“Giving back to a community that has always provided for me and my family is important. It’s up to us to take care of the places we live. As a part of that, you have to get involved and when you get involved, it’s good for your health, it gives you a sense of purpose and it teaches a better sense of community."
It is this sentiment shared by McColly Bennett Commercial Advantage Partner Lori Tubbs that motivates her to serve the community not only through McColly but also through the Northwest Indiana Forum Managing Board. She has worked at McColly Real Estate for three years and has served on the Northwest Indiana Forum Managing Board for six years.
Being part of a commercial team has led Tubbs to work on large projects within the Region, including at the International Port in Burns Harbor. This is one of three ports located in Indiana that that imports and exports raw materials.
She noted there are about 50 acres at the harbor available for development and a building available for lease at 160,000 square feet. As the Port has a foreign trade status, this space is available to anyone that needs access to rail lines and barges to move their materials to and from the Region.
When one port building in the harbor was not utilizing all the space it had, Tubbs was on the job.
“The building owner asked me to take that available space to the market and help find tenants that would be conducive to that building, that use, and that zoning,” Tubbs said.
Outside of her work at the International Port in Burns Harbor, Tubbs keeps busy with all the efforts the Northwest Indiana Forum has in the works. These efforts include finding opportunities to bring businesses here and create an employee marketplace by promoting assets in the Region. The managing board is also helping to lobby for things like the South Shore freight expansion, roadway improvements, and workforce training dollars.
While all these efforts certainly require hard work, Tubbs enjoys serving on the managing board.
“A lot of people there continue to sing the same praises about the opportunities Northwest Indiana has to offer,” she said. “Being part of a group of positive, forward-thinking individuals has always been something I aspired to be a part of. Selling real estate certainly can provide a bit of excitement on its own. However, as someone from the Region who grew up in Lake County, I’m able to enhance what we have in the market which makes real estate even more worthwhile for me.”
Throughout her life, Tubbs has witnessed locals helping locals, communities helping communities, and as she grew older, communities helping companies. Through this community support, companies feel they can rely on locals and their knowledge, prompting them to settle in the area in as few as three months.
Tubbs sees this same support at McColly Real Estate and feels that working there took her to the next level.
When Tubbs is not developing the community through her job or position on the Forum, she is out enjoying nature. She camps by Lake Michigan, sails in sailboat races across Lake Michigan, bikes along local trails, and kayaks on the rivers.
For more information about McColly Real Estate,
visit mccolly.com/.
