Burns Harbor surviving near-death experience

The town of Burns Harbor is springing back after Bethlehem Steel filed bankruptcy in 2002 and gutted 85 percent of the town’s net assessed tax valuation.

The good reputation of its Duneland schools, quick access to several major highways and low tax rate of 17 cents per $100 assessed valuation has prompted a miniature boom in home building, according to the Post-Tribune of Merrillville.

Construction in the northwest Indiana town last year was up by more than half since the bankruptcy, to 342, and several hundred more houses are planned.