Burkart Opportunity Zone Agenda

Developing new neighborhoods.
Preparing workers for new and better jobs.
Creating an immigrant welcome and resource center.
Building an indoor recreation center.

Those and other projects large and small make up the Burkart Opportunity Zone Agenda, unveiled this week as the Seymour Brookings Institution-LISC Study team wrapped up more than 10 months of convening, planning, and mapping out community needs.

The Inclusive Economic Development Agenda for Seymour offers a road map aimed at turning many of those plans into a reality over the next three years.

Seymour joined Warsaw and Michigan City at the invitation of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. in working with Brookings and the Local Initiatives Support Corp. to develop place-based strategies to span gaps in health, wealth and opportunity.

The Seymour team, comprised of a broad range of people across the community, developed a game plan for improvements in what is called the Burkart Opportunity Zone, an area running along Burkart Boulevard and encompassing the East Side Industrial Park on the northeast side to Freeman Municipal Airport to the southwest and spaces in between.

Proposals include training the local workforce and adding workforce housing; connecting people to work and play; improving affordable housing options and expanding housing options for a growing population; and creating new places and spaces for recreation and socializing.

Agenda action tasks

Enhance career pathways and build small businesses: Train existing workers for advancement and encourage small business growth through entrepreneur support.
Welcome new immigrants: Develop an immigrant welcome or resource center, strengthen multi-lingual communications and create a community space on the south side.
Connect people to work and play: Fill in the gaps and expand the city’s trail system and create a new master plan for parks.
Improve affordable living options: Improve residential and apartment conditions and develop new, affordable train-side communities.
Expand housing options for a growing population: Create what is tentatively called Freeman Village, a new neighborhood, and support first-time homebuyers.
Create new places for recreation and socializing: Build a new indoor recreation facility and cultivate third-places through creative place making.