GARY | Developers of a proposed South Shore passenger train station in the city's downtown area showed artists' renderings and discussed the $120 million plan Tuesday morning.

The chamber of commerce session also generated questions from opponents of plan, which calls for closure of the Miller station. The Gary Metro train station would be wrapped into the new Adam Benjamin Gateway Station at 4th and Broadway.

The new station would be named for U.S. Rep. Adam Benjamin Jr., D-Gary, who represented Indiana from 1977 until his death in 1982. The new facility would be built on the same footprint or area of the current Gary Metro train station as part of an "urban infill" project that redevelops land and buildings.

Despite options to the contrary, the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) didn't approach the developers about building a new South Shore station in downtown Gary, said Vance Kenney owner of Gateway Partners LLC., a consortium of companies developing the project.

"We came up with the concept of building parking structures at South Shore stations," Kenney said. "There are big parking lots at East Chicago, Hammond and Hegewisch stations. It's a long walk for passengers to get to the trains."

During conversations with NICTD and other Northwest Indiana transportation agencies, the idea evolved to replace both the Miller and Gary Metro train stations with a new multi-use facility to increase efficiency of service, said Kenney, who is a 10-year resident of Gary's Miller neighborhood.

"I've got concerns about closing the Miller station. It was not an easy decision to come to and we went through a lot of pains to reach it," he said. "But it is good for the greater good of Gary."

For example, the project would create both construction and operations jobs with Gary businesses and residents having preference, Kenney said.

In addition to new facilities, the Adam Benjamin Gateway Station would allow easier access to board the trains.

"Miller, Gary Metro and Brunswick have low-level platforms. People with disabilities have to climb into the train cars," Kenney said.

The new Gary station would have high-level platforms that allow passengers to walk directly into the trains, making the new train station in compliance with the federal law Americans With Disabilities Act, he said.

Funding of the new train station generated a number of questions from the audience, sparking some debate about whether the citizens of Gary would be left with higher taxes. That might occur if the project used "government obligation bonds" as presented at Tuesday's meeting.

"We will not use any GO bonds from Gary. We will use grants and private equity. We'll be seeking federal and state monies," said Sanford M. Stein, corporation counsel for Gateway Partners and an associate of the Chicago law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLC.

How to pay for the financing of construction raised additional concerns. Kenney said research indicates that parking fees at the new station would provide enough capital to re-pay loans and other financial obligations.

"Parking fees might be $3 a day. That could shift up or down, but it tends not to shift down," he said. Currently no parking fees are charged at the Miller or Gary Metro stations.

If the new station is completed as hoped by 2011, the Miller station would be converted into a bus station. Buses would pick up passengers and take them to the downtown Gary facility.

However, Ken Peterson, owner of Classic Taxi in Schererville, said getting to and from the new downtown Gary train station would be challenging for passengers, because the Gary Public Transportation Corp. doesn't run buses 24 hours a day.

Stein said bus companies, including the GPTC, will be contacted to provide that service for South Shore passengers around the clock.