[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=54524.87

$20 Million Condo Project Unveiled
The Five-Story ‘Condotel’ Will Have 48 Luxury Condos Along with a Restaurant, Meeting Spaces

Amanda Haverstick
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - A $20 million condominium and hotel development was announced Thursday by John Ziola, one of three partners involved in the project overlooking Lake Michigan where Swingbelly's Restaurant now sits.

Harborview Development LLC, 101 Franklin St., outlined plans for Harbor's Edge, a five-story "condotel."

They are also developing La Dolce Vita, a separate ice cream parlor, which will go up along Franklin Street, behind the Lubeznik Center for the Arts.

Along with Ziola, the other partners are Jim Wozny and Ann Crockett. All live in the Chicago area, and all own property either in Michigan City or New Buffalo, Mich., and have been involved in residential development in the area.

Ziola said he has been involved in developing condominiums along Lake Shore Drive and homes in Beachwalk.

"We were interested in the site because it's the only commercial property where you can see the lake."

"Hopefully this will jump-start the future development of the North End," attorney Michael Bergerson, who represents the developers, said.

The 80,000-square-foot building will have 48 luxury condominiums, a swimming pool, workout rooms and meeting rooms. There is space for a restaurant on the ground floor as well as a cocktail lounge.

Ziola said an agreement is in place with the owners of Swingbelly's for them to operate the restaurant inside Harbor's Edge.

"They hope to begin pre-sales immediately and construction will begin in the spring," Bergerson said. Once construction starts, it will take about a year to be completed.

Plans include condos that have efficiency units, and Ziola said owners will have an option of staying in the efficiency and renting out the larger space.

"It's a condotel concept. It's something new," Bergerson said.

Harborview LLC will go before the Michigan City Plan Commission on Aug. 28 to request a zoning change to allow condominiums. After that, approval is needed from the Michigan City Redevelopment Commission.

Bergerson said the developers have said anyone willing to move the building housing Swingbelly's can have the structure. If nobody wants it, Ziola said the building will be demolished. Although Dennis Moran, owner of Rag Tops Auto Museum, had expressed interest in the building, the estimated $600,000 cost of moving the brick structure has been an obstacle.

"Swingbelly's will be given a notice to vacate sometime later this year," Bergerson said.

The Depot, formerly the Michigan Central Railroad Depot, was built about 1914 for the Chicago-Detroit passenger service. In recent years, it has been the site of restaurants.

The original railroad depot was built in the 1850s on the opposite side of the tracks. That building earned a spot in history when the funeral train carrying the remains of Abraham Lincoln stopped at 8:25 a.m. on May 1, 1865. President William McKinley also stopped at the depot on Oct. 17, 1899.

Contact reporter Amanda Haverstick at ahaverstick@thenewsdispatch.com

[JHeath]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=54524.87

Didn't this plan come about a few years ago...? Why has it taken to get this started?
I really hope Swingbelly's relocates in our City--I love the beach club!!

[mcstumper]

Didn't this plan come about a few years ago...? Why has it taken to get this started?
I really hope Swingbelly's relocates in our City--I love the beach club!!

Maybe if the city purchases the Yacht Club, the could lease that building to Swingbelly's. Ooops. I forgot. Our city council said that public-private partnerships are evil.

It would make sense for the old depot to be moved and made into the centerpiece of a railroad museum. I always thought that the old Monon right of way just west of the South Pullman Works would be a perfect location.

[JHeath]

Maybe if the city purchases the Yacht Club, the could lease that building to Swingbelly's. Ooops. I forgot. Our city council said that public-private partnerships are evil.

I see a lot of that changing when the new council members take office in January. Mark my words...

[Southsider2k12]

I agree with the sentiment of this article, but remembering the not-to-distant past, I had to laugh. The ND makes a big deal of supporting people who want to make downtown a more "vibrant" place, but what was their reaction to the Winski Plan for the North End? That would have completely opened up that area to traffic, and made things much easier for non-residents. I guess their support needs a little *, that denotes support only comes unless it conflicts with a candidate we like.

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=49012.32

The Issue: Harborview Development will transform the location where Swingbelly's is into a five-story condominium-hotel.

Our Opinion: We welcome the most major residential development in the North End in decades. City officials should help the developers make it happen.
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'Condotel' On Lake
$20 Million Investment Will Be Boost

Editorial

North End development in Michigan City got a shot in the arm Thursday when John Ziola and his partners, Jim Wozny and Ann Crockett, announced plans for a $20 million "condotel" to be built overlooking Lake Michigan and the harbor.

The project, which has been several years in planning, is expected to begin in earnest in about four months, said Ziola.

For an area that has been long starved for the kind of development that would bring people downtown to live, this is a major step forward. While there has been commercial and retail development created on the North End - not to mention Blue Chip casino - one ingredient has been missing: Full-time residents.

The project, known as Harborview Development, will go up where Swingbelly's Restaurant now sits. Ziola said he hopes someone shows an interest in the former railroad depot that has been a restaurant for several years, and will move the building. But if that doesn't happen, the brick building will be torn down. That is a shame, but the Harborview project needs to become a reality.

"Hopefully this will jump-start the future development of the North End," said Michael Bergerson, the Michigan City attorney who is representing the developers.

That seems to be the attitude of most people in the city. This is an opportunity for the city to make a statement that it welcomes this kind of development.

Ziola and his partners, although they all live in the Chicago area, are all familiar with Michigan City and New Buffalo. They have second homes here, are involved in residential development in the city and some have their boats docked at the marina. They all have been coming to the city for more than a decade and are familiar with the city.

"We were interested in the site because it's the only commercial property where you can see the lake," said Ziola.

What's especially attractive in the plans for Harborview is that the developers are spending their own money on the project. They have a vested interest for it to succeed.

So does Michigan City. The idea that someone wants to make the city's downtown a more vibrant place is a concept that should be embraced.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I hope that this is the last condo project that side of US 12. The problem with condo's is that they are self-contained, and they do little to better the surrounding area. Congress Park is a good example, as is the development along the Creek--what is that called, anyway? In any case, the future can only be good if open, public areas are developed, and I mean developed as open, public areas.

[mcstumper]

I hope that this is the last condo project that side of US 12. The problem with condo's is that they are self-contained, and they do little to better the surrounding area. Congress Park is a good example, as is the development along the Creek--what is that called, anyway? In any case, the future can only be good if open, public areas are developed, and I mean developed as open, public areas.

Don't count on it. If I was a betting man, I would say that both the old Pioneer Lumber and Tonn & Blank properties will be condos in the next few years.

[Roger Kaputnik]

I think you are right. That also would be one of the stupidest things to happen, and around here, that is saying a lot. It would essentially end or short-circuit much development in the Lake- and Creek fronts.