Lowell Fire Department and Tri-Creek School Corporation are two of the beneficiaries of a $435,000 development fee that Lake County received from John Deere as part of the company’s plan to build a distribution center near the Lowell-Hebron area, said Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer.
John Deere plans to invest $125 million to open a 1.2 million square-foot distribution center on 234 acres of land southwest of Interstate 65 and Indiana 2 near the Lowell-Hebron area, according to a press release from the Lake County Council.
The distribution center will bring in $7.2 million in new property tax revenue to Lake County over the 10-year tax abatement period, said Matt Reardon, with MCR Partners LLC, an economic development consultant.
Lake County will offer up to $1.25 million in personal property tax abatement and $4.56 million in real property tax abatement over 7 years, according to the press release.
Niemeyer said the $435,000 development fee was discussed with John Deere to be used for further economic development in the distribution area. Ultimately, county and company officials decided the money should go toward emergency response, Tri-Creek School Corportation and utility engineering.
On the emergency response side, the Lowell Fire Department will receive $322,104.70 for equipment needed to respond to fires in large buildings, Niemeyer said. The council will enter into an interlocal agreement with the Town of Lowell, which will have to pay for 25 percent of the equipment cost, he said.
The Tri-Creek School Corporation will receive $185,471 for an 81-seat school bus with handicap lift, Niemeyer said. The council will enter into an interlocal agreement with the school district, which will have to pay for 25 percent of the equipment cost, he said.
The remaining $84,318.22 will go toward the utility engineering for the economic development area, Niemeyer said.
“That was the three pieces of the puzzle out of that economic payment that would benefit those taxing units out there that were impacted by the tax abatement as well as give the county some seed money to invest in the future growth of that economic development area,” Niemeyer said.
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Niemeyer said the goal is to have the interlocal government agreements on the council’s Tuesday agenda.
Lowell Fire Chief Chris Gamblin said in a statement Thursday that the size of the John Deere building “presents a first of its kind for the fire department to respond to.”
Fire officials were asked to select equipment that would help firefighters respond to potential fires at the property and other large buildings in the area, he said. They have selected search and rescue equipment and fire inspection equipment for large commercial buildings, Gamblin said.
“A bulk of structures and buildings located in our response area are residential in nature. The equipment we have placed on our apparatus for years reflects that mission, but as larger commercial structures come to our service area, we are looking to obtain equipment that is specialized to execute our services to those types of commercial structures,” Gamblin said.
Tri-Creek School Corporation Superintendent Andy Anderson did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
In January, the council approved an economic revitalization area for the John Deere project during a special meeting, and eight people testified before the committee.
Anderson testified in January that he would like to see the school district be part of a structured tax benefit of the economic revitalization area.
Local property taxes pay for school buildings, maintenance, repairs, heating, cooling, lighting, cyber security and buses, among other things, Anderson previously said.
Under Senate Enrolled Act 1 that was passed in the 2025 legislative session, Tri-Creek School Corporation will lose $1.8 million this year because of a circuit breaker imposed on property taxes, Anderson previously said. The state capped the maximum amount of the school levy, which impacted funds, he said.
Further, the state has limited when schools can hold referendums and how the ballot question can be written, Anderson previously said. The state also allowed for residential tax increment financing districts, which has resulted in Lowell capturing property taxes from nine new subdivisions that the school district hasn’t benefited from, he said.
“The state has taken away a large degree of local control of government in Indiana,” Anderson previously said. “Public schools have been hung out to dry.”