Health Care Services | $ 8,691,314 |
| Health Care Supplies | $ 6,327,638 |
| Personal Care Services | $ 5,019,171 |
| Personal Care Supplies | $ 2,863,325 |
| Furniture | $ 4,799,146 |
| Household Textiles | $ 1,248,266 |
| House wares and Appliances | $12,342,072 |
| Household Supplies | $ 7,278,588 |
| Laundry and Dry Cleaning | $ 77,464 |
| Gardening and Lawn Care | $ 856,481 |
| Tobacco | $ 4,279,916 |
| Gasoline and Oil | $16,294,871 |
| Auto Repair and Maintenance | $10,386,928 |
Market Research
Development Incentives
Local
- 10 year tax abatement for real property and personal property
- Tax increment financing
- Community Improvement low interest loan program
State
- Certified Technology Park
- Venture Capital Investment Tax Credits
- Community Focus Fund
- Hoosier Business Investment Tax Credit
- Economic Development For A Growing Economy (EDGE) Credits
- Indiana Utility Energy Efficiency Incentives
- The Distributed Generation Grant Program (DGGP)
- Infrastructure Assistance (IDGF)
- International Port of Indiana
- Trade Finance Assistance Program
- Advance Energy Technologies Program
- Energy & Material Efficiency Audit Program (E&EA)
- International Trade Programs
- Skills 2016
- Bonds and Brownfields
The Place to Invest
Chesterton is located 45 miles east of Chicago along southern Lake Michigan. Our location serves as an ideal point of entry into the US marketplace and Canada is our neighbor to the North. Our focus on globalization is to become a savvy and sophisticated customer service orientation area as well as a highly skilled workforce. We have the infrastructure in place to accommodate both today and tomorrow's business needs. You will find Chesterton to be a business friendly environment that is eager to make your company successful. We have affordable land, a highly skilled workforce, deep-sea ports, rail, and a "can do" attitude. Please feel free to contact our Economic Development Coordinator, Dwayne Williams at (219) 926-1032 or visit or website at www.chestertonchamber.org for more information regarding business expansion.
