EAST CHICAGO | The next phase of the city's sweeping North Harbor renewal project is scheduled to begin Dec. 1.

The Board of Public Works recently gave Hasse Construction Co. formal notice to proceed with slightly more than $1 million in work to replace water lines and sewers, and rebuild streets and sidewalks on four blocks of Broadway between Fir Street and Pulaski Street.

The Calumet City firm completed the $3.2 million reconstruction of Main Street north of Broadway over the summer, returning two-way traffic with parallel parking and 12-foot walkways to what was once the retail center of Indiana Harbor.

Boston-based The Community Builders Inc., Hispanic Housing Development Corp. of Chicago and San Francisco-based EDAW Inc. are working with the city to build 40 single-family homes and 80 rental units on some 34 city-owned lots in an initial phase of residential construction.

The city has pledged $5 million in infrastructure improvements to the North Harbor area as incentive for the developers, who plan to invest more than $40 million in new housing and commercial construction there.

The East Chicago Redevelopment Commission is also providing $2.8 million in lakefront tax increment finance district money for the North Harbor revitalization project.

Extension of the Main Street reconstruction work north to Indiana Harbor Drive, formerly Michigan Avenue, and south to Columbus Drive is scheduled for next year.