Story by: Shia Kapos (Crain's Chicago Business)
April 06, 2009 

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. — Chicago has been edging closer to this bucolic village for the past couple of decades as more second-home owners seek a nearby taste of country life. Now, a new train stop is about to open in the center of the business district, with direct service just an hour's ride from Chicago's Union Station.

Could New Buffalo be in transition from sleepy summer town to full-time Chicago suburb?

"It's certainly going to offer more opportunity for people with flexible work schedules who might want to live here. It's going to help New Buffalo bring new residents," Mayor Gary Ramberg says. "We expect it's going to bring more people from Chicago who just want to visit, too. You've got a million people there who don't have cars who can now get on the train at Union Station and be steps away from the beautiful beaches of New Buffalo."

Jim Gierczyk, the developer of Light Harbor Preserve condos at Whittaker Street and Oselka Drive, put up the $1 million to build the new train platform on his property, where he's trying to move units just a few hundred yards from Lake Michigan.

"I've been telling people for years that they should live here, and now it could become a reality," says Mr. Gierczyk, who co-owned the World Music Theater in Tinley Park and Alpine Valley Theater in Wisconsin before selling them to SFX Entertainment Inc., later acquired by Clear Channel Communications Inc.

"You travel farther and longer to get to some suburbs near Chicago, and you don't have the same lifestyle," he says.

The city is putting together a 10-year master plan — a request for proposals will go out soon — "to make sure we're ready for the growth that's likely to come in the next 10 years," says Mr. Ramberg, who plans to address issues surrounding retail vs. residential zoning.

So far, these steps have met little if any opposition — a sign, Mr. Ramberg says, that the community is ready to grow. "Over time, there's a concern that there will be more people who will want to live here, and that's a balancing act," he says.

Indeed, Harbor Country towns long have felt some animosity toward the well-off Chicago crowd. But the lagging economy seems to be trumping less tangible lifestyle concerns, at least for now.

A NEED FOR GROWTH

On a chilly day in March, residents mingled with visitors on New Buffalo's main drag, peering into shops and stopping by places like Casey's and Rosie's for breakfast and lunch. Work on the new train stop was stalled as temperatures fell to freezing — it will be complete sometime this month — but residents couldn't stop talking about it.

"We can only hope that people will move here," says Marge McGinnis, 64, a waitress at Rosie's. "It would help the schools" — where 50% of children qualify for reduced-fee lunches. "You see kids leaving here, with no jobs (in the area). It would be nice if they could stay. I'd like New Buffalo to be busy year-round.

"Goodness knows we've got the housing to accommodate them," she adds, pointing to empty condominiums across the street.

Ranae Sales, 46, owns Whittaker House boutique and has lived in or near New Buffalo much of her life. "I remember when you could actually get to the lake" without wading through the throngs of tourists and beach-goers. "But growth has to happen. Local people will say they don't like it, but they like the tax dollars that support the community. You can't have it both ways."

Julie Grynwich, 49, who serves on the local school board and works at the city library, hopes the train will bring visitors who might find New Buffalo an alternative to the suburbs. "We're still small and quaint, and I don't see that changing," she says. "But if more people came, I'd take it. We need more people here to benefit the schools."

New Buffalo has been on Amtrak's Pere Marquette line for years, but trains stop there just once daily each way, with additional stops between the village and Chicago — and a big bottleneck in the Porter, Ind., corridor. The current New Buffalo stop, which will close when the new platform opens, is more than a mile from its downtown. With neither cab service nor much parking available, it's been difficult to utilize.

With the new stop, trains on the Blue Water and Wolverine lines will go directly from New Buffalo to Union Station and back. They will arrive in Chicago at approximately 10:45 a.m. and 9:50 p.m. CST. Trains from Chicago will hit New Buffalo at about 5:10 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. EST. The fare will remain $9 each way for advance tickets.

Rail-line improvements and increasing travel speeds to 110 mph — thanks to the recent $8 billion in federal stimulus funds dedicated to high-speed rail — are expected to make the route's travel time just under an hour, officials and rail experts say.

The still-limited frequency, and as-yet-unproven reliability, means Chicago-New Buffalo won't launch as a true commuter route. It does not yet allow for day trips, with no trains arriving in New Buffalo in the morning. But the mayor says those issues will improve.

"The new train stop is probably going to attract professional people or business owners who have flexible schedules. This isn't going to be a mass commuter-based situation," he says. But, he adds, Amtrak could increase the number of stops in New Buffalo to as many as eight if the ridership were there.

Irene Michaels, a model and entrepreneur, can't wait to take the new train back and forth from her home in Chicago to her condo in Mr. Gierczyk's development.

"I see myself spending more time there if I don't have to get behind the wheel," she says. "New Buffalo is becoming like an extended suburb of Chicago, and that's why I like it. I see people I know."

Ms. Michaels plans to buy a small car to keep at her condo so she can "buzz around town" once she's there.

To some in town who have grumbled that more train stops will mean more noise, Ms. Michaels says they are being overly sensitive: "It goes by in seconds, and it's only a few times a day," she says.

Other opposition has to do with parking for the train stop.

Moorings Assn., which oversees New Buffalo's boat slips, says it owns the rights to the nearby parking lot; Mr. Gierczyk says he does. The issue is still in the courts.

Condo developments, many empty, now line the shore, blocking the view from town. Mr. Gierczyk has sold 19 of 41 condos, costing $399,000 to $550,000, down from initial asking prices of $550,000 to $750,000. He also has eight of 10 four-story townhouses still available for $1.2 million, down from asking prices of $1.5 million to $1.8 million.

With parking already an issue on weekends, holidays and summer days, residents worry about gridlock when those units are purchased and people move in.

The train stop may cut down on at least some extra cars. In some families, mom and the kids drive up separately from dad, who may work later and drive straight from downtown. Now, dad can take the train instead.

WHAT'S YOUR HURRY?

Residents also worry about what a greater influx of Chicago folks will do for the relaxed attitude of New Buffalo.

Bonnie Keefer, 65, has organized the town's annual Halloween parade for years. "I remember when there were about a hundred entries," she says. "That was when you said hello to people because you knew them. Now the town's gotten big. Last year, we passed out 650 bags of candy."

Ms. Keefer, a sales associate at the local drugstore, says the town has felt like a suburb for years.

"We're overrun, because we don't have enough parking on the weekends," she says. "On holiday weekends in the summer, you just stay home so you don't have to deal with the traffic. If people lived here full time, it would always be like that."

And Chicago folks walk faster, sometimes seem more demanding and want to be entertained. "You see it when they walk down the street," she says. "They eventually relax, but it takes awhile."