The town of Porter is paying a higher price for a U.S. 20 property that one day could be a key to extending its Waverly Road trail northward.
Porter’s Redevelopment Commission on Tuesday authorized paying $197,000 for the southeast corner lot at the Waverly Road and U.S. 20 intersection.
Originally, the agreed-upon price was $176,500.
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But Michael Barry, the town’s development director/building superintendent, said after the meeting that the town had to pay a slightly higher price to close the deal.
Porter can finance the property purchase through a grant the town received years ago from the Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority for adding onto the Dunes Kankakee Trail.
The .62-acre parcel at the southeast corner of Waverly Road and U.S. 20 has been owned by Nice & Easy Gas & Mini Mart, Inc. since 2001, Porter County property records show.
The landowners contemplated building a combination gas station/convenience store, but the property wasn’t quite large enough, Barry said. For years, the dirt and stone parking lot had been known as an unofficial golf cart sales lot.
The current trail on Waverly Road ends at Pine Drive, just north of the Orchard Apartments. The town is looking to extend that trail north to U.S. 20.
Barry said the corner lot will become a key location for bicyclists and pedestrians to cross U.S. 20 to the old waterpark site.
There would be an angled crosswalk, and the area is already wired to accommodate pedestrian signals.
The hope is that the town can extend a trail to Porter Beach and also connect with the Dunes Kankakee and Marquette Greenway trails.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.