Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
FRENCH LICK – Widened and reconstructed streets, new housing, the town’s first multi-use park and improving blighted properties to provide more affordable housing are among the recent projects the French Lick Town Council and French Lick Redevelopment Commission have partnered together to address.
In the 20 years since the town formed a redevelopment commission, the council and the RDC have steadily improved the town’s infrastructure. With an eye on making life better for residents as well as a welcoming atmosphere for the 1 million visitors who come to Orange County each year, town leaders haven’t run out of projects or ideas.
The RDC captures about $3.2 million a year from the Tax Increment Finance district that covers the business corridor along State Road 56 and includes the French Lick Resort.
Wednesday night’s unveiling of a plan to build the Parks at Cherry Hill – a $3 million investment – is the latest of several projects in progress by the French Lick Town Council and French Lick Redevelopment Commission.
Street, housing projects
In the past three years, the town has received $4 million in Community Crossing grants from the Indiana Department of Transportation for street improvements.
In 2023, the town was awarded $762,419 from Community Crossings to re-construct Summit, Poplar and Louise streets. The $1.7 million project calls for new curbs, sidewalks and walls. Work will begin in 2024, with completion in the fall.
To prepare for the Klondike housing project, which will bring 28 homes to French Lick, the town used a $1 million INDOT grant and $1.9 million contribution from the redevelopment commission to widen and add curbs to Hillside Drive and connect it to Lower Golf Course Road. The town also received $1.75 million in state READI funds for infrastructure on the Klondike project.
Dave Harner, who serves on the French Lick Redevelopment Commission, said the street was not much more than a “narrow dog path.” Now, the reconstructed Hillside Drive will provide more than adequate ingress/egress to future residents of Klondike.
The town also has re-paved Oak, Cross and Short streets.
The Klondike homes are being built with private investment by the French Lick Resort and represent the first large housing development in over 40 years. Klondike is part of a larger effort by the French Lick Resort to increase affordable housing for the Orange County workforce and is the next phase of a housing plan that began in West Baden.
The French Lick RDC also has taken the lead on increasing the town’s housing stock by partnering with contractors to build new homes or renovate blighted properties.
Harner pointed to several new homes along State Road 56 built as the result of a public-private partnership.
“The redevelopment commission provided the lots and an incentive for private development to build,” he said.
Without the RDC providing a $25,000 incentive to cover infrastructure costs, Harner said few if any developers would be willing to construct houses in town.
TIF ‘a win-win’
Longtime town council member Marlene Noble said before the TIF was created, the town only had funds for chip and seal. Making payroll for the town’s employees was a challenge at times.
“Once the casino came, everything changed,” she said. “The TIF wasn’t popular at the time but we were determined it needed to be done. As we started getting tax dollars back to our community, it’s been a win-win for us.”
Noble said creating the TIF and the investment by Bill and Gayle Cook to restore the West Baden Springs Hotel and later develop the French Lick Resort has saved French Lick.
“Had the Cooks not taken an interest in French Lick, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” she said.
Re-developing the Star Store
A few months ago, the RDC took aim at its next project, the downtown building known as the Star Store.
The RDC purchased it for $475,000 and will make some general repairs, including roof replacement, to the three-story building. Harner said the RDC is working with a private investor interested in bringing in a mix of retail business, a restaurant and apartments.
Located on Maple Street next to the Town Green and a short walk from the hotel, it’s a prime location for development, Harner said.
Built in 1900, the building’s original owners were Hiram E. Wells and William W. Cave. Cave would later become owner of the French Lick State Bank.
Jeff Lane, Orange County historian and historian/archivist for the French Lick Resort, said the building has been a general merchandise/grocery/wallpaper store, department store and for many years was the Star & Crescent grocery store, which locals called the Star Store. Occupants of the second floor included a dentist by the name of Schumacher, and the local telephone company switchboard.
The building changed hands several times. Property records list previous owners as Earl and Emily Burton, Gale and Maxine Wilson and the West family.
The building covers 17,300 square feet and has a parking lot.
“It’s a beautiful building but will take some money to make it useful,” said Marlene Noble, member of the French Lick Town Council.
Partnerships, incentives
Incentives provided by the RDC have paved the way for several businesses to locate in the town. More business, just like better housing, increases the town’s tax base.
The RDC has also helped the local Senior Citizens center install a new dance floor.
Prior to establishing a TIF district, the town had no means to offer incentives or buy a building like the Star Store. The public-private partnerships where both entities are investing are leading to more development, Harner said.
“The Star Store would have been difficult without the redevelopment commission,” he said.
With still more streets to improve and a need for housing, neither the town council or RDC is slowing down.
“We had a contractor who made the comment that he’s never seen a small town with so much development going on at one time,” Noble said. “We just want to keep moving forward. We don’t want the progress to stop.”