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
Post
#1
|
|
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 23 2008, 03:10 PM
Post
#2
|
|
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...;ArticleID=9041
QUOTE City Embraces Redevelopment Plans Plan Commission OKs proposal that can be used in concert with university study. Jason Miller The News-Dispatch MICHIGAN CITY - When they decide it's time to begin North End redevelopment efforts in earnest, Michigan City officials are going to have their hands full. The city's Plan Commission approved a redevelopment plan Tuesday submitted by the Chicago design firm Lohan Anderson. It is the second presented in less than a week to city officials which deals, at least in part, with redeveloping the Trail Creek corridor between U.S. 12 and Eighth Street. Late last week, the Andrews University Urban Design Studio presented its North End redevelopment plan, which had been in the works since last summer. Tuesday's presentation described everything from a bustling creekside community to an aerial tramway leading from near Blue Chip Casino to Washington Park beach. The most prominent aspect of the plan is the recommendation that three 24-story high-rise buildings be built along the creek amid a mixture of residential and retail areas. "This is simply a concept plan," Lohan Anderson Director of Planning Joel Stauber said Tuesday. "It would give the city more control over development of that 50 acres. It's not a final master plan. It establishes a framework for development and allows the city to establish up front where it stands on development." Fourth-Ward Michigan City Councilwoman Pat Boy said Tuesday the Lohan Anderson study and the more in-depth Andrews study could compliment each other if officials choose to use both in planning changes. "I think it's a good idea," she said. "It's an enormous plan. As a concept, I like it, the overall plan I think is good. The two will work together pretty well." Redevelopment Comm-ission Attorney Michael Bergerson said the Lohan plan could come together fairly easily because the area in question is in a Tax Increment Financing district. Money from tax revenues of other businesses in the district is available for the addition and improvement of infrastructure in the area. The City Council now will get a look at the study, and if it passes the plan, it will go back to the redevelopment commission. |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 25th September 2024 - 03:00 AM |
Skin Designed By: neo at www.neonetweb.com