MERRILLVILLE - A Pharmaceutical company from Korea that creates medical products may be moving into the former Fieldhouse building in Merrillville.
Town Councilman Shawn Pettit told the "Times" that the company, Oh Pharmaceutical, has submitted a floor plan for the site.
It has been leasing the property at the AmeriPlex at the Crossroads for years and is now looking to purchase the former Fieldhouse building, so it can begin remodeling.
Merrillville leaders in 2014 authorized a $3.2 million bond issue through the Broadway tax increment financing district to acquire the facility to attract Oh Pharmaceutical to locate in town.
After buying the property, Merrillville donated the structure to the Purdue Research Foundation. The foundation established the lease with Oh Pharmaceutical, which has been making monthly payments since then.
Pettit told the "Times" that he wants Oh Pharmaceutical to close on the acquisition this month and then the town of Merrillville would be reimbursed for the remainder of the bond issue. It could then pay off that bond, then allocate the excess funds back into the Broadway TIF fund.
Oh Pharmaceutical is expected to seek personal property tax abatement for about $10 million.
Pettit says paying off the bond would also provide the opportunity to offer incentives for a potential project at the Century Plaza site, near U.S. 30 and Broadway. Tri-Land Properties, which operates the plaza, has expressed interest in renovating the old Burlington Coat Factory into a convention center.
