North end could be "choice area", Andrews North End Plan discussion |
North end could be "choice area", Andrews North End Plan discussion |
Jan 17 2008, 08:07 AM
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Spends WAY too much time at CBTL Group: Admin Posts: 16,460 Joined: 8-December 06 From: Michigan City, IN Member No.: 2 |
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=32796.78
QUOTE Oberlie: North End Can Be 'Choice' Area Jason Miller The News-Dispatch MICHIGAN CITY - In his annual state-of-the-city address last week, Mayor Chuck Oberlie outlined his fast-track plans for the city's North End in hopes that after the first quarter of 2008, the engine of change will be humming. Saying the area isn't pedestrian friendly or visually pleasing, he hopes the results of three studies laying out possibilities for the North End turn the area - through a unified vision - into the city's "neighborhood of choice." "The beauty of it all is that I outlined 21 different projects, and all of them will be moving forward as of (Thursday)," he said. "And they can all move forward without hurting the others." Oberlie also released a small portfolio featuring a few ideas for North End redevelopment gleaned from three studies the city has commissioned in the last two years. The most visually striking of the ideas is a large residential and commercial area along Trail Creek which, in theory, would include three large high-rise buildings just across the creek from Blue Chip Casino. Oberlie's thoughts are that developing the Trail Creek Corridor from Eighth Street to Washington Park would turn the city's North End into the crown jewel of the city. His hopes aren't without precedent. Although its size pales in comparison to that of Michigan City, the town of Saugatuck, Mich., benefits greatly from a developed Kalamazoo River, which houses not only hundreds of private boat slips, but residences, shops and restaurants like those Oberlie envisions for Trail Creek. "Our boating industry is a huge element of our success, if not the lifeblood of our town," second-term Saugatuck Mayor Tony Vettori said Friday. "And it's all due to the fact that there's so much to do right along the river. It brings in boaters and non-boaters." Like Michigan City, Saugatuck features a river that leads to a large, heavily used beach and the waters of Lake Michigan. Vettori said the beach benefits from the downtown river scene, just as the downtown benefits from the beach and Lake Michigan. "We've become an art destination and a shopping destination. And Oval Beach is rated one of the top 10 beaches in the country," Vettori said. "The water is all a part of what draws people here, and I'd think it would have the same effect in Michigan City." |
Jan 22 2008, 03:13 PM
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Spends WAY too much time at CBTL Group: Admin Posts: 16,460 Joined: 8-December 06 From: Michigan City, IN Member No.: 2 |
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=77823.13
QUOTE North End Studies The Latest Study Report Now Issued Editorial Now that Andrews University has made its final presentation to the city, what's next? Will this become merely the latest study done in the city in the past two decades to sit on a shelf and collect dust, or is this a study the city will actually put to use? If the framework laid out by Mayor Chuck Oberlie in his State of the City address on Jan. 2 is any indication, some of the proposals brought up in the Andrews University study, as well as studies by consulting firms Lohan Anderson and JJR Inc., are being put in place. Taken together, the three studies present a vision that would transform Michigan City. Some of the changes proposed make some residents nervous because the changes call for nothing less than a completely different downtown and North End. Frankly, that's not a bad idea because the North End as it stand now isn't working. "Everything we've done here is a proposal that has to be taken to the next level," said Andrew Von Maur, the head of the design studio at Andrews University. "It's not a 100-percent blueprint to follow, but it shows how development should work." Among the key proposals recommended in the Andrews study is making the downtown more pedestrian friendly by opening Franklin Street to two-way traffic and developing land along Trail Creek so that it becomes a pedestrian destination. Both ideas were prominent in Oberlie's State of the City address. The mayor presented 21 key points in his address to develop the North End, and virtually all of the ideas came from one of the studies that were conducted in the city last year. Will all of the ideas put forth in the studies be implemented? Probably not. But there are enough ideas to result in major changes in the city that will encourage development and show to the rest of the state, region and nation that Michigan City is a community that's looking to the future and is the kind of place that's interested in new business. And when that happens, the city will also become a place where people want to live. The Issue: Recent studies present a vision for redeveloping the city's North End. Our Opinion: Mayor Chuck Oberlie has outlined a timeline for actual redevelopment, which could transform the city into the kind of place business seeks and where people want to live. |
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