Valparaiso's Redevelopment Commission meets at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, to take the first vote on a 25-year tax increment financing district for Pratt Industries' planned expansion and to adopt its final 2027 spending plan, the city's agenda packet shows.
The commission votes on Declaratory Resolution 3-2026, which would declare about 92 acres in the south part of the city, bounded by Division Road on the south and State Road 49 on the west, the Pratt Economic Development Area. Property taxes on growth there, including taxes on Pratt's equipment, would go to a Pratt allocation fund for 25 years from the date debt backed by those taxes is issued. The resolution says the plan does not call for buying any property and no residents would be displaced.
How the Pratt deal works
The commission approved an economic development agreement with Pratt 4-0 on Oct. 8, with one member absent, according to the Oct. 8 minutes in the packet, which are up for approval Thursday. Pratt proposes a roughly 330,000-square-foot plant with more than $100 million in building and equipment, 50 new jobs in the first year and 63 by year five, the minutes say. Pratt would buy up to $10.25 million in bonds itself, repaid from the new tax increment, and the agreement splits that increment 80% to Pratt and 20% to the commission, with up to $2 million going first to Division Road work.
Projections in the minutes show the 92 acres rising from about $177,848 in assessed value to more than $58.7 million. The plan's cover lists the next steps: the Plan Commission on Dec. 1, an Economic Development Commission hearing Dec. 17, the City Council on Jan. 5, 2027, and a Redevelopment Commission public hearing Jan. 11 before a final vote Jan. 14.
What the 2027 budget spends
The final budget sheet, dated Nov. 3, plans $19.4 million in spending from the commission's tax increment funds in 2027, down from $20.4 million budgeted for 2026. Revenue is projected at $11.8 million, including $11.3 million in tax increment receipts, and with an $8.2 million beginning balance the sheet projects a year-end balance of $623,638. Large lines include $4.85 million for bond payments, $2 million for the Lincolnway and Campbell roundabout, $1.7 million for a multi-use trail, $2.5 million for distressed industrial properties and $1.08 million for public safety, up from $635,435 this year. Workforce housing gets $600,000, compared with $1.75 million in 2026. A separate general fund plan budgets $1.78 million, including $800,000 for sidewalks and pathways.
When the draft came up Oct. 8, Secretary Barbara Domer pushed for a larger, recurring housing line, and Councilman Robert Cotton backed her during public comment, the minutes show. Development Director George Douglas said the draft followed actual spending and agreed to revisit it before the November vote, and the final sheet keeps housing at the same $600,000 he proposed in October. When the board discussed the public safety line, which in the October draft included $150,000 for existing school resource officers, President Bill Durnell raised concerns about making recurring department salaries depend on tax increment revenue.
Other items
- A grant agreement reimbursing Paradise Community Homes up to $500,000 for infrastructure at its Cumberland Crossing project at Bullseye Lake Road and Cumberland Drive. The commission approved the grant Sept. 10, and member Bill Oeding, Paradise's president and CEO, recused himself and left the dais, the minutes say.
- Covenants for a 1.32-acre commission parcel near Silhavy Road being sold with Valparaiso University land to Luke Land II LLC for restaurants, hotels and retail. They bar gas stations, car washes, dollar stores, self-storage, vape shops and payday lenders and limit the site to one fast-food restaurant.
- Snow removal bids from K+D Lawn and Landscape Group: $350 an hour to clear the parking garage and $125 to $175 per visit to plow a parking lot.
- Claims totaling $231,658.18 and an executive session at 4:30 p.m. on buying or leasing real estate.
Board of Works on Friday
The Board of Public Works and Safety meets at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at City Hall. Engineering Director Max Rehlander brings a recommended contract award for the Multi-Use Trail, TOD to Downtown, a project the commission's claims register also carries under its grant fund, and the board is asked to approve the Local 1124 firefighters' contract with the city. The posted agenda gives no dollar figures or bidders for either. Also on the agenda are the 2027 Community Crossings paving update, sidewalks for the Jessee-Pifer neighborhood, a Mound Street closure, an agreement between the Porter County Sheriff's Office and the Valparaiso Police Department, and the Lakes of Valparaiso Phase 6 final plat.
How to weigh in
Both meetings are at City Hall, 166 W. Lincolnway, and are livestreamed. Commission speakers give their name and address during public comment, and people who cannot attend the Board of Works can email comments or questions to mpalmer@valpo.us before the meeting.
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