Hamlet’s “22 by ‘22” incentives could soon be part of the official marketing push for northern Starke County’s Opportunity Zone. The town has been offering home developers three months of free water, sewer, and trash and recycling pickup, along with at-cost water and sewer connections, plus the possibility of reduced or suspended permit fees.
Meanwhile, the federal Opportunity Zone program offers tax incentives for investment in low-income communities. Earlier this year, the state chose Starke County’s Opportunity Zone for an initiative that helps a core team of local stakeholders put together and market an investment prospectus. Starke County Economic Development Foundation Executive Director Lisa Dan is helping to coordinate the effort.
“I just think the potential is incredible here right next to U.S. 30, and while we don’t have SYSCO over here, I just feel like there is definite opportunity for development there,” Dan told the Hamlet Town Council last week.
Dan said the two major parts of the prospectus are industrial development and various types of workforce housing. If the Hamlet area can get those, Dan believes other amenities will follow. “Then we’ll have a gas station at 30 and 35 and restaurants, since somebody said that there’s no breakfast places in Hamlet, and you guys need places to go have breakfast on Saturday morning,” Dan said.
However, no one from Hamlet’s government is on the core group working on the prospectus, and Dan could only think of one member of that group who actually lives in the Opportunity Zone they’re working to promote. She said the prospectus builds off of the Hamlet Comprehensive Plan and the regional development plan put together during Constellation of Starke’s 2019 Stellar Community application. Several of those involved in the Opportunity Zone effort were also part of the Stellar push.
Town officials did generally agree last week to let Dan and the group incorporate the “22 by’22” incentives into the prospectus. Council Member Brian Earnest noted that the town is already getting close to that 22-home goal. “This whole thing that sounded crazy – [maybe] not by ‘22 – but the land to build them has been purchased and with the intent of building,” Earnest noted.
Dan hopes the investment prospectus will be complete by September or October.
