Economy
The economy of Miller Beach is dominated by retail and tourism, with no heavy industry. Because of its relatively affluent population and scenic lakefront setting, Miller Beach is also able to attract luxury high-end housing development. Many Miller homeowners commute to work in Chicago or have their primary residence in Chicago and a vacation or weekend home in Miller Beach.
Home values in Miller are the highest of any area within the municipal boundaries of Gary. In 2006, a home on Miller's lakefront sold for more than US$1 million for the first time. As of 2008, the "East Edge" development in northeastern Miller Beach was the city's most expensive, with single-family home prices in excess of $500,000. As of 2000, Miller's 4,773 housing units had an owner-occupancy rate of 47.4% and a vacancy rate of 10.3%.
Commercial activity in Miller Beach is clustered primarily along Lake Street and U.S. 20, in the neighborhood's southwestern corner. The Lake Street corridor is a traditional downtown area, described by the city government as having a "pedestrian-friendly, 'Main Street' character." The downtown area has the highest walkability of any part of Miller Beach. Most retail catering to neighborhood residents is concentrated along this corridor. Near the southern end of downtown, the historic Miller Train Station was relocated just a few yards from its original location and is now the main dining room for Miller Pizza Station, a popular restaurant in the downtown area.
The U.S. 20 corridor, running along Miller's southern end and partially shared with the Aetna neighborhood, is another commercial center. Businesses along U.S. 20 cater primarily to highway and interstate travelers. This corridor is also home to several strip clubs, a source of frequent anger from community activists.
During the summer months, the Miller Beach Farmers' Market provides an alternative source of fresh food. Begun in 2008 and now sponsored by the Miller Beach Arts and Creative District, the Farmers' Market seeks to promote a sustainable local economy and allow residents access to high-quality, fresh produce and gourmet foodstuffs.
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“The basis of political economy is non-interference. The only safe rule is found in the self-adjusting meter of demand and supply. Do not legislate. Meddle, and you snap the sinews with your sumptuary laws.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.... for really new ideas of any kind—no matter how ultimately profitable or otherwise successful some of them might prove to be—there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction. Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)
“Even the poor student studies and is taught only political economy, while that economy of living which is synonymous with philosophy is not even sincerely professed in our colleges. The consequence is, that while he is reading Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Say, he runs his father in debt irretrievably.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)