Who built Crown Point?
By Kitty Conley kconley@post-trib.com February 15, 2012 10:06AM
A duplex home in the White Hawk subdivision, in Crown Point. Several developers such as Jim Hawk, the VanDerNoord family, and the Olthoff family built many of Crown Point's modern homes. | Scott R. Brandush~Sun-Times Media
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Second of two parts on “building Crown Point.”
CROWN POINT — With the building boom that started slowly in 1999 and jumped in 2002, a new group of developers entered the scene.
The largest of the new guys in town is Jim Hawk. He has brought the city more than 1,700 residential units in just six years, with the increase to the tax base of over $425 million. At an average of 2.3 people per home, that averages out to just less than 4,000 people. A major jump in any population in just six years.
Vanco Construction Services, under the VanDerNoord family, has brought in 185 homes that end up with a value of more than $47 million, as his more recent part of the residential building boom. That is another 425 people.
All of these developers and builders have their home office in the city. Vanco does a lot of commercial and industrial building here and around the county.
The Olthof family builds lower-cost homes with a total build out scheduled to be more than 700 living units, with more than 240 completed.
That is more than 550 residents in only a few years, with the potential growth to the population of more than 1,600 people.
The Olthof family may be fairly new to Crown Point but not to building. This family started in Illinois 50 years ago. They are spread out from the state line all the way to Portage
Their corporate office remains in St. John.
Commercial developers have not increased the population, but have given people a place to work and shop and play. They also pay taxes to the county, township, city, schools and library.
Keep in mind; the taxes paid by these commercial ventures do not include new students for the school district. They include Mar-Dar commercial and industrial subdivision, the Saager development, as well as projects by Tim Heidbreder, who originally was involved in the trades as a heating and cooling contractor, and has evolved into development and building.
The new guys on the block in commercial development are Kite Reality of Indianapolis, which has partnered with Bob Rossman along Broadway.
Kite with one large development and Rossman with that same shopping center and the smaller On Broadway office complex that he did in conjunction with the late John Curley. Curley was head of the Lake County GOP at the time of his passing. The now closed Home Lumber has brought an industrial park along Interstate 65.
The people that brought the city the new interchange on 109th and 65 cannot be forgotten. The team was Curley, County Commissioner Gerry Scheub, City Councilman Bob Corbin and U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky.
Others joined in over the years, but it was their leadership that not only made it possible, but pushed Indianapolis for its early construction.
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