Commission OKs consideration to apply for up to $10 million from NIRDA to help fund rail relocation local match

The St. Joseph County Redevelopment Commission approved staff’s request to seek consideration for a loan from the Northern Indiana Regional Development Authority (NIRDA) of up to $10 million. The loan would be used to assemble local match funds required to relocate the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District’s (NICTD) station and rail alignment across the airport.

Bill explained the funding context: the relocation project has state funding of $28 million and the county and partners must assemble a local match before applying for larger federal grants. The county’s participation could be up to $10 million as short-term financing to help assemble required local matches; staff said the county would cap any loan request at $10 million.

Staff stressed this vote authorized consideration to apply — it was not a loan approval. If the loan committee recommends approval, subsequent approvals will be required from the redevelopment commission, the board of commissioners and the council and the parties will negotiate terms and conditions.

The commission voted to move forward with the application step so staff can participate in upcoming grant and loan committee timelines. Staff said a meeting is scheduled to formalize partner contributions later in the week.

Next steps: staff will submit the application for loan consideration, pursue partner commitments for match, and return with any loan terms and a formal request if the loan committee recommends approval.